Brussels-Schuman railway station (french: Gare de Bruxelles-Schuman, nl, Station Brussel-Schuman), officially Brussels-Schuman (french: Bruxelles-Schuman, link=no, nl, Brussel-Schuman, link=no), is a

railway 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 ...

station in the City of Brussels, Belgium, serving the European Quarter. It received its name from the area around the

Robert Schuman Roundabout The Robert Schuman Roundabout (french: Rond-point Robert Schuman, nl, Robert Schumanplein), sometimes called Robert Schuman Square, is a roundabout at the end of the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat in Brussels, Belgium, that serves as a focus for m ...

, itself named after Robert Schuman. Underneath Brussels-Schuman is the

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...

Schuman station on lines 1 and 5 of the

Brussels Metro The Brussels Metro (french: Métro de Bruxelles, nl, Brusselse metro) is a rapid transit system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It consists of four conventional metro lines and three ''premetro'' lines. The me ...

system, which serves as an important node of the Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company ( STIB/MIVB).

History

The original railway line through the station site ran between Brussels-Luxembourg and Brussels-North and was opened on 23 October 1856, though no station was provided. In about 1865, the ''Grande Compagnie du Luxembourg'' received subsidies from the state to open stations on the line, by that point surrounded by rapid housing development, and opened a halt called Bruxelles (Rue de la Loi), on a site now occupied by part of the

Berlaymont building The Berlaymont () is an office building in Brussels, Belgium, which houses the headquarters of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The structure is located on the Robert Schuman Roundabout at 200, rue de l ...

. The station was closed around 1920. The site was identified as a future rail and metro connection during the planning and construction of the

Berlaymont The Berlaymont () is an office building in Brussels, Belgium, which houses the headquarters of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The structure is located on the Robert Schuman Roundabout at 200, rue de l ...

and

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...

buildings, and opened for rail and ''

premetro A premetro is a tramway or light railway which includes segments built to rapid transit standards, generally as part of a process of conversion to a metro-standards railway usually by the construction of tunnels in the central city area. Hist ...

'' (underground tram) services on 17 December 1969. The ''premetro'' trams were replaced by the new

on 20 September 1976. From 2008 to 2016, the railway station (and the metro station) underwent major renovation works, increasing the station's capacity by two extra tracks. These connect to a

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

to the old Schaerbeek-Josaphat station (and marshalling yard) on line 26, in order to offer direct quick connections to Antwerp, Leuven and Brussels Airport. With this third connection, the station has become one of Brussels' largest. Its new glass roof allows more daylight into the station. File:Schuman ground renos 2011.jpg, Above ground works, during winter 2011. The Europa building is under construction in the background. File:Schuman Station 2015.JPG, Looking into the new tunnel with the newly laid tracks in January 2015 File:Bruxelles-Schuman.jpg, Test train on the new tracks crossing the metro hall in October 2015

Rail

The rail station (called ''Bruxelles-Schuman/Brussel-Schuman'') is an elevated station, though its north-eastern end is "underground" as it enters a hillside. Its ticket office is located immediately next to the metro station; at one end of the railway station platforms, a stairway leads down to the /, coming out close to

Maelbeek/Maalbeek metro station Maelbeek ( French, former Dutch spelling) or Maalbeek (Dutch, ) is a Brussels Metro station in the City of Brussels, Belgium. Its name originates from the Maalbeek stream. The station opened as a ''premetro'' (underground tram) station on 1 ...

. Trains travelling between

Brussels-South railway station Brussels-South railway station (french: Gare de Bruxelles-Midi, nl, Station Brussel-Zuid, IATA code: ZYR), officially Brussels-South (french: Bruxelles-Midi, link=no, nl, Brussel-Zuid, link=no), is a major railway station in Brussels, Belgium ...

and Namur and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

call at the station. 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 o ...

(NMBS/SNCB)'s code for the station is FBSM. A new

was opened in April 2016 between Brussels-Schuman and Meiser, providing direct connections to Brussels Airport and stations on the Greater Ring of Brussels.

Train services

The station is served by the following service(s): *Intercity services (IC-16) Brussels - Namur - Arlon - Luxembourg *Intercity services (IC-17) Brussels Airport - Brussels-Luxembourg - Namur - Dinant (weekdays) *Intercity services (IC-17) Brussels - Namur - Dinant (weekends) *Intercity services (IC-18) Brussels - Namur - Liege (weekdays) *Intercity services (IC-27) Brussels Airport - Brussels-Luxembourg - Nivelles - Charleroi (weekdays) *Brussels RER services (S4) ''Aalst - Denderleeuw - Brussels-Luxembourg (- Etterbeek - Merode - Vilvoorde)'' (weekdays) *Brussels RER services (S5) ''Mechelen - Brussels-Luxembourg - Etterbeek - Halle - Enghien (- Geraardsbergen)'' (weekdays) *Brussels RER services (S8) ''Brussels - Etterbeek - Ottignies - Louvain-la-Neuve'' *Brussels RER services (S9) ''Leuven - Brussels-Luxembourg - Etterbeek - Braine-l'Alleud'' (weekdays, peak hours only) *Brussels RER services (S81) ''Schaarbeek - Brussels-Luxembourg - Etterbeek - Ottignies'' (weekdays, peak hours only)

Area

This station is in the centre of Brussels' European Quarter, being adjacent to the

(headquarters of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

), the

Justus Lipsius building The Justus Lipsius building, located in Brussels, Belgium, was the headquarters of the Council of the European Union from 1995, and the ''de facto'' home of the European Council from 2002 (''de jure'' as of 2004), until their relocation to the a ...

(used to hold low-level meetings of the

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...

and provide office space to the Council's Secretariat) and numerous other EU offices. It is named after the area around the

, which was itself named after Robert Schuman, one of the

founding fathers of the European Union The founding fathers of the European Union are men who are considered to be major contributors to European unity and the development of what is now the European Union. The number and list of the founding fathers of the EU varies depending on the ...

, the Council of Europe and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. It lies beneath the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, a major city thoroughfare, and is close to the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark.

References

Notes

External links

A peek on the future Schuman Station - December 9, 2007
ifrancis blog

{{Railway stations in Brussels Railway stations in Brussels European quarter of Brussels Railway stations opened in 1969 City of Brussels