Oostende railway station explained

Oostende
Type:Railway Station
Symbol:rail
Symbol Location:be
Style:Belgium Railway
Address:Natiënkaai,
8400 Ostend
Country:Belgium
Coordinates:51.2289°N 2.9258°W
Line:50A, Kusttram
Platform:5
Tracks:8
Electrified:3 kV DC overhead on NMBS and 600 V DC overhead on the Kusttram.
Owned:NMBS/SNCB
Operator:NMBS/SNCB
Iata:ZGJ
Map Type:Belgium#Europe
Embedded:
Stroke-Colour:
  1. C60C30
Stroke-Width:3
Marker:rail-underground
Marker-Colour:
  1. 009D58
Zoom:15

Oostende railway station (Dutch; Flemish: Station Oostende; French: Gare d'Ostende) is a railway station in Ostend, West Flanders, Belgium. It is operated by the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB).[1]

History

The first station in Ostend was opened in 1838 during the reign of King Leopold I on the former Belgian railway line 62 to Torhout and is now a supermarket.

The current station was opened in 1913 during the reign of King Albert I. It is designed to connect trains and ferries and is built with Scottish granite, bluestone from Soignies and limestone from Euville. It is constructed in a neoclassical style inspired by the French 18th-century architect François Mansart and the Louis XVI style.

The station was served by a daily Thalys high-speed rail service to Paris between 1998 and 31 March 2015.[2]

Train services

Oostende railway station is a major hub on the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB) network with frequent InterCity trains serving Brugge railway station, Gent-Sint-Pieters, Brussels-South and Liège-Guillemins on Belgian railway line 50A. Connecting InterCity trains run to Antwerpen and Kortrijk.

The station is served by the following services:[3]

Kusttram

Ostend is a major hub on the Kusttram, which is the coastal tramway run by De Lijn.

Former ferries

Regie voor Maritiem Transport used to run services connecting to the Port of Dover connecting with Network SouthEast trains from Dover Western Docks to London Victoria and London Charing Cross stations. These ceased in 1994. In the past, ferries operated to Folkestone Harbour connecting with Folkestone Harbour station boat trains to London Victoria and London Charing Cross.

See also

References

Citations

Notes and References

  1. Web site: OOSTENDE . 2023-11-06 . www.belgianrail.be.
  2. News: Thalys doet laatste keer Oostende en Namen aan. NL. Dries De. Smet. De Standaard.
  3. http://mobility-brochures.b-rail.be/nl/ic-brochures Belgian railways timetable brochures