Leuven railway station ( nl, Station Leuven, french: Gare de Louvain), officially Leuven, is the main
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
in
Leuven
Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...
,
Flemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant ( nl, Vlaams-Brabant ; french: Brabant flamand ) is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Haina ...
, Belgium. The station is operated by the
National Railway Company of Belgium
french: Société nationale des chemins de fer belgesgerman: Nationale Gesellschaft der Belgischen Eisenbahnen
, type = Statutory corporation
, industry = Rail Transport
, foundation = 1926
, founder = Government of ...
(NMBS/SNCB) and is located on
railway line 36. In 2007, it was the fifth-busiest station in Belgium, only preceded by the three main Brussels stations and
Gent-Sint-Pieters railway station
Gent-Sint-Pieters railway station ( nl, Station Gent-Sint-Pieters, french: Gare de Gand-Saint-Pierre), officially Gent-Sint-Pieters, is the main railway station in Ghent, East Flanders, Belgium, and the fourth-busiest in Belgium and busiest in Fl ...
.
The station recently underwent extensive and costly renovations lasting several years. The station square houses a major bus terminal as well as extensive bicycle parking and car parking. The station includes a tunnel which passes underneath the station for pedestrians as well as an overhead bridge with elevators. The station is fully accessible for wheelchairs.
While a
high-speed line passes through the station, Leuven is not a stop on any high-speed route. Current expansion is limited because the station has reached the maximum set of rail and platforms possible, meaning any further expansion would require building an underground segment.
Train services
The station is served by the following services:
*Intercity services (IC-01) ''Ostend - Bruges - Ghent - Brussels - Leuven - Liege - Welkenraedt - Eupen''
*Intercity services (IC-03) ''Knokke/Blankenberge - Bruges - Ghent - Brussels - Leuven - Hasselt - Genk''
*Intercity services (IC-08) ''Antwerp - Mechelen - Brussels Airport - Leuven - Hasselt''
*Intercity services (IC-09) ''Antwerp - Lier - Aarschot - Leuven'' (weekdays)
*Intercity services (IC-12) ''Kortrijk - Ghent - Brussels - Leuven - Liege - Welkenraedt'' (weekdays)
*Intercity services (IC-14) ''Quiévrain - Mons - Braine-le-Comte - Brussels - Leuven - Liege'' (weekdays)
*Intercity services (IC-21) ''Ghent - Dendermonde - Mechelen - Leuven'' (weekdays)
*Intercity services (IC-29) ''De Panne - Ghent - Aalst - Brussels - Brussels Airport - Leuven - Landen''
*Local services (L-03) ''Leuven - Aarschot - Diest - Hasselt'' (weekends)
*Local services (L-20) ''Sint-Niklaas – Mechelen – Leuven'' (weekdays)
*Local services (L-20) ''Mechelen - Leuven'' (weekends)
*Local services (L-23) ''Antwerp - Lier - Aarschot - Leuven''
*Brussels RER services (S2) ''Braine-le-Comte - Halle - Brussels - Leuven''
*Brussels RER services (S9) ''Braine-l'Alleud - Etterbeek - Brussels-Luxembourg - Leuven'' (weekdays, peak hours only)''
*Brussels RER services (S20) ''Leuven - Wavre - Ottignies''
Accidents and incidents
*On 18 February 2017, a passenger train was derailed near Leuven. One person was killed and 27 were injured.
See also
*
List of railway stations in Belgium
This is a list of the busiest railway stations in Belgium sorted by the average number of passengers boarding daily on weekdays in 2014. The province is also listed, unless the station lies within the Brussels-Capital Region and therefore does not ...
References
External links
Belgian Railways website for Leuven
{{Authority control
Railway stations in Belgium
Railway stations in Flemish Brabant
Buildings and structures in Leuven