A new use is being sought for the vacant space of Plopsa Station, located at the rear of Antwerp-Central Railway Station. Belgium‘s national train operator NMBS / SNCB owns the space and says it is open to all ideas. For Antwerp’s Alderman for Tourism and Mobility, Koen Kennis (N-VA), this opens the door to an international transport hub, allowing the Eurostar to London to stop in Antwerp as well, with a check-in zone similar to that at Brussels-South. But we at Trip By Trip don’t see it that happening, and we’re not alone.

Amusement park Plopsa Station closed its doors on 4 January 2026 after four years of operation. The indoor theme park at Antwerp-Central attracted too few visitors. NMBS / SNCB is now looking for a new purpose for the 5,878-square-metre space, spread over four floors.

500,000 travellers

We are open to all ideas, NMBS / SNCB spokesperson Dimitri Temmerman told Het Laatste Nieuws. At the end of last year, the Belgian railway operator launched a project call on our website. Anyone with an idea or project for the space can submit it to us until 25 March. “After that, the proposals will be assessed and we will decide which function we want to give the space. Through a market consultation, we will then actively look for a partner.”

Although the two previous uses closed after disappointing results, with Comics Station also failing to survive there, NMBS / SNCB believes in the potential of the location. It is strategically located on the Mediaplein and inside the station, where almost 500,000 passengers pass through every week.

Eurostar to London

However, alderman Koen Kennis fears that the layout of the building stands in the way of a commercial use.

Kennis therefore has his own idea for the site. Turn it into an international hub, where passengers can easily board international trains. The Eurostar to London could then stop there, with a check-in facility similar to Brussels-South.

Currently, passengers in Antwerp can take the Eurostar to Paris in France; Rotterdam Central, Schiphol Airport and Amsterdam Central in the Netherlands. Those are the former Thalys connections. 

From September, Deutsche Bahn‘s will run an ICE service to Cologne. Or, to be more accurate, it will run a Cologne-to-Antwerp service. The difference? The schedule favours Germany-to-Belgium trips. Which completely understandable. 

Night trains already run to Berlin and Prague in Czechia, and from June there will also be a service to Milan in Italy via Switzerland. 

If Antwerp were to become an international hub, the alderman argues, all international passenger traffic could be concentrated there. This would also include a stop for the Eurostar to London, which can currently only be boarded at Brussels-South.

Outside Schengen

At present, Brussels-South is the only Belgian station where passengers can take the train to London.

The Eurostar to London calls at Brussels and Amsterdam, but not at Antwerp because the necessary infrastructure is not in place, says Kennis.

This has been discussed with NMBS / SNCB in the past, but the idea was rejected at the time. Now that this space has become available, it seems like an excellent opportunity to turn Antwerp-Central into a relevant international railway station. Eurostar’s management has already expressed interest.

In response to Kennis’s proposal, NMBS / SNCB briefly stated that all ideas will be examined. The final decision on the future use of the space rests with NMBS / SNCB.

It’s not going to happen because…

The City of Antwerp would love the Amsterdam to London Eurostar to include Antwerp-Central Railway Station as a stop. The 2025-2030 Government Agreement says so. But independent railway commentator Jon Worth doesn’t see it happening. 

Objective #36 of the 025-2030 Government Agreement states: “Together with the Transport Region, we are expanding our position as Urban Node within the European TEN-T network. We are committed to attracting European funds in the context of the subsidy calls, together with Lantis, the executive arm of the Transport Region. We are seeking coordination with neighbouring regions on cross-border mobility such as freight transport and international (freight) trains. We continue to insist on providing a terminal for the Eurostar to London in Antwerp-Central and opening the IC-Snel between Amsterdam and Brussels for domestic transport in order to guarantee a good train connection with Brussels.”

In his November 2025 #CrossChannelRail Final Report, Worth addresses Antwerp. “Eurostar trains from Amsterdam pass through the low level of this amazing station without stopping, but it is hard to see how the station could be adapted – you would need to put permanent barriers along the platforms, and somehow find a way to get passengers to those platforms – it is not obvious how this could easily be done. Plus with Brussels just 40 minutes away, the case for doing so looks quite weak – just go to Brussels and change.”

Why is all this needed? The United Kingdom is not a part of the Schengen Area and never has been. So you need passport controls.

Footing the bill

Turning Antwerp-Central into a ‘Eurostar Blue‘ stop is not completely impossible, Jon Worth told Trip By Trip in December 2025. “Antwerp-Central is just about plausible. You could put a barrier along one of the low level platforms (platform 3 at Brussels-Midi or Bordeaux St. John style), but I cannot work out how you would get people down to that platform securely. There are the southern staircases that you could perhaps deploy, but then where would the terminal for passport controls be? So it’s all just about plausible, but not easy.”

And who is going to pay for that? For the necessary changes to the station, but also for British officials to be stationed there. And Belgian border personnel. 

It all just sounds too much like a tunnel pipe dream to us. But, who knows, we may be proven wrong. 

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