Charleroi-West railway station

Charleroi-West
Railway Station
Charleroi-West railway station
General information
Location	Place de l'Ouest, 6000 Charleroi Belgium
Coordinates	50°24′38″N 4°26′11″E
Owned by	SNCB/NMBS
Operated by	SNCB/NMBS
Line(s)	140, 260
Platforms	1
Tracks	2
Construction
Parking	Yes
History
Opened	20 August 1855 (1855-08-20)
Rebuilt	1886 (1886)
Services
Preceding station NMBS/SNCB Following station Lodelinsart towards Ottignies L 14 Charleroi-Sud towards Jambes
Location Charleroi-West Location within Belgium Charleroi-West Charleroi-West (Europe)

Charleroi-West railway station (French: Gare de Charleroi-Ouest; Dutch: Station Charleroi-West) is a secondary railway station serving Charleroi, Hainaut, Belgium. It is one of two railway stations located in downtown Charleroi, the other one being the much larger Charleroi-Central railway station. It is operated by the National Railway Company of Belgium (SNCB/NMBS).

Charleroi-West is also a station of the Charleroi metro.

Rail station

Charleroi-West railway station at the beginning of the 20th century

Charleroi-West is a small, unstaffed station with no building or other services of its own, served only by Belgian railway line 140 linking Charleroi to Ottignies. Charleroi-West used to be a dead-end station (and thus the terminus of line 140) until 27 May 1987, when a rail connection to Charleroi-South was opened (since renamed Charleroi-Central). The 6 km industrial line 260 links Charleroi-Ouest with the freight classification yard of Monceau-sur-Sambre.

Because of its proximity to Charleroi-Central and the limited train service, Charleroi-West sees very little passenger traffic, with a weekday average of 75 boarding passengers on weekdays (20 on Saturdays, 30 on Sundays) in 2007.

The original station, inaugurated in 1855, was located slightly to the South. The current station was built between 1884 and 1886.

Train services

The station is served by the following service(s):

• Local services (L-14) Ottignies - Fleurus - Charleroi - Tamines - Namur - Jambes

Metro station

Ouest
General information
Platforms	Central
Tracks	2
Construction
Platform levels	2
Parking	No
History
Opened	30 June 1980
Services
Preceding station Charleroi Metro Following station Piges One-way operation M1 Villette towards Monument Beaux-Arts towards Monument M2 Villette One-way operation Beaux-Arts towards Faubourg de Bruxelles M3 Beaux-Arts One-way operation M4 Villette towards Soleilmont

West (French: Ouest) is a Charleroi Metro station, located at the western end of Charleroi downtown, in fare zone 1. The station is accessible through three distinct street entrances leading to a mezzanine, giving access to the central platform via escalators.

The station has been renovated in 2009, with a new decoration based on works of local artist Charles Szymkowicz. The mezzanine level hosts 11 reproductions of Szymkowicz's watercolor paintings depicting Tuscany landscapes, made by Belgian ceramist Maurice Joly. One of the station entrances is adorned with a 3.5 x 4m fresco depicting Szymkowicz and his mother passing the so-called "viaduct" bridge where the station is now located.

Nearby points of interest

• Charleroi Expo, main exhibition hall in Charleroi.

Transfers

TEC Charleroi bus lines 41, 43, 83, 85, 86 and Midi-Docherie.

See also

• List of railway stations in Belgium
• Rail transport in Belgium
• List of Charleroi Pre-metro stations
• Digue Square

External links

• Official station page at the SNCB website
• Real time departures
• Real time arrivals