Gent-Sint-Pieters railway station

Gent-Sint-Pieters railway station (Dutch: Station Gent-Sint-Pieters; French: Gare de Gand-Saint-Pierre)[a] is the main railway station in Ghent, East Flanders, Belgium, and the fourth-busiest in Belgium and busiest in Flanders, with 17.65 million passengers a year.[1] The station is operated by the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB).[2]

Gent-Sint-Pieters
Railway Station
Gent-Sint-Pieters railway station
General information
LocationKoningin Maria Hendrikaplein,
9000 Ghent
Belgium
Coordinates51°02′07″N 3°42′35″E / 51.03528°N 3.70972°E / 51.03528; 3.70972
Owned byNMBS/SNCB
Operated byNMBS/SNCB
Line(s)50, 50A, 58, 59, 75
Platforms12
Tracks12
Construction
Bicycle facilities17,000 (under construction)
Other information
Station codeGSTP
History
Opened1912; 112 years ago (1912)
Rebuilt2010–present
Passengers
201816.7 million
Map
Location
Gent-Sint-Pieters is located in Belgium
Gent-Sint-Pieters
Gent-Sint-Pieters
Location within Belgium
Gent-Sint-Pieters is located in Europe
Gent-Sint-Pieters
Gent-Sint-Pieters
Gent-Sint-Pieters (Europe)

History

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Gent-Sint-Pieters railway station with the glass canopy

The origins of the railway station is a small station on the Ghent–Ostend line 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 International Exposition in Ghent, a new Sint-Pieters railway station was built. It was designed by the architect Louis Cloquet and finished in 1912 just before the World's Fair.

The station was 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 twelve platforms. This gives the station its cross-form design. The original waiting rooms for second and third-class passengers 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. The station was served by a daily Thalys high-speed rail service to Paris between 1998 and 31 March 2015.[3]

Project Gent-Sint-Pieters

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In 2004, the Project Gent-Sint-Pieters was announced as part of a bigger plan to renovate line 50A between Ghent and Bruges. The reconstructions were planned between 2007 and 2022 and included:

  • 12 new, wider and longer platforms with more escalators and a lift for better access
  • one big open hall below the platforms instead of the 3 current tunnels
  • a tram stop with direct access to the platforms
  • a new bus station in front of the railway station
  • The Virginie Lovelinggebouw, East Flanders' Flemish Administrative Center
  • Renovation of the Maria Hendrikaplein, the square in front of the station
  • Renovation of the main entrance building
  • A new bicycle parking
  • Valentin Vaerweyckweg (T4), a new trunk road connecting the station to the ringroad of Ghent (R4) and A10/E40

The work is necessary to make the station more accessible and to increase capacity as the number of passengers grows every year. 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.

Timeline

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  • 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 Valentin Vaerweyckweg (T4) and the temporary tramtunnel were opened. And the first part of the new bus station was put into use. Fase 1 of the station itself (platforms 8-12) started.
  • In 2012, the first part of a new underground bicycle parking station was opened, with 1.700 of the intended total of 10.000 parking spots.[4]
  • In 2014, the Virginie Lovelinggebouw was finished.
  • In 2015, the first new platforms (11 and 12) were put into service.
  • In 2017, platforms 10, 9 and 8 were put into use though 8 wasn't finished yet. The project was running late and appeared to be more expensive than anticipated. It was put on hold and new options were investigated to cut costs.
  • In January 2020, the new project was announced. The main change was the roof over the platforms. Phase 2 (platforms 7-1) is planned from 2021 until 2026.

Because of the restriction of Ghent's car traffic circulation in 2017, the amount of commuters using a bicycle grew. The plans were adjusted accordingly to build 17,000 bicycle parking spots in total.[5]

Train services

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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-04) Lille/Poperinge - Kortrijk - Ghent - Sint-Niklaas - Antwerpen
  • Intercity services (IC-12) Kortrijk - Ghent - Brussels - Leuven - Liege - Welkenraedt (weekdays)
  • Intercity services (IC-12) Kortrijk - Ghent (weekends)
  • Intercity services (IC-20) Ghent - Aalst - Brussels - Hasselt - Tongeren (weekdays)
  • Intercity services (IC-20) Ghent - Aalst - Brussels - Dendermonde - Lokeren (weekends)
  • Intercity services (IC-23A) Bruges - Ghent - Brussels - Brussels Airport
  • Intercity services (IC-28) Ghent - Sint-Niklaas - Antwerp (weekdays)
  • Local services (L-02) Zeebrugge - Bruges - Ghent - Dendermonde - Mechelen (weekdays)
  • Local services (L-02) Zeebrugge - Bruges - Ghent (weekends)
  • Local services (L-05) Eeklo - Ghent - Oudenaarde - Ronse
  • Local services (L-05) Eeklo - Ghent - Oudenaarde - Kortrijk (weekdays)
  • Local services (L-25) Ghent - Zottegem - Geraardsbergen
  • Local services (L-28) Ghent - Dendermonde - Mechelen (weekends)
Preceding station   NMBS/SNCB Following station
Brugge
towards Oostende
IC 01 Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid
towards Eupen
IC 02 Gent-Dampoort
Aalter
towards Blankenberge or Knokke
IC 03 Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid
towards Genk
Waregem IC 04 Gent-Dampoort
De Pinte
towards Kortrijk
IC 12
weekdays, except holidays
Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid
towards Welkenraedt
IC 12
weekends
Terminus
Terminus IC 20
weekdays, except holidays
Merelbeke
towards Tongeren
IC 20
weekends
Merelbeke
towards Lokeren
Aalter
towards Brugge
IC 23A Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid
Terminus IC 28 Gent-Dampoort
Drongen L 02
weekdays, except holidays
Merelbeke
towards Mechelen
Drongen L 02
weekends
Terminus
Gentbrugge
towards Eeklo
L 05
weekdays, except holidays
De Pinte
towards Ronse or Kortrijk
L 05
weekends
De Pinte
towards Ronse
Terminus L 25 Merelbeke
L 28
weekends
Kwatrecht
towards Mechelen

See also

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References

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Officially Gent-Sint-Pieters (Dutch: Gent-Sint-Pieters; French: Gand-Saint-Pierre)

Citations

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  1. ^ SNCB Mobility. "Reizigerstellingen 2009" (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2017. - Détail du calcul : (261xNbre voyageur jours de semaine) + (52xNbre Samedi) + (52xNbre Dimanche)
  2. ^ "GENT-SINT-PIETERS". www.belgianrail.be. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  3. ^ Article about final Thalys to Ostend
  4. ^ In Dutch: Project Gent Sint-Pieters, nieuwsbericht 9 november 2016:2000 bijkomende fietsenstallingen Archived 2020-01-28 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ In Dutch: Project Gent Sint-Pieters: Voorstelling project, Stationsproject: Fiets, accessed at 28-1-2020
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