In the early morning, a little after 4 a.m., the first travelers will take the new footbridge – accessible either via Place Léopold or Place des Congrès – to reach their platform. Although it is still too early to collect the first testimonies, we can undoubtedly expect shared opinions, sometimes nuanced, sometimes clear-cut. It should be noted that since the SNCB announcement and the release of the first photos, the comments have been going well.
On social networks in particular, many citizens maintain their position, namely that the construction of this new station is a financial pit before being an architectural feat. It’s difficult not to remember that the initial budget for the work was 37 million euros… And that the latest estimate announced in November by the director of SNCB stations, Patrick Couchard, in the Chamber’s “Mobility” committee, was 480 million euros. Annual maintenance is estimated at nearly one million euros.
“I used public transport to get to work for 35 years. In dilapidated and often dirty trains, suffering numerous problems and delays following technical failures. A “work of art” station at 480 million “Euros are not what users expect, but these useless projects are the wishes of those who never take public transport.”estimates a citizen.
“It’s still going to cost an arm and a leg to maintain. It’s indecency“, mentions another Internet user. “In the 480,000,000 euros, how much did the SNCB pay?!? but there is no more money to make 5G accessible on the trains… The people who work on the train, the tourists who make research for their stay, all the people who want to connect, who cares? But an extravagant station to flatter a man’s ego, no worries…”
Or even “well done Mons, how many stations cannot be renovated?” “Budget significantly exceeded, deadlines significantly exceeded, platforms largely under-equipped… What a great success. It would be better to spend the money to put the trains on time.” Generally speaking, the comments made all have a negative connotation. Made from a silent majority who don’t take the trouble to express themselves on the web or a real feeling? The first “official” notices, based on the discovery of this controversial gateway station, will fall this Wednesday.
For the rest, we can only recall that this “mega-station” is the last of its kind and the fruit of an evolution which has taken place over many years. This is in fact a fourth version. The first station, located on what is now Place Léopold, was put into service on December 19, 1841. This first building was replaced by a new one, almost 200 meters long, put into service in 1874. Destroyed by bombing Americans on May 10, 1944, this second station was replaced by a new infrastructure inaugurated in 1952. This building was closed to travelers in March 2013: its demolition began three months later, as part of a desire for modernization.
The initial project, entrusted to the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, was a footbridge above the quays connecting the historic heart of Mons with the new Grands Prés district. This project evolved into that of a “bridge station”, which required the demolition of the 1950s station.
