Brugge railway station

Brugge
Brugge
Railway Station
General information
Location	Stationsplein, Bruges
Coordinates	51°11′50″N 3°13′2″E / 51.19722°N 3.21722°E
Owned by	National Railway Company of Belgium
Line(s)	50A (Brussels-Ostend) ; 51 (Bruges-Blankenberge) ; 66 (Bruges-Kortrijk)
Platforms	5 island platforms
Tracks	10
Other information
Station code	FR
History
Opened	12 August 1838; 186 years ago
Passengers
2014	18,122

Brugge railway station (French: Gare de Bruges) is the main railway station in Bruges, West Flanders, Belgium. The station opened on 12 August 1838 on the Lines 50A, 51 and 66. The current building has been in use since 1939. The station is one of the busiest in Belgium. Train services are operated by NMBS/SNCB.

History

The railway arrived in Bruges in 1838 when the Ghent to Bruges railway was opened, with King Leopold I and Queen Louise-Marie. A couple of weeks later the Bruges to Ostend railway was opened. In the first 6 years of its existence there was no station building, this opened in 1844, designed by Auguste Payen. The railway to Kortijk opened in 1846-1857 and lines to Eeklo and Blankenberge in 1863. The result of the success of the railways was that the station was too small. In 1879 the building was demolished and reconstructed at Ronse, where it still stands today. The new station building was completed in 1886, designed by Joseph Schadde.

The station was served by a daily Thalys high speed service to Paris between 1998 and 31 March 2015.^[1]

Modernisation

In 2007 the station was the 10th busiest station in Belgium and there was a large increase in passengers expected over the coming years. In 2004 a modernisation and expansion of the station started. The tunnel under the platforms was expanded by 12 metres, allowing more space for passengers and small shops. Access to the platforms was improved with new stairs, escalators and lifts. The works were completed in May 2009. Behind the station an underground car park for 800 cars and 1000 bikes was completed in 2010.

Train services

The station is served by the following services:

Intercity services (IC-01) Ostend - Bruges - Ghent - Brussels - Leuven - Liege - Eupen
Intercity services (IC-02) Ostend - Bruges - Ghent - Sint-Niklaas - Antwerpen
Intercity services (IC-03) Knokke/Blankenberge - Bruges - Ghent - Brussels - Leuven - Genk
Intercity services (IC-23) Ostend - Bruges - Kortrijk - Zottegem - Brussels - Brussels Airport
Intercity services (IC-23A) Bruges - Ghent - Brussels - Brussels Airport (weekdays)
Intercity services (IC-32) Bruges - Roeselare - Kortrijk
Local services (L-02) Zeebrugge - Bruges – Ghent – Dendermonde – Mechelen (weekdays)
Local services (L-02) Zeebrugge - Bruges – Ghent (weekends)

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