Schijnpoort is an underground station in the
Antwerp premetro network. The station was named after the Schijnpoort gate, part of the
Brialmont fortifications, which was demolished in 1970 when constructing the
R1 ring road. It was opened in 1996 as part of the northern premetro axis and was originally only served by
tram route 3. Currently, it is also serviced by
tram route 5 (since 2006),
tram route 6 (since 2007) and
tram route 2 (since 2012).
Lay-out
The design of the station is characterized by the presence of large colored arrows used as signpost and the circular windows separating the escalators from the platforms.
The -1 level of the station contains an entrance hall which contains ticket offices and has exits on both sides of the Schijnpoortweg. On the -2 level lies the platform toward
Handel station, used by trams going toward the city centre. The -3 level contains the northbound platform toward
Sport station, serviced by trams going toward
Merksem
Merksem (; former spelling: ''Merxem'') is a district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It has 44,808 inhabitants as of 2021.
History
The history of Merksem goes back to Gallo-Roman times. During that peri ...
,
Luchtbal and
Deurne.
Just south of the station also lies the unused premetro tunnel under the Pothoekstraat and Kerkstraat, which now links the northern and eastern premetro tunnels. The tunnel was built in the 1970s and was to be used by tram route 3, but has, as of 2016, not yet been finished due to budgetary issues that arose during construction. It contains the also unfinished premetro stations
Stuivenberg and
Sint-Willibrordus.
Location
Schijnpoort station is situated directly underneath the Schijnpoortweg, between the
R10 "Singel" ring road, and
railway line 12. In its vicinity lie the cargo station
Antwerpen-Schijnpoort, the
Spoor Noord park and the Schijnpoort sewage treatment facility. Since 2015, the
Sinksenfoor, Antwerp's largest funfair, is annually held on the Spoor Oost terrain near the station. The fair takes six weeks in the months May and July, and had to move to the terrain from its previous standing place at the Zuiderdokken after complaints from local inhabitants led to a preliminary injunction forcing the organizers to find a different location.
References
External links
www.delijn.be the operator of all public city transport in Antwerp and Flanders.
{{Antwerp Premetro navbox
Antwerp Premetro
Railway stations opened in 1996
1996 establishments in Belgium