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.
Channel Tunnel updates
- Trenitalia (FS Group) and Certares agree strategic partnership to expand international high-speed rail operations.
- #CROSSCHANNELRAIL | Expanding UK-Europe train links most realistically leading to Switzerland.
- CHANNEL TUNNEL | Virgin Trains gains access to Temple Mills, ORR snubs links to Germany and Switzerland.
- Eurostar unveils €2 billion Alstom ‘Celestia’ fleet of double-decker sustainable trains.
- Gemini Trains partners with Uber for Stratford to France Channel Tunnel route.
- Eurostar and St. Pancras Highspeed back major station expansion to double capacity amid growing international demand.
- EUROSTAR | London – Frankfurt, London – Geneva and Amsterdam – Antwerp – Brussels – Geneva from 2030?.
- Alstom wants its double-decker trains to ride through Channel Tunnel.
- Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS) plan to launch a new high-speed link between London and Paris.
- London St. Pancras Highspeed pledges financial support for cross-Channel rail services.
- London St Pancras Highspeed and Getlink aspire to to triple train services to France, Belgium and the Netherlands and add services to Germany and Switzerland.
- Heuro wants to operate high speeds trains between Amsterdam, Antwerp, Brussels, Paris and London from 2028.
More on night trains and transcontinental train travel
- Nox night trains: a smart new cabin concept or just an unachievable dream?.
- How firm are Eurostar and Deutsche Bahn’s “2030s” Germany to London train link plans?.
- Leo Express files plans for extraordinary 2026 Bratislava–Ostend and Venice–Northern Germany services.
- GoVolta re-emerges to offer train services from Amsterdam to Hamburg and to Berlin using Belgian I10 carriages.
- Deutsche Bahn to offer a Cologne – Ostend / Bruges / Ghent – Cologne high-speed train connection in the summer of 2026?.
- Rail should be functional, not fine art: EU leaders call for standardisation and lower costs.
- Subsidies for night trains? “You cannot fix this until someone builds more sleeper and couchette carriages”.
- European Sleeper to operate Paris – Brussels – Berlin night train route from March 2026.
- Leo Express and Arenaways plan direct train between Prague and Venice.
- Italo targets the German high-speed rail market.
- Trenitalia eyes expansion into Germany’s high-speed trains market.
- European Commission wants to link all EU capitals by high-speed train by 2040… and that’s not going to happen.
- Travellers in Europe increasingly open to choosing trains over planes for short-haul journeys.
- REVIEW | European Sleeper night train.
- Paris Nightjet axed: France’s withdrawal threatens Europe’s night train revival.
- 2026 | Deutsche Bahn plans 4 ICE’s per day between Cologne and Antwerp and 16 per day between Frankfurt and Brussels.
- Iron Rhine gets renewed political attention in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
- ÖBB prioritises Railjet over Nightjet: Is the night train revival a False Dawn?.
- Deutsche Bahn’s Antwerp – Brussels Airport – Leuven – Cologne ICE aims to attract tourists and Port of Antwerp-related business.
- EUROPEAN SLEEPER | Brussels to Barcelona night train to stop in Avignon, Montpellier, Narbonne, and Girona.
- Trenitalia, Deutsche Bahn and ÖBB launch Frecciarossa EuroCity trains linking Berlin, Munich, Milan, Rome and Naples.
- European Commission commits to single-ticket train travel, Back-on-Track unconvinced it will happen.
- EU train travel report sees increase in cross-border passenger trains and easier bookings.
- Brussels to Luxembourg by train under 2 hours by 2030?.
- Eurostar and five more train operators joined the European Agreement on Journey Continuation.
- ÖBB’s new Nightjet sleeper cars accommodate solo travellers with Mini Cabins.
- Trenitalia orders new Hitachi Frecciarossa trains suited for France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
- EUROCITY EC-8 | Basel to Cologne in SBB’s Panoramic Car.
- REVIEW | Trenitalia Frecciarossa 1000 Paris – Milan in Business Executive.
- RAIL TOUR OF EUROPE | How easy is touring Europe by train?.
- Eight train connections between the Netherlands and Belgium by 2030?.
- REVIEW | ÖBB Nightjet Amsterdam – Zurich night train.
- Nightjet Vienna/Innsbruck to Brussels, or how we got thrown off the train in Aachen.
- Why the expensive ÖBB Nightjet is really not that expensive.
- Ticket Distribution: the failure of railways to sell themselves.
- To use night trains in Portugal and Spain or not?.
- Night trains in Europe.
- Low-cost, long-haul trains to conquer Europe?.
- Fly now before it’s taxed and consider using the train instead.
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