Ghent Sint-Peters

Station Gent-Sint-Pieters is the most important railway station in the city of Ghent and the fourth busiest station in Belgium, after the Brussels stations South, Central, and North (figures from 2014 and 2015). It was built in 1912 to the south of the old city center in preparation for the World Expo of 1913. The station has twelve tracks and six platforms, which will be fully renewed by 2022 as part of the Project Gent-Sint-Pieters. The number of passengers has grown significantly in recent years; approximately 56,000 passengers use the station daily.

History Already in the late 1830s, the area south of Ghent was intersected east-west by the Brussels-Ostend railway line. The first station in the city was the Station Gent-Zuid, a terminal station in the city center. On the Brussels-Ostend line, a small stop was established south of the city between 1889 and 1890, the so-called "Klein Sint-Pietersstation," a passing station several hundred meters eastward from the later Sint-Pietersstation, located at the height of the current Parkplein.

At the beginning of the 20th century, plans were made to urbanize this area of the Sint-Pieters-Aaigem district south of the historical city center, and a new station was also planned here. This urbanization was somewhat postponed in light of the Ghent World Expo of 1913, which also stimulated the development of the new station. The design of the station was commissioned to engineer Louis Cloquet around 1908. He gave the station a monumental appearance. The station was built along the tracks from 1910 to 1912. The façade was oriented northward towards the new station square (Koningin Maria Hendrikaplein) that was constructed in 1912-1913. The tracks were placed on an elevated embankment to bridge the waterways and avoid level crossings.

The tower

Characteristic clock tower Station Gent-Sint-Pieters has a characteristic clock tower that is asymmetrically placed in relation to the main entrance, similar to the tower of the old post office at the Korenmarkt, which was designed by the same architect (Louis Cloquet).

In 1975, it was discovered that the tower was leaning. In 1999, during the renovation of the station building, it was noted that the tower was leaning even more. Only in 2005 did it become clear how dramatic the state of the tower was: it leaned thirty centimeters, among other reasons, because the internal metal support had warped and was completely rusted. Obviously, the tower was no longer water and moisture resistant. The old bricks were also no longer moisture and frost resistant, which is why it was decided to dismantle the tower stone by stone and rebuild it in reinforced concrete with an outer layer of brick that closely resembles the original stones. The new tower (copy of the old one) was constructed during the summer of 2006.

The hall

Station hall The hall of the station is adorned with wall and ceiling paintings. The murals depict scenes that are supposed to represent various Belgian cities; visitors to the World Expo of 1913 could thus also get to know the rest of Belgium. This includes Ostend, Antwerp, Brussels, Bruges, Courtrai, Oudenaarde, Ypres, and Mechelen.

From Gent-Sint-Pieters, railway lines 50 to Brussels-North, 50A to Brussels-South, Bruges, and Ostend, and 75 to Lille run. Trains on lines 58 to Eeklo and 59 to Antwerp also depart from this station.

Thalys Since March 31, 2015, the Thalys has been discontinued between Ostend and Brussels. Too few passengers were transported, resulting in substantial losses. Ostend received the Thalys connection in 1997 because one was also established in Wallonia. This was due to the waffle iron policy in Belgium.

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