First and second stations (1835–1952) The very first railway station in Brussels was / railway station near the site of today's
Yser/IJzer metro station, north of the
City of Brussels. It was from there that, on 5 May 1835, the first passenger train on a public railway in
continental Europe departed. This first station was replaced in March 1846 by a new monumental station on the
Place Charles Rogier/Karel Rogierplein, a short distance east from the original site, on the territory of the municipality of
Saint-Josse-ten-Noode. Designed by the architect
François Coppens in
neoclassical style, this second "North Station" (, ) was a single-storey railway complex that stretched in width from the
Rue d'Aerschot/Aarschotstraat to the /, and in length, from the Place Rogier to the / (nowadays a tunnel). To connect the neighbourhoods on both sides of the railway, there were only two pedestrian bridges: one at the Place Rogier and the other at the /. It consisted of 27 tracks. The Belgian railway network grew rapidly during the second half of the 19th century, becoming the densest in
continental Europe. By then, Brussels-North and
Brussels-South had become the primary railway stations in Brussels. However, they were joined only by an inadequate single track running along what is today the
Small Ring (Brussels' inner ring road). Many proposals were put forward to link the two stations more substantially. A law was finally passed in 1909 mandating a
direct connection; however, the final project would not be completed until nearly half a century later. File:Groendreefstation.jpg|/ railway station (1835), pictured in the early 20th century File:Ancienne Gare du Nord Bruxelles.jpg|The second station on the
Place Charles Rogier/Karel Rogierplein (1846), pictured File:Bruxelles à travers les âges (1884) (14761172734).jpg|The second station's interior,
Current station (1952–present) A new transit station, located a few hundred metres further north, was built in 1952. It was designed in post-war
modernist style by architects Jacques and Paul Saintenoy, assisted by Jean Hendrickx Vanden Bosch. The construction of the
North–South connection between 1910 and 1953 ensured a train connection between the new station and the
South Station. During the construction of the North–South connection, the tracks were raised and several underpasses were added. The old station on the Place Rogier was razed in 1955. A bus station was built on its former site, and then in 1960, the Rogier International Centre, also called the Martini Tower, which was formerly the tallest building in Belgium, and which housed the National Theatre of Belgium until 1999. The building was demolished in 2001, and was replaced by the
Rogier Tower. A group of statues from the station's former façade were reconstructed at the Warandepark in
Diest,
Flemish Brabant, Belgium. An extensive public transport complex, the North Communication Center (or CCN), was built on the western side of the North Station in the 1970s. As a result, the station building (on the side of the /) is now part of this larger complex. The CCN connects the bus stop of
De Lijn and
STIB/MIVB, as well as the
premetro, with the railway station. In 1992, the Brussels-Capital Region decided to erect an
Art Deco-inspired office building for its officials above the CCN. Due to the construction of this CCN and the large volume of the office building above it, the architectural appearance of the North Station with its iconic clock tower was diminished. Renovation works started in May 2010. The ticket hall was the first to be renovated and completed in 2012. The renovation works have been systematically continued since then. The intention is, among other things, to install new escalators and
lifts and for the Rue d'Aerschot to have a fully-fledged entrance. Unlike the South Station, which was largely remodelled for the arrival of international express trains, the North Station has kept most of its post-war materials and decorative elements, highlighted during this recent renovation. The station has also kept its original
clock tower. File:Brussels North station (DSCF7427).jpg|The third (current) Brussels-North station's entrance and
clock tower by
Paul Saintenoy (1952–1956) File:Brussel-Noord - Bruxelles-Nord - panoramio.jpg|View of the North Station's tracks. The clocktower can be seen in the background. File:BRUSSELS NORD STATION BELGIUM JULY 2012 (7690722576).jpg|The CCN building (on the left) and entrance to the North Station ==Rail lines==