Liège-Guillemins Station
As I wandered my way back to Brussels for the Eurostar, I just had to stop of at Liège-Guillemins station and take some pictures.
Is there another station like it in the world? This Google Map shows the layout.
It is a design by Santiago Calatrava. Let’s hope that the Belgians did a good job on building this station. In 2007, I saw some of his buildings in Valencia and the concrete hadn’t worn well!
The totally new station cost €312million, which compares with £500million for the restoration and extension of Kings Cross station. Compare these figures with the reported £44million for the restoration of Manchester Victoria station, the complete reconstruction of Reading and Birmingham New Street stations.
Direct comparisons are difficult, but I cam’t help feeling, that in terms of cost, Manchester Victoria station is out of line with the others. It just shows that god design is often cheaper than bad.
One difference between the British projects and Liège-Guillemins station, is that the British ones are or were updating of existing stations, whereas the Belgian one was a new station built a short distance away.
Perhaps in some ways, to combine rebuilding with moving the station is a better plan, as both Reading and Birmingham New Street could be thought expensive compared to Liège-Guillemins.
So with all the problems there have been during the rebuilding of London Bridge station, would it have been better to have put the rail lines through in an optimal manner for operational purposes and perhaps created a new station further South.
London Bridge station was and still is a difficult problem, but hopefully it’ll be spot on when it opens.
Through The Ardennes
I hadn’t thought I’d see much, but the route through the Ardennes was rather pretty.
The train was a single-decker, as the pictures show.
A Station With An Attached Chapel And Hotel
Cologne station is one of those stations, which is an ideal place to break a journey.
This Google Map image shows the closeness of the station, the cathedral and the river.
As Cologne from 2018 or so, a service will run direct from London, Cologne will become more important for those travelling to and from London.
The Slow Way From Wuppertal To Brussels
I had intended to get some food in Wuppertal after riding the Schwebebahn, but the town centre wasn’t very visitor friendly, due to the massive building works between the two railways. So after the Schwebebahn, I decided to get the first train to Cologne, which just happened to be an ICE.
At Cologne, I decidd it would be a good idea to take a series of slow regional trains to Brussels.
I went via Aachen and Liege, taking pictures along the way. Some like
A Station With An Attached Chapel And Hotel
The station at Liège-Guillemins
have their own posts, but others are in this gallery.
Note.
- For most of the journey, I was sitting in the top deck of the trains.
- There was nearly a serious incident in the ICE. The lobby has no grab handles and a guy about my age fell over as the train lurched. Even a much younger man didn’t like it. Health and Safety would have changed the design in the UK.
- I particularly liked the toilet lock at Aachen. You just put fifty cents in the slot and opened the door in the normal way. It wouldn’t have hindered anybody, who could walk through a normal door.
- Except for the Wuppertal to Cologne section on the ICE, it wasn’t crowded.It was a journey I’d recommend, if you have plenty of time to catch a Eurostar out of Brussels.
It was a journey I’d recommend, if you have plenty of time to catch a Eurostar out of Brussels, as Colgne, Aachen and Liege are all places to get a drink and a snack.
The Wuppertal Schwebebahn
The Schwebebahn is a unique railway in Wuppertal and is a real tribute to early twentieth century engineering. There are few railways built at that time, except ones that have been converted to modern standards, that survive. In the UK, the only thing we have in the UK is the Volk’s Electric Railway in Brighton, which is tiny and small by compsrison to the Schwebebahn. Sadly, our main entry into this group of quirky railways, the Liverpool Overhead Railway, closed in 1955.
This was my second visit. The last time in 2009, I took a video and the line has been upgraded since.
This Google Map shows how the line curves through the city above the River Wupper.
Wuppertal Stations
The Schwebebahn supports indicate where it runs and the main railway line between Cologne and Dortmund at the bottom.
Don’t go past Wuppertal, without investigating. Incidentally, it cost me €14.00 for my ticket from Wuppertal to Cologne.
At the moment though because of all the development around the station, it is not the easiest place to visit, but when it is finished Wuppertal might become a place worth visiting to ride on its unique railway, which is not a fairground ride, but a real commuter railway used by the inhabitants of Wuppertal and the surrounding area.
Long may it continue to serve Wuppertal! I shall return in 2017 or so, when the town centre is finished.
From Osnabruck To Wuppertal
This journey takes just ninety-five minutes and I paid thirty seven euros for the journey. This standard fare compares well with a similar length journey in the UK, but as we can use railcards here, the Germans also have their own system, so deals are available.
But wouldn’t it be good if all countries used the same system, so perhaps I could upgrade my Senior Railcard for selected countries for an appropriate fee. Judging by the success of the recently released Two Together railcard, a facility like this might even make money for the rail companies.
These pictures tell the story of the journey.
The train did start a few minutes late and we pulled into Wuppertal even later. But that seems to be the case on all Deutche Bahn trains, that I travel on.
The line too had been extensively graffitied and a lot of it was unfenced.
The Anonymous Widower 