Merode station
  Merode | ||||||||||||||||
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| Coordinates | 50°50′22″N 4°23′52″E / 50.83944°N 4.39778°ECoordinates: 50°50′22″N 4°23′52″E / 50.83944°N 4.39778°E | |||||||||||||||
| Levels | 2 | |||||||||||||||
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| Opened | 1976 | |||||||||||||||
| Owned by | STIB/MIVB | |||||||||||||||
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Merode is a railway and metro station in Brussels, Belgium. The metro station is located in the municipality of Etterbeek (near the border between Etterbeek, the City of Brussels and Schaerbeek), under the "Porte de Tervueren/Tervuursepoort," which is the start of Avenue de Tervueren, a major street in Brussels. The underground train station is located under the "Place Prince Jean de Mérode/Prins Jean de Merodeplein," after which it is named. The two stations are connected by an underground hallway.
Metro station
The metro station opened in 1976 and was served by the first heavy metro service ever in Brussels (earlier underground services elsewhere were operated by trams). The station is located at the eastern end of the common branch of lines 1 and 5. One metro train out of two coming from Schuman continues to the southeast of the city through Thieffry toward Herrmann-Debroux metro station in the municipality of Auderghem; this branch is currently line 5. Line 1 continues to the east through Montgomery toward Stokkel/Stockel in the municipality of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre. Merode station is unusual in having its eastbound and westbound tracks at different levels, in order to avoid conflicting movements at the same level. As a result, each platform faces a blank wall across the track, which has been decorated with tiling to improve the atmosphere of the station.
Originally the metro station of Merode was planned to be underneath the building of the BBL bank, now ING Belgium. Due to security issues this idea was not fully implemented however leftovers of this idea are still visible in the building.
Railway station
The underground railway station has two tracks with two side platforms and is served by the suburban services of NMBS/SNCB line 26 linking Vilvoorde with Halle via Etterbeek. The station will be integrated into the future RER (Regional Express Rail) services.
Surrounding the station
Several places of interest are located around this station among which the famous Cauchie house (house of the architect Paul Cauchie), the Parc du Cinquantenaire, the Avenue de Tervueren (one of the oldest avenues in Brussels) and the Royal Military School. The station offers a connection with the Brussels tram route 81 as well as the bus routes 22, 27 and 80.
References
External links
Media related to Merode station at Wikimedia Commons
