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By 2015, the town of Mons should have a brand new railway station with its own walkway linking the historic town to the Grands-Prés extension. The SNCB (Belgian Railways) have allocated a budget of more than 100 million euros to implement this project designed by the Spaniard Santiago Calatrava Valls, one of the biggest names in contemporary architecture.
The new station will be accessible to the disabled and will have 800 parking spaces including 100 reserved for motorbikes and mopeds. It will be built near the old station, which was built in 1948 and is now earmarked for demolition.
This project could eventually also see the creation of a new TEC bus station and a conference centre on the site of the former customs buildings adjacent to the station.
"With these new functions, the new railway station and walkway will expand the town", said the enthusiastic mayor of Mons, Elio di Rupo, who also sees it as an additional asset in the town's application to be the European Capital of Culture in 2015.
With 10,113 passengers a day, the Mons railway station is the 5th busiest in Wallonia and 15th busiest out of Belgium's 545 stations.
LE SOIR - 11 April 2008
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