Antwerp Central Station

[jjb1970]

This week I visited Antwerp for the first time by rail, in the past I've always flown from London City but this week I decided to combine a trip to Brussels with a meeting in Antwerp. Boy, Antwerp is one seriously impressive station! I though St. Pancras was the poster station for rebuilding an old classic station as an attractive modern one but Antwerp makes St. Pancras look rather ordinary. I'm not sure that the split levels are particularly efficient or user friendly but the way they've incorporated a huge new facility within the old station is gloriously impressive. And the old station building has been beautifully restored, it really is worth making the trip to see it.

[BlackRat]

Amsterdam is pretty impressive too!

[Mike at C&M]

The multi-level layout is a result of making through lines for Brussels to Holland traffic. With the station having originally being a terminus, the only way to do this was to put the new through lines underground, and hence create a multi-level station.

 

The fact that this has been has been done so sympathetically within the original 'Cathedal of Railways' building is a credit to Belgian Railways, and the architects used.

[EddieB]

Certainly a very attractive station, made even more spectacular by rebuilding on multiple levels.  The trainshed is quite reminiscent of St Pancras, the architecture of the station buildings sublime.  I must confess that I wasn't too impressed on my first visit, as the terminus was then served only by multiple units - I was more interested in the (now closed) locomotive depot at Antwerpen Dam.  By my next visit Centraal station had become a building site.

 

Antwerpen is an interesting town for railways, with a busy freight route through the East station and the legacy of the very extensive docks railways.  The Great Eastern Railway used to have an office there - I can't be sure, but I think the building has been demolished..

 

This is how Centraal used to look (1980):