Mechelen railway station
 |
Mechelen | |
|---|---|
 Railway Station | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Location | Mechelen, Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium |
| Coordinates | 51°01′03″N 4°29′01″E / 51.01750°N 4.48361°E |
| Owned by | National Railway Company of Belgium |
| Line(s) | 25, 27, 53 |
| Platforms | 10 |
| Tracks | 10 |
| History | |
| Opened | 5 May 1835 |
Mechelen is a railway station in the city of Mechelen, Antwerp, Belgium. The station opened on 5 May 1835 on the Lines 25, 27 and 53.
In 1835 the first public train journey on the European mainland arrived near the station. The passengers were transported to just south of the station, as there was no bridge over the canal until 1836. Lines were built in all directions from the station: North to Antwerp, south to Brussels and France, east to Leuven, Liege and Verviers and west to Dendermonde, Ghent, Bruges and Oostende.
To the east of the station is the large Mechelen Train Works, where trains receive maintenance and heavy works, such as refurbishment.
The station has 10 platforms, the 4 on the east side are a few metres higher than the others. In 2012 a new high-speed railway (Line 25N) opened between Mechelen and Schaarbeek, in the north of Brussels. This line also links Mechelen with Brussels Airport. There are 2 new platforms planned at the station to accommodate extra trains from this line.
In 2013 major plans to modernise and rebuild the station started. It is planned to build a car park underneath the station and then to demolish the current station and rebuild it on the site of the current car park, just east of the station. The building work is expected to take 10 years.[needs update]
Train services
The following services currently the serve the station:
- Intercity services (IC-05) Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels - Nivelles - Charleroi
- Intercity services (IC-08) Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels Airport - Leuven - Hasselt
- Intercity services (IC-11) Binche - Braine-le-Comte - Halle - Brussels - Mechelen - Turnhout (weekdays)
- Intercity services (IC-21) Ghent - Dendermonde - Mechelen - Leuven
- Intercity services (IC-22) Essen - Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels (weekdays)
- Intercity services (IC-22) Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels - Halle - Braine-le-Comte - Binche (weekends)
- Intercity services (IC-31) Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels (weekdays)
- Intercity services (IC-31) Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels - Nivelles - Charleroi (weekends)
- Intercity services (IC-35) Amsterdam - The Hague - Rotterdam - Roosendaal - Antwerp - Brussels Airport - Brussels
- Local services (L-02) Zeebrugge - Bruges – Ghent – Dendermonde – Mechelen (weekdays)
- Local services (L-20) Sint-Niklaas – Mechelen – Leuven (weekdays)
- Local services (L-20) Mechelen - Leuven (weekends)
- Local services (L-27) Sint-Niklaas - Mechelen (weekends)
- Local services (L-28) Ghent - Dendermonde - Mechelen (weekends)
- Brussels RER services (S1) Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels - Waterloo - Nivelles (weekdays)
- Brussels RER services (S1) Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels (weekends)
- Brussels RER services (S5) Mechelen - Brussels-Luxembourg - Etterbeek - Halle - Enghien (- Geraardsbergen)
- Brussels RER services (S7) Mechelen - Merode - Halle
