Liège-Guillemins |
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Liège-Guillemins train station is the main station of the city of Liège, in eastern Belgium.It is one of the most important hubs in the country and it is directly connected to the high-speed train network. The station is used by 36,000 people every day.
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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 train 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 modernized and improved in 1882 and in 1905 for the World Fair in Liège. This station was replaced in 1958 by a modern (for that time) one that was used until June 2007, a few months before the opening of the new Calatrava designed station.
New station
The new station by the architect Santiago Calatrava is currently being built. The inauguration is planned for the end of 2008. It has 9 tracks and 5 platforms (three of 450m and two of 350m). All the tracks around the station have been modernized to allow high speed arrival and departure.
The new station is made of steel, glass and white concrete. It includes a monumental dome 200 metres long and 35 metres high.
High speed trains
In addition to the national traffic, Liège-Guillemins station welcomes Thalys and ICE trains, connecting Liège to Brussels, Paris, Aachen, Cologne and Frankfurt. Two new dedicated high-speed tracks have been built : HSL 2 (Brussels-Liège) and HSL 3 (Liège-German border).
There are also plans for Eurostar and ICE to link directly Liège to London [1]
Road Connections
Liège-Guillemins is also a transportation hub for TEC Bus: more than 1,620 buses carrying 15,000 people serve the station everyday. It is one of the rare train station in Europe directly connected to the highway network (E40-E25).
References
- ^ London to Cologne though Liège : http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21797078/
See also
- National Railway Company of Belgium
- Rail transport in Belgium
- High-speed rail in Belgium
- List of TGV stations