The new Mons train station, dubbed "the Calatrava", will open on Wednesday, the SNCB announced on Friday.
An official inauguration will take place on 31 January 2025 during the “Mons en lumières” festival. The new station is the fourth iteration of the Mons train station.
The original station, located on the current Place Léopold, was part of the Midi-line connecting Brussels and the French border via Quiévrain to Paris, and it opened on 19 December 1841.
This first building was replaced in 1874 by a new one, nearly 200 metres long. The second station was destroyed by American bombings on 10 May 1944 and was replaced by a new structure in 1952, which was closed to passengers in March 2013 and demolished three months later as part of modernisation plans.
The new SNCB railway station in Mons, Wednesday 04 December 2024. Credit: Belga / Eric Cornu
The initial project, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, was a bridge over the tracks connecting Mons’ historic centre with the new Grands Prés neighbourhood.
This concept evolved into a “station-bridge”, necessitating the demolition of the 1950s station.
Not on time
The official inauguration was scheduled for 2023, which was still eight years behind the original schedule as the project ran into various funding problems and construction delays.
According to a report by the Court of Auditors from 2022, the project was criticised for running an out-of-touch architectural competition, poorly estimated budgets and lack of monitoring.
The initial budget was €37 million, but the latest estimate announced by SNCB’s station director Patrick Couchard, is €480 million. This was announced back in November during the Mobility Commission of the Federal Parliament. The annual maintenance is estimated to cost nearly €1 million.
