Gent-Sint-Pieters railway station

Gent-Sint-Pieters
Railway Station
Location Koningin Maria Hendrikaplein, Ghent
Coordinates 51°02′07″N 3°42′35″E / 51.03528°N 3.70972°E / 51.03528; 3.70972Coordinates: 51°02′07″N 3°42′35″E / 51.03528°N 3.70972°E / 51.03528; 3.70972
Owned by National Railway Company of Belgium
Line(s) 50, 50A, 58, 59, 75
Platforms 12
Other information
Station code GSTP
History
Opened 1912

Gent-Sint-Pieters (or Ghent-Saint-Peter's in English) is the main railway station in Ghent and – depending upon the measure used – the second or third busiest railway station in Belgium. Its NMBS/SNCB internal code is FGSP.

History

Gent-Sint-Pieters railway station with the glass canopy.

The origins of the railway station is a small station on the line Ghent-Ostend in 1881. At that time the main railway station of Ghent was the South railway station built in 1837. At the occasion of the 1913 world exhibition in Ghent, a new Sint-Pieters railway station was built. It was designed by architect Louis Cloquet and finished in 1912 just before the World Exhibition.

The station is built in an eclectic style with a long corridor dividing the building in its length which provides access to diverse facilities. A tunnel (designed by ir. P. Grondy) starting from the entrance hall provides access to the 12 platforms. This gives the station its cross-form design. The original waiting rooms for second and third class now serve as a buffet and restaurant.

The station was classified in 1995. In 1996 the station was renovated, with the renovation of the interior of the western wing completed in 1998.

In the middle of 2007 the project entered a new phase to make the station more customer-oriented. The work is planned to be completed by 2022. This eventually will lead to the removal of several period features that are not part of the classified main building, like the platform canopies, waiting rooms, and the tunnel by P. Grondy.

In 2007, the tower at the entrance of the station has been renovated. In 2008 a new glass canopy was placed at the main entrance. In 2010, the murals of the main entrance hall have been renovated.

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

Train services

The station is served by the following services:

Preceding station   NMBS   Following station
toward Oostende
IC 01
toward Eupen
toward Oostende
IC 02
toward Blankenberge and Knokke
IC 03
toward Genk
Waregem
toward Lille and Poperinge
IC 04
De Pinte
From Monday to Friday, except holidays
toward Kortrijk
IC 12
From Monday to Friday, except holidays
toward Welkenraedt
De Pinte
On weekends and holidays
toward Kortrijk
Terminus
TerminusIC 20
Merelbeke
From Monday to Friday, except holidays
toward Tongeren
Terminus
Merelbeke
On weekends and holidays
toward Lokeren
toward Brugge
IC 23A
TerminusIC 28
Drongen
From Monday to Friday, except holidays
toward Zeebrugge-Dorp
S 02
Merelbeke
From Monday to Friday, except holidays
toward Mechelen
Drongen
On weekends and holidays
toward Zeebrugge-Dorp
Terminus
From Monday to Friday, except holidays
toward Eeklo
S 05
De Pinte
From Monday to Friday, except holidays
toward Ronse and Kortrijk
De Pinte
On weekends and holidays
toward Ronse
TerminusSNCB-NMBS L 25
Merelbeke
toward Geraardsbergen
TerminusSNCB-NMBS L 28
weekends
Kwatrecht
toward Mechelen

See also

References

  1. ↑ Article about final Thalys to Ostend

External links

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