{"id":187837,"date":"2024-12-20T09:58:29","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T08:58:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/?p=187837"},"modified":"2024-12-27T15:21:00","modified_gmt":"2024-12-27T14:21:00","slug":"mons-belgium-calatrava-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/mons-belgique-gare-calatrava","title":{"rendered":"Belgium: Mons gets a cathedral-like station"},"content":{"rendered":"

After Li\u00e8ge-Guillemins station, one of his flagship projects completed in 2009, the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava <\/strong>(1)<\/sup> is still at work in Wallonia, with the opening to the public on 18 December of the new Mons station<\/strong>Mons, a Belgian town around thirty kilometres to the east of Valenciennes. However, its official inauguration is not scheduled until 31 December, during the Mons en Lumi\u00e8res Festival. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SNCB - Belgian Railways - is breathing a sigh of relief, as its station is starting operations ten years late, originally scheduled for 2015 to coincide with the celebration of Mons as European Capital of Culture, then in 2018 and 2020. In the meantime, the cost of the building has soared<\/strong>In 2001, the first project to replace the 1950s station cost \u20ac35m, and the final project cost \u20ac480m. This extra cost is causing controversy in Belgium, especially as the new facility is not very user-friendly, offering only a few seats for passengers waiting for their train.<\/p>\n\n\n\n