18 September 2009 The renewed Liege-Guillemins railway station Belgium
18 September 2009 is an important date in history for train lovers as me. Then the renewed railway station of Liège-Guillemins was officially opened with a big show by Franco Dragone.
Philippe, then Crown Prince of Belgium and with a beard, attended the opening ceremony in Liège. Pictures on this link (text in Dutch)
Liège-Guillemins railway station is the main station of the city of Liège. This is the third largest city in Belgium. This station is used by 15,000 people every day, which makes it the eleventh busiest station in Belgium and the third in Wallonia.
However this futuristic railway station has a real interesting history.
Some history
In 1838, only three years after the first continental railway, a line linking Brussels and Ans, in the northern suburbs of Liège was opened. The first railway station called Liège-Guillemins (I always have troubles with the name) was inaugurated in May 1842. In 1843 the first international railway connection was born, between Liège and Aachen, Cologne in Germany.
The new station
At the end of the 20th century, high speed trains were introduced such as the Thalys. However the platforms were too small and the station had a shabby appearance, so they had to build a new one.
The new Liège-Guillemins station was designed by architect Santiago Calatrava. It has 9 tracks and 5 platforms.
Liège-Guillemins is made of steel, glass and white concrete. It includes a monumental arch of 160 meters long and 32 meters high.
The building costs were 312 milion euros!
Nowadays it still has international destinations such as:
Aachen (Germany);
Lille (France);
Maastricht (The Netherlands);
Cologne (Germany);
Frankfurt (Germany).
There are also plans for Eurostar to link Liège directly to London.
The Liège-Guillemins railway station is the entrance to the city of Liège. I visited it in April 2018.
Though the railway station is very futuristic, I really like it.
Philippe, then Crown Prince of Belgium and with a beard, attended the opening ceremony in Liège. Pictures on this link (text in Dutch)
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| Liège-Guillemins railway station in Belgium own picture taken in 2018 |
Liège-Guillemins railway station is the main station of the city of Liège. This is the third largest city in Belgium. This station is used by 15,000 people every day, which makes it the eleventh busiest station in Belgium and the third in Wallonia.
 |
| Waiting on a train in Liège-Guillemins own picture taken in 2018 |
However this futuristic railway station has a real interesting history.
Some history
In 1838, only three years after the first continental railway, a line linking Brussels and Ans, in the northern suburbs of Liège was opened. The first railway station called Liège-Guillemins (I always have troubles with the name) was inaugurated in May 1842. In 1843 the first international railway connection was born, between Liège and Aachen, Cologne in Germany.
The new station
At the end of the 20th century, high speed trains were introduced such as the Thalys. However the platforms were too small and the station had a shabby appearance, so they had to build a new one.
The new Liège-Guillemins station was designed by architect Santiago Calatrava. It has 9 tracks and 5 platforms.
Liège-Guillemins is made of steel, glass and white concrete. It includes a monumental arch of 160 meters long and 32 meters high.
The building costs were 312 milion euros!
Nowadays it still has international destinations such as:
Aachen (Germany);
Lille (France);
Maastricht (The Netherlands);
Cologne (Germany);
Frankfurt (Germany).
There are also plans for Eurostar to link Liège directly to London.
 |
| Liège-Guillemins railway station Belgium own picture in 2018 |
The Liège-Guillemins railway station is the entrance to the city of Liège. I visited it in April 2018.
Though the railway station is very futuristic, I really like it.
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