Antwerpen-Centraal railway station

Antwerp-Central Railway Station
Station statistics
Address	Koningin Astridplein, Antwerp
Coordinates	51°13′02″N 4°25′16″E
Lines	4, 12, 25, 27
Levels	4
Platforms	14
Other information
Opened	11 August 1905
Code	ANTC
Owned by	National Railway Company of Belgium

Antwerpen-Centraal (Antwerp Central) is the name of the main railway station in the Belgian city of Antwerp. The station is operated by the national railway company NMBS.

History and architecture

The clock at the upper level

The original station building was constructed between 1895 and 1905 as a replacement for the original terminus of the Brussels-Mechelen-Antwerp Railway. The stone clad terminus buildings, with a vast dome above the waiting room hall were designed by Louis Delacenserie and the vast (185 metres long and 44 metres high) iron and glass trainshed by Clement van Bogaert. The viaduct into the station is also a notable structure designed by local architect Jan Van Asperen.

The station is now widely regarded as the finest example of railway architecture in Belgium^{[citation needed]}, although the extraordinary eclecticism of the influences on Delacenserie's design had led to a difficulty in assigning it to a particular architectural style. In W. G. Sebald's novel Austerlitz an ability to appreciate the full range of the styles that might have influenced Delacensiere is used to demonstrate the brilliance of the fictional architectural historian who is the novel's protagonist.

In 2009 the American magazine Newsweek judged Antwerpen-Centraal the world's fourth greatest train station.

Expansion for high-speed trains

In 1998 large-scale reconstruction work began to convert the station from a terminus to a through station. A new tunnel has been excavated between Berchem station in the south of the city and Antwerpen-Dam station in the north, passing under Central station, with platforms on two underground levels. This allows Thalys, HSL 4 and HSL-Zuid high-speed trains to travel through Antwerp Central without the need to turn around (the previous layout obliged Amsterdam-Brussels trains to call only at Berchem or reverse at Central).

The major elements of the construction project were completed in 2007, and the first through trains ran on 25 March 2007.

This complete project has cost approximately €1.6 billion.^{[citation needed]}

Station layout

Station atrium showing the four levels

The station has four levels and 14 tracks arranged as follows:

• Level +1: The original station, 6 terminating tracks, arranged as two groups of three and separated by a central opening allowing views of the lower levels
• Level 0: Houses ticketing facilities and commercial space
• Level −1: 7 m below street level, 4 terminating tracks, arranged in two pairs, also featuring the world-famous twin level escalators that start off at a gradient, then become level, then resume a gradient again making them the best escalator ever.
• Level −2: 18 m below street level, 4 through tracks, leading to the two tracks of the tunnel under the city (used by high-speed trains and fast domestic InterCity services)

Train services

This list is incomplete. WARNING. As of January 17, 2013, Fyra HiSpeed services to Rotterdam were temporarily suspended. A fast train to Roosendaal (change there for Rotterdam) runs eight times a day, every two hours. Weekday schedules differ from those in weekends. (Please visit nmbs.be.) From mid-March on, this service will be extended to Den Haag (The Hague) NL. It is not yet known when Fyra fast train services to Rotterdam will run again (if ever). The more expensive high speed Thalys (Paris-Antwerp-Amsterdam) keeps running according to timetable.

The following services currently call at Antwerp-Centraal:

International services

• 9x per day high speed service Thalys Amsterdam - Antwerp - Brussels - Paris
• 8x per day international service The Hague - Rotterdam - Roosendaal - Antwerp - Brussels

National services

• Intercity (C) Antwerp - Sint Niklaas - Gent - Kortrijk - Lille
• Intercity (G) Antwerp - Gent - Brugge - Oostende
• Intercity (I) Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels - Charleroi Sud
• Intercity (N) Essen - Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels - Charleroi Sud (weekdays)
• Intercity (P) Antwerp - Gent (weekdays)
• Intercity (Q) Antwerp - Brussels Airport - Landen (weekdays)
• InterRegio (b) Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels - Nijvel (weekdays)
• InterRegio (c) Antwerp - Hasselt - Liège
• InterRegio (d) Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels - Geraardsbergen/Doornik - Kortrijk (weekdays)
• InterRegio (e) Antwerp - Mol - Neerpelt/Hasselt
• InterRegio (g) Antwerp - Herentals - Turnhout
• InterRegio (i) Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels - De Panne (weekdays)
• InterRegio (s) Antwerp - Noorderkempen
• local service Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels (weekdays)
• local service Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels (weekends)
• local service Roosendaal - Antwerp - Puurs (weekdays)
• local service Roosendaal - Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels Airport (weekends)
• local service Antwerp - Herentals - Mol (weekdays)
• local service Antwerp - Aarschot - Leuven
• local service Antwerp - Lokeren

Preceding station		NMBS		Following station
Brussels-South toward Paris-Nord		Thalys		Rotterdam Centraal toward Amsterdam Centraal
Brussels-South toward Bourg-Saint-Maurice		Thalys (winter)		Rotterdam Centraal toward Amsterdam Centraal
Brussels-Central toward Brussels-South		Fyra 9200		Rotterdam Centraal toward Amsterdam Centraal
Terminus		IC C		Antwerpen-Berchem toward Lille-Flandres
Antwerpen-Berchem toward Oostende		IC G		Terminus
Antwerpen-Berchem toward Charleroi-Sud		IC I		Terminus
Antwerpen-Berchem toward Charleroi-Sud		IC N		Ekeren toward Essen
Antwerpen-Berchem toward Gent-Sint-Pieters		IC P		Terminus
Terminus		IC Q		Antwerpen-Berchem toward Landen
Antwerpen-Berchem toward Nivelles		IR b		Terminus
Terminus		IR c		Antwerpen-Berchem toward Liège-Guillemins
Antwerpen-Berchem toward Courtrai and Grammont		IR d		Terminus
Terminus		IR e		Antwerpen-Berchem toward Neerpelt or Hasselt
Terminus		IR g		Antwerpen-Berchem toward Turnhout
Terminus		IR i		Antwerpen-Berchem toward Brussels National Airport
Antwerpen-Luchtbal toward Noorderkempen		IR s		Terminus
Terminus		NMBS L		Antwerpen-Berchem toward Lokeren
Antwerpen-Luchtbal toward Roosendaal		NMBS L		Antwerpen-Berchem toward Puurs
Antwerpen-Luchtbal toward Roosendaal		NMBS L		Antwerpen-Berchem toward Brussels National Airport
Terminus		NMBS L		Antwerpen-Berchem toward Brussels-South
Terminus		NMBS L		Antwerpen-Berchem toward Mol
Terminus		NMBS L		Antwerpen-Berchem toward Leuven

In popular culture

A staged "flash mob"-like event at the station in early 2009, featuring the song "Do-Re-Mi" from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music, became a viral video. It was performed by 200 dancers of various ages, along with several dozen waiting passengers who just jumped in and joined the dance themselves. The video was produced to publicize Op zoek naar Maria, the Belgian TV version of the BBC talent competition programme How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, about the search for an actress to play the lead role in a stage revival of The Sound of Music.

The station is used in Agatha Christie's Poirot episode "The Chocolate Box" to represent a station in Brussels.

External links

Media related to Antwerp Central Station at Wikimedia Commons

• Official station page at the NMBS website