This is what Kortrijk’s new station building and square will look like, work will take 10 years

The new station hall under the tracks and platforms functions as a 19-metre-wide and 100-metre-long connecting corridor for pedestrians between the two bicycle sheds and between the bus and train platforms. The hall also ensures that pedestrians and cyclists can get from Stationsplein and Tolstraat to Minister Tacklaan and Bloemistenstraat and vice versa. The new underground car park is also connected to the station hall.

Elevated platforms

The platforms themselves will be raised by 45 centimetres, to a height of 75 centimeters above the tracks, to make it easy to get on and off the train. An awning above the tracks provides shelter while waiting. It is finished with wood and a transparent plastic. It has a span of 80 meters and is 17 meters above ground level at the Stationsplein at its highest point.

Station square

The Stationsplein becomes greener and slopes down to the travel center of the station. There is room for terraces. The city and De Lijn will work out the details later.

Bus station

There will also be an underground bicycle shed for 3,000 bicycles. And a new bus station with a spacious, accessible and wheelchair-friendly platform and real-time information boards. The platform is equipped with an awning.

Timing and price tag

The preparatory works will start in the autumn of 2025. In the spring of 2026, platforms 7 and 8 will be the first to go. It will take about 8.5 years to renew all platforms and roofs. Meanwhile, the construction of the square will also start. The realization of the tunnel and the bicycle parking in the Minister Tacklaan and the Bloemistenstraat will be completed in 2027. The redevelopment of the Stationsplein, the Tolstraat and the Doornikselaan will be the last to be done. The new station is scheduled to open in 2034.

The price tag of the entire project is 90 million euros. The largest part is paid by the NMBS, but the city of Kortrijk itself also pays about 18 million euros.