Namur’s flamboyant multimodal station is now operational

Namur’s new multi-modal station was officially inaugurated on Wednesday. For the first time, commuters were able to access the Namur NMBS/SNCB station via the famous cable-stayed bridge allowing TEC buses to drive up the roof to the new stop. There, passengers can then take the lift to the platforms several floors below. The renovation comes with a price tag of 49 million euros.

It is on this surface of 12 000 m², which overlooks the railway station and the entire city, that the buses will henceforth circulate. “All the alternatives to the private car are brought together in one place,” says Stéphanie Scailquin, the Alderwoman for Mobility.

In about one minute you can now switch from buses to trains, and the eight platforms outside the 3 600 m² renovated building, which baths in light, and provide travelers also access to other means of transport like bikes, e-scooters, shared cars, etc.

Flagship of Walloon mobility

Dating back to 1864, Namur’s station is one of the busiest stations in Wallonia, with around 22 000 NMBS/SNCB travelers and 3 000 TEC travelers a day. Only the three Brussels stations, Ghent-Sint Pieter, Antwerp Central, and Leuven are busier. In terms of traffic, the station comes second in Wallonia, after Ottignies but ahead of Liège-Guillemins.

The renovations took eight years. The near Léopold Square was also redeveloped and upgraded to a more pleasant and urban space. The new bus station now accommodates the suburban lines, transporting passengers outside Namur, while the urban lines are reorganized around the Station’s Square.

The showpiece of the station, designed by Ney & Partners, is the renovated bus station on the roof and the ramp and the cable-stayed bridge the buses must drive over to access it. The 41 m high ramp is approximately 250 m and rests on the cable-stayed bridge with a span of approximately 80 m for a total of 570 tons of steel.

Consequently, the multimodal station in the Walloon capital, where a new cable car was also added two years ago,  is not put forward for nothing as the flagship of Walloon mobility of the future.