Liège-Guillemins railway station

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Liège-Guillemins
SNCB logo.svg Railway Station
Vue de la gare des Guillemins.jpg
LocationPlace des Guillemins, Liège
Coordinates50°37′29″N 5°34′01″E / 50.62472°N 5.56694°E / 50.62472; 5.56694Coordinates: 50°37′29″N 5°34′01″E / 50.62472°N 5.56694°E / 50.62472; 5.56694
Owned byInfrabel
Operated byNational Railway Company of Belgium
Line(s)4, , 36, 37, 40, , 125
Platforms5
Tracks10
Construction
ArchitectSantiago Calatrava
History
Opened1842-05-01
2009-09-18
Rebuilt2009-09-18
Passengers
20096.26 million
Services
Preceding station   Thalys   Following station
toward Paris-Nord
Thalys
toward Dortmund Hbf
Preceding station   DB Fernverkehr   Following station
Brussels-North
ICE 79
towards Frankfurt
Preceding station   SNCB / NMBS   Following station
toward Oostende
IC 01
toward Eupen
IC 09
weekends
Terminus
toward Kortrijk
IC 12
weekdays
toward Welkenraedt
toward Hasselt
IC 13
weekdays
toward Maastricht
TerminusIC 13
weekends
toward Maastricht
toward Quiévrain
IC 14
weekdays
Terminus
IC 18
weekdays
Terminus
toward Mons
IC 25
weekdays
toward 
toward 
IC 25
weekends
toward 
toward 
IC 33
toward Luxembourg
toward Namur
L 01Terminus
toward 
L 15
toward 
toward 
L 17
toward Verviers-Centraal
toward 
L 21
weekdays
Terminus
toward Landen
L 21
weekends
Terminus
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Location
Liège-Guillemins is located in Belgium
Liège-Guillemins
Liège-Guillemins
Location in Belgium

Liège-Guillemins railway station (French: Gare de Liège-Guillemins, Dutch: Station Luik-Guillemins, IATA code: XHN) is the main station of the city of Liège, the third largest city in Belgium. It is one of the most important hubs in the country and is one of the 4 Belgian stations on the high-speed rail network. The station is used by 15,000[1] people every day which makes it the eleventh busiest station in Belgium and the third in Wallonia.

History[]

In the 1970s.
In 1905.

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 of Liège-Guillemins was inaugurated in May 1842, linking the valley to the upper Ans station. In 1843, the first international railway connection was born, linking Liège to Aachen and Cologne.

The station was modernised and improved in 1882 and in 1905 for the World's Fair in Liège. This Beaux-Arts station was replaced in 1958 by a "modern" International style building that was used until June 2009, a few months before the opening of the new Calatrava-designed station. The second station was completely demolished to allow the completion of the remaining sections of the new station.

New station[]

inside view (2013)

At the end of the 20th century high speed trains were introduced, requiring a new station since the existing platforms were too small. The new station, by the architect Santiago Calatrava, was officially opened on 18 September 2009, with a show by Franco Dragone. It has 9 tracks and 5 platforms (three of 450 m and two of 350 m). All the tracks around the station have been modernised to allow high speed arrival and departure.

The new station is made of steel, glass and white concrete. It includes a monumental arch, 160 metres long and 32 metres high.

The building costs were €312 million.

Services[]

Liège-Guillemins station is served by InterCity (IC), Local (L), and Liège RER (S) trains connecting Liège with all major Belgian cities as well as several international destinations such as Aachen, Lille, and Maastricht. In addition to the national trains, Liège-Guillemins station welcomes Thalys and ICE trains, connecting Liège to Brussels, Paris, Aachen, Cologne and Frankfurt. Two new dedicated high-speed tracks were built: HSL 2 (Brussels - Liège) and HSL 3 (Liège - German border).

The station is served by the following services:[2]

  • High speed services (Thalys) Paris - Brussels - Liège - Aachen - Cologne - Düsseldorf - Essen - Dortmund
  • High speed services (ICE) Brussels - Liège - Aachen - Cologne - Frankfurt
  • Intercity services (IC-01) Ostend - Bruges - Gent - Brussels - Leuven - Liège - Welkenraedt - Eupen
  • Intercity services (IC-09) Antwerp - Lier - Aarschot - Hasselt - Liège (weekends)
  • Intercity services (IC-12) Kortrijk - Gent - Brussels - Leuven - Liège - Welkenraedt (weekdays)
  • Intercity services (IC-14) Quiévrain - Mons - Braine-le-Comte - Brussels - Leuven - Liège (weekdays)
  • Intercity services (IC-18) (Tournai -) Brussels - Namur - Liège (weekdays)
  • Intercity services (IC-25) Mons - Charleroi - Namur - Huy - Liège - Herstal (weekdays)
  • Intercity services (IC-25) Mouscron - Tournai - Mons - Charleroi - Namur - Liège - Liers (weekends)
  • Intercity services (IC-33) Liège - Gouvy - Troisvierges - Luxembourg (weekdays)
  • Intercity services (IC-33) Liers - Liège - Gouvy - Troisvierges - Luxembourg (weekends)
  • Local services (L-01) Namur - Huy - Liège
  • Local services (L-15) Liers - Liège - Rivage - Marloie
  • S services (S41) Liège - Pepinster - Verviers (weekdays)
  • S services (S41) Herstal - Liège - Pepinster - Verviers (weekends)
  • S services (S42) Liers - Liège - Seraing - Flémalle-Haute
  • S services (S43) Hasselt - Tongeren - Liège - Visé - Maastricht (weekdays)
  • S services (S43) Liège - Visé - Maastricht (weekends)
  • S services (S44) Liège - Ans - Waremme (weekdays)
  • S services (S44) Liège - Ans - Waremme - Landen (weekends)

Liège-Guillemins also sees various Peak (P) trains during the week.

The national trains to Brussels also use the high speed track at 200 km/h, while the Thalys and ICE can go up to 300 km/h (bringing Brussels at only 39' minutes from Liège).[3]

Road connections[]

Liège-Guillemins is also a transport hub for TEC Bus: more than 1620 buses, carrying 15,000 people, serve the station every day. It is one of the few railway stations in Europe directly connected to a motorway (E40-E25). The connection gives direct access to the 850-place parking structure, behind the station.[4] No cycling path connection exists between the station and the city.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ (xls) SNCB Mobility. "Reizigerstellingen 2009" (in Dutch).
  2. ^ "Download the timetable leaflets for IC trains | SNCB". www.belgiantrain.be. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  3. ^ Emeric Massaut [@emassaut] (4 September 2012). "t.co/llDePao6" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ "Liège Guillemins - P1 : Parking Gare". Retrieved 20 October 2012.

External links[]

Media related to Liège-Guillemins train station at Wikimedia Commons

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