Source: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2008.
The Antwerp Centraal train station, completed in 1905, is considered to be among the world’s most architecturally impressive. However, due to increased ridership and well as the setting of a high-speed train system along the Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam corridor (Thalys), the station was increasingly inadequate. The renovations of the train station, completed in 2007, addressed two issues. The first was a shortage of boarding platforms, which was expanded by providing three levels (two underground) with a total of 16 quays. The second was that Antwerp was a dead-end spur with bay platforms, implying that trains had to reverse back to the mainline to continue intercity services, which created additional delays. A tunnel servicing the lowest level was constructed and through platforms enabling a continuous intercity service along the high-speed rail corridor.