Brussels Airport-Zaventem railway station

Brussels Airport - Zaventem
Railway Station
Concourse level
General information
Location	Brussels Airport (Level -1), Zaventem, Flemish Brabant Belgium
Coordinates	50°53′50″N 4°29′05″E / 50.89722°N 4.48472°E / 50.89722; 4.48472
Owned by	NMBS/SNCB
Operated by	NMBS/SNCB
Line(s)	25N, 36C
Platforms	3
Tracks	5
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Bicycle facilities	No
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	BNAT, FBNL
IATA code	BRU
History
Opened	1958; 66 years ago (1958)
Rebuilt	1998, 2012
Electrified	Yes

Brussels Airport-Zaventem railway station (Dutch: Station Brussels Airport-Zaventem; French: Gare de Brussels Airport-Zaventem)^[a] is a railway station located beneath Brussels Airport in Zaventem, Flemish Brabant, Belgium. The station opened in 1958 on railway line 36C; in 2012, the new line 25N was added. It was formerly called Brussels-National-Airport railway station (Dutch: Station Brussel-Nationaal-Luchthaven; French: Gare de Bruxelles-National-Aéroport)^[b] until April 2016. The train services are operated by the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB).

The station was opened in 1958 in the old airport building, mainly for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (Expo 58). With the opening of a new airport terminal in 1994, the railway station was moved in 1998 to a new location inside the new building. Following the completion of the new Diabolo project, the station was extended in June 2012 to enhance the comfort and passengers experience. The trains arrive and leave from level -2, with ticket desks on level -1. Passengers can go to the different floors in the airport and railway station by using a set of escalators and elevators, a couple of meters away of the platforms.

There is no dedicated car park but Brussels Airport carparks are available a short walk away, without any discount for rail customers.

The railway station connects the airport directly to the main Brussels stations, including the international Brussels-South and centrally-located Brussels-Central stations. The railway stations of Leuven and Mechelen can also be directly reached from the airport. From all these stations, one can easily travel to every city of Belgium; there are direct trains to the cities of Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent, Halle or Mons.

Since December 2014, the Benelux train allows passengers to travel directly to Rotterdam, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Amsterdam^[2]

After the bomb attacks of 22 March 2016 the station was closed and all trains were either deviated or cancelled until further notice. Shuttle bus services were put in place between Zaventem station and the airport. The airport station itself was undamaged, but it is connected to a part of the airport building that was severely damaged during the attacks.

With the Schuman-Josaphat tunnel entering into service on 4 April 2016, a new connection was established to connect Brussels Airport directly to the stations of the EU quarter—Brussels-Schuman and Brussels-Luxembourg.^[3] This brought the travel time between the Airport and the EU quarter to about 15 minutes.^[4][5][6] The tunnel was originally scheduled to open on 12 December 2015, but it was delayed due to the Brussels lockdown. When it eventually opened in April 2016, it could not yet be used to its full potential as the airport station remained closed following the Brussels bombings.

Train service to the airport station resumed on 22 April 2016, temporarily using the entrance/exit of the old airport station. On 8 June 2016, service via the regular station resumed.^[7]

The station has direct services to most major Belgian cities, as well as a regular service to the Netherlands. The only major town that does not yet have a direct line to the airport is Liège. Passengers traveling to Liège can connect at Leuven station.

The station is served by the following services:

• High speed service: (Thalys) Brussels Airport - Brussels - Paris (summer seasonal)
• Intercity services (IC 35) Amsterdam - The Hague - Rotterdam - Roosendaal - Antwerp - Brussels Airport - Brussels
• Intercity services (IC 06) Tournai - Ath - Brussels - Brussels Airport
• Intercity services (IC 06A) Mons - Brussels - Brussels Airport
• Intercity services (IC 08) Antwerpen - Mechelen - Brussels Airport - Leuven (- Hasselt)
• Intercity services (IC 17) Brussels Airport - Brussels-Luxembourg - Namur - Dinant
• Intercity services (IC 23) Ostend - Bruges - Kortrijk - Zottegem - Brussels - Brussels Airport - Brussels - Ghent (- Bruges)
• Intercity services (IC 23A) Bruges - Ghent - Brussels - Brussels Airport (weekdays)
• Intercity services (IC 23A) Ghent - Brussels - Brussels Airport (weekends)
• Intercity services (IC 27) Brussels Airport - Brussels-Luxembourg - Nivelles - Charleroi
• Intercity services (IC 29) De Panne - Ghent - Aalst - Brussels - Brussels Airport - Leuven (- Landen)

Preceding station	NS International			Following station
Mechelen towards Amsterdam Centraal		Intercity Direct 9200		Brussels-North towards Brussels-South
Preceding station	NMBS/SNCB			Following station
Terminus		IC 06		Zaventem towards Tournai
		IC 06A		Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord towards Mons
Mechelen towards Antwerpen-Centraal		IC 08		Leuven towards Hasselt
Terminus		IC 17 weekdays		Bordet towards Dinant
		IC 23		Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord towards Oostende
		IC 23A		Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord towards Brugge
		IC 27 weekdays		Bordet towards Charleroi-Sud
Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord towards De Panne		IC 29		Leuven towards Landen

• List of railway stations in Belgium
• Rail transport in Belgium
• Transport in Brussels
• History of Brussels

• Media related to Brussels Airport-Zaventem railway station at Wikimedia Commons