Station Sint Gillis-Waas

The 'Chemin de Fer International de Malines à Terneuzen' was founded in 1868.

In less than three years, railway tracks were built and the stations built so that the railway could be festively opened in the summer of 1871. In 1966, Sint-Gillis-Waas station was a permanent stop along the Mechelen-Terneuzen railway line (MT) for many years.

The first passenger trains stopped successively in Mechelen, Hombeek, Blaasveld, Willebroek, Puur, Bornem, Temse, Sint-Niklaas, Sint-Gillis-Waas, De Klinge, Hulst, Axel, Sluiskil and Terneuzen.

The railway ran through the open field, which meant that in most villages there had to be a supply road to the station. Also in Sint-Gillis-Waas, a part of the former Tybaertstraat had to be paved in a hurry to ensure easy access to the station. This new cobblestone road was soon given the appropriate name 'Statiestraat'. The number of travellers has remained relatively modest over the years. On average, the inhabitants of Sint Gillis could take the train to Sint-Niklaas or Hulst ten times a day. Extra trains were used for special celebrations and fairs. The movement of goods was of great importance for the revenues of the private railway company. Coal and iron ore were unloaded in the port of Terneuzen and then transported to Germany via the railway. Masses of sugar beet and other agricultural products were also transported. The devastation of the First World War caused society problems for the first time, but the good economic situation in the twenties of the last century ensured a rapid recovery. In the station of Sint-Gillis-Waas, wagons with logs were mainly unloaded during this period. The flourishing of the clamping industry meant that sometimes more than ten wagons were on the unloading quay at the same time. The station was not suitable for so much activity. In 1926, the local merchants and industrious people set up a petition with the aim of obtaining the enlargement of the Statie van Sint Gillis. The too small station caused a loss of time and, according to the petition, also posed a constant danger. The unfortunate death of Verrebroekenaar Pulaert Mets in 1926 proved that loading and unloading was indeed not without danger.

In 1928, the Mechelen-Terneuzen Company accepted the request to enlarge the station. The station's heyday was already numbered. After all, the economic crisis of 1933 had a major impact on freight traffic and the private railway company ran into problems. The Second World War dealt the final blow. Plagued by severe financial distress, the company went into liquidation in 1948. The national railways of the Netherlands and Belgium had to take over the line. On 18 May 1952, the curtain fell on eighty years of passenger traffic when the last passenger train ran from Hulst to Sint-Niklaas. The city council's request to keep passenger trains during peak hours was rejected. Only in the harsh winter of 1962-1963 did the train return between De Klinge and Sint-Niklaas. Freight traffic survived until 1975, but was reduced to a minimum. The demolition of the station in 1966 was a logical consequence of this decline.

drumont