Brussels-South railway station


Brussels-South is one of the three major railway stations in Brussels and the busiest station in Belgium. It is located on the territory of the municipality of Saint-Gilles/Sint-Gillis. The station is connected to the Gare du Midi/Zuidstation station of the Brussels metro system.

Naming

The Brussels-Capital Region is bilingual; hence, both the French and Dutch names of the station are official. Outside Belgium, this often leads to the use of combined shorthands; for example in the Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable, Brussels-South is designated as Brussels Midi/Zuid; Dutch Railways announce the station as Brussel Zuid/Midi. "Le Midi" is a reference to Southern France, as trains departing from this station in the 19th century had the region as their final destination. The name Brussel-Zuid, as the Dutch translation of Bruxelles-Midi, was only introduced after the equality law of 1898.

History

First station (1839–1869)

A first station known as Bogards' Station had existed, since 1839, near Rouppe Square in the southern part of the City of Brussels, so-called for the eponymous convent whose site it was built on, and to which Rue des Bogards/Bogaardenstraat is nowadays the only reference. The presence of a station at this location also explains the unusual width of the current Avenue of Stalingrad, which goes up from the square to the small ring road and back then used to have train tracks in the middle.

Second station (1869–1949)

The Belgian railway network grew rapidly during the second half of the 19th century, and the old station quickly became too small, so the authorities decided to demolish it. A new monumental station built outside the Pentagon and designed by architect Auguste Payen opened in 1869, a short distance south from the original site. In tribute to the railway technology, a statue of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, was placed on the roof of the station. In front of the station, a large square, known as the Place de la Constitution/Grondwetplein, was created, acting as an entry to the city.

Third station (1949–present)

Payen's terminal station was itself demolished in 1949, as part of the North–South connection project, and replaced by a transit station on its present site along Avenue Fonsny/Fonsnylaan. Most of the current buildings were erected between 1939 and 1954, in post-war functionalist style, from plans by architects Adrien and Yvan Blomme and Fernand Petit. Work on the connection also led to the station's immediate surroundings to be reorganised. The tracks were raised and extended unto a viaduct towards the city centre, with shops under it and a covered street, Rue Couverte/Bedektestraat, along which trams run.
The rear part of the station, built in front of Victor Horta Square, and designed in 1992 by architect Marc De Vreese, serves as a terminal for high-speed trains.

Features

The station is surrounded by Avenue Fonsny/Fonsnylaan to the east, Rue de France/Frankrijkstraat to the west, Rue Couverte/Bedektestraat to the north and Rue des Vétérinaires/Veeartsenstraat to the south. In the 1990s, the Eurostar terminal was added on Rue de France's side. This part contains two bay platforms with no onward northbound connection.
A tripartite agreement was signed by Belgium, France and the UK on 15 May 1993, which permitted British officials to carry out pre-embarkation immigration controls for passengers travelling on direct Eurostar train services from Brussels to London and Belgian officials to carry out pre-embarkation immigration controls at London Waterloo International station for passengers travelling in the other direction. As a result of this agreement, juxtaposed controls were set up in the station. On 1 October 2004, an administrative arrangement was signed by Belgium, France and the UK to extend juxtaposed controls to Eurostar services between London and Brussels which make a stop in Lille.
Eurostar passengers travelling to the UK clear exit checks from the Schengen Area as well as UK entry checks in the station before boarding their train. On the other hand, Eurostar passengers travelling to Lille Europe or Calais-Fréthun remain within the Schengen Area and are therefore not subject to border checks. Accordingly, they go through a different departure area in the station and travel in a separate designated coach controlled by security guards, who ensure that all of these passengers disembark at Lille/Calais before the train continues to the UK.

Train services

The station is served by the following services:
The metro station, called Gare du Midi/Zuidstation, opened on 2 October 1988 as the terminus of metro line 2 from Simonis. Line 2 has since been extended beyond Brussels-South to Clemenceau in 1993, Delacroix in 2006, and Gare de l'Ouest/Weststation in 2009. Since 1993, the station also accommodates premetro services at separate platforms, with cross-platform interchange between metro and premetro in both directions.

Ouibus

Since 23 July 2012, SNCF's international coach network, OUIBUS, has served Brussels South.
A shuttle service to Brussels South Charleroi Airport leaves from a stop located on Rue de France/Frankrijkstraat.

Places of interest

The South Tower, the tallest building in Belgium, stands in front of the station's main exit and houses the Belgian Federal Pensions Service.