Experience

City of Antwerp banks on new Federal Government Agreement to make reopening of Antwerp-Linkeroever Railway Station possible

Posted by Timothy on

City of Antwerp Alderman for Mobility Koen Kennis (N-VA) reads into to the Federal Government Agreement 2025-2029 the possibility of reopening Antwerp-Linkeroever or Left Bank as a railway station. 

The previous federal Minister of Mobility, Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) ruled this out, but there’s a new sheriff in town, Minister of Climate, Mobility and Ecologic Transition is Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés).

In the Government Agreement

“The stops will be adapted to the evolution of actual and potential demand, with the possibility of opening new stops where large concentrations of new housing have developed”, the Government Agreement on the NMBS / SNCB and the railways, states. 

“The railways are the backbone of public transport that moves the masses over longer distances on busy lines. We are paying extra attention to a suburban network in urban areas.”

These excerpts from the Federal Government Agreement sound as music to the ears of Alderman Koen Kennis. They are all arguments that the city council has already put on the table to put the abandoned station on the industrial zone of the Katwilgweg back into use. They are not only in the Route Plan 2030, but also in the Strategic Spatial Plan Antwerp (SRA).

However, Antwerp’s request fell on deaf ears with the previous federal Minister of Mobility Georges Gilkinet. 

Koen Kennis now hopes to be heard by the new federal Minister of Mobility Jean-Luc Crucke.

“The paragraph on the railways is not only important for the commissioning of the station on Linkeroever, but also for a train station at the Blue Gate industrial estate, in the south of the city”, Kennis tells Gazet van Antwerpen.

It is clear that whoever held the pen when writing this paragraph knew what Antwerp needed. The coalition agreement offers starting points to discuss with the new Minister of Mobility. Although the opening of this station will not be tomorrow.”

The station is currently in a dilapidated state. The train stop was in use between 1970 and 1984. In the meantime, Linkeroever has changed thoroughly, with the arrival of the residential area Regatta, among other things. The station, which could also connect to the park-and-ride on Linkeroever, increases the capacity of the Scheldt crossing. This is important for the planned works on the pre-metro tunnel under the Scheldt.

Sceptic experts 

The idea of reopening Antwerp-Linkeroever resurfaces every few years as a potential solution to Antwerp’s mobility issues. In 2019, Christian Leysen and Willem-Frederik Schiltz of Open Vld proposed it, and in 2023 Koen Kennis also revived the suggestion.

De Lijn needs to undertake a full renovation of the outdated tram infrastructure beneath the Scheldt. The timeline for these works and their duration remain uncertain, but during this period, trams 3, 5, 9, and 15 will likely be unable to operate between both banks. 

During a municipal council committee on mobility in 2023, Alderman Kennis stated that he had written to NMBS / SNCB , requesting the temporary reopening of Antwerp-Linkeroever Railway Station as an alternative transport option.

The station, however, is not conveniently located. It is situated on the industrial estate of Katwilgweg, approximately a 30-minute walk from the Van Eeden Premetro Station in the centre of Linkeroever. At present, accessing it legally is nearly impossible without significant risk, as reaching the station requires crossing the busy connecting road between the E17 and E34 motorways, where traffic consists largely of heavy goods vehicles.

Fourteen years

The station operated for only fourteen years, from 1970 to 1984. Before the J.F. Kennedy Tunnel was built, there was no train connection under the Scheldt, and passengers travelling west had to take a ferry across the river. At that time, a station on Linkeroever, near the present-day Galgenweellaan, provided train services to Waasland, Ghent, and the coast.

Following the construction of the Kennedy Tunnel and the motorway, the railway route changed, running between Galgenweel and Burchtse Weel, away from populated areas, and curving west at Katwilgweg. At that time, the Regatta district did not yet exist, and the area had few businesses, one of which was the publishing house of Gazet van Antwerpen.

For many former employees of Gazet van Antwerpen, the station provided a convenient commute between the city and their workplace. The train service continued towards Sint-Niklaas (Saint-Nicolas, Saint Nicholas), stopping at smaller stations along the route. 

Public transport expert Herman Welter recalls that footballer Jean-Marie Pfaff also used the service, commuting to his job at the Post Office in Antwerp Central’s underground levels. After working night shifts, he would travel in the same compartment as Gazet van Antwerpen employees and disembark later in Beveren.

Despite its usefulness to a limited number of workers, the station had low passenger numbers. During the transport network reforms of the 1980s, Antwerp-Linkeroever was among many stations closed due to low demand, with fewer than 200 passengers per day.

Today, the station has been abandoned for nearly forty years. The platforms remain on either side of the tracks but are heavily overgrown with weeds, brambles, and various wild plants. The area is littered with debris, and the stairs leading to the platforms are obscured by dense vegetation. The bridge spanning the tracks, once providing access between platforms, is still present but covered in faded graffiti.

Frequent train services operate on Line 59, with two local trains and three intercity trains running in each direction per hour. 

According to Herman Welter, the idea of reopening the station is unrealistic. He argues that the existing train schedule is already at full capacity and that adding another stop would reduce overall efficiency.

Zwijndrecht Railway Station is located just 1.5 kilometres further along the line, raising further questions about the necessity of reopening Antwerp-Linkeroever. 

Welter also notes that aside from employees at Mediahuis and nearby businesses, there would be few regular passengers.

 For most Linkeroever residents outside the Regatta district, the station is inconveniently located. Additionally, the cost of rebuilding the platforms and ensuring accessibility would be significant, especially for what would only be a temporary measure during the tram works.

On the look of Antwerp