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General information
Coordinates50°51′47″N 4°19′50″E / 50.86306°N 4.33056°E / 50.86306; 4.33056
Owned bySTIB/MIVB, Infrabel
Operated bySTIB/MIVB, SNCB/NMBS
Platforms1 island platform (Simonis metro)
2 side platforms (Elisabeth metro)
2 side platforms (SNCB/NMBS)
2 side platforms (tram 19)
1 side, 1 island platform (tram 9)
Tracks11
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
Platform levels2
History
Opened1982 (Simonis metro)
1986 (tram 19)
1988 (Elisabeth metro)
2009 (railway)
2019 (tram 9)
Services
Preceding station NMBS/SNCB Following station
Thurn en Taxis
towards Dendermonde
 S 10 Brussels-West
towards Aalst
Preceding station The icon for Brussels Metro.A white letter 'M' on top of a pink circle. Brussels Metro Following station
Simonis
Osseghem/Ossegem
towards Elisabeth
 Line 2 Terminus
Line 6 Belgica
towards King Baudouin
Elisabeth
Terminus Line 2 Ribaucourt
towards Simonis
Line 6 Ribaucourt
towards King Baudouin

Simonis and Elisabeth are two interconnected stations on the Brussels Metro serving line 2 and line 6 on two different levels. Additionally Simonis is a railway station operated by the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB) and a tram stop.

The station complex is situated at the end of the Boulevard Léopold II/Leopold II-laan in the municipality of Koekelberg, in the western part of Brussels, Belgium. Simonis was named after the Place Eugène Simonis/Eugène Simonisplein, itself named after the sculptor Eugène Simonis; while the nearby Elisabeth Park, named after Queen Elisabeth, gives Elisabeth its name.

Simonis metro station opened on 6 October 1982 and is a transit station in north–south direction situated in a cutting next to a railway line. It serves as a transit station on line 6 and a terminus of line 2. Elisabeth metro station is orthogonal to and one level below Simonis and is a terminal station located at the end of the Boulevard Léopold II in east–west direction. It opened on 2 October 1988 and is the terminus for lines 2 and 6.

Naming

Between its opening in 1988 and 2013, Elisabeth was also known as Simonis. Until 2009, Simonis was a simple interchange station between metro lines 1A and 2. When the Brussels Metro "loop" opened in 2009, the north-western part of metro line 1A was connected to the other end of metro line 2, making line 2 an imperfect circle line (since a true circular train service is not possible, as the tracks at Simonis/Elisabeth are not connected). This resulted in the current situation, whereby the station complex is served twice by lines 2 and 6.[1]

To differentiate between the two station parts, the north–south through platforms were given the name Simonis (Leopold II), while the east–west terminating platforms were known as Simonis (Elisabeth). However, this did not improve the clarity of passenger information and thus, on 3 November 2013, Simonis (Leopold II) was reverted to simply Simonis, while Simonis (Elisabeth) became Elisabeth.[2][3] The adjacent bus, tram and railway stops have not been renamed, and are all still known as Simonis.

Rail services

To the west of the stations, Brussels trams 9 and 19 call at underground platforms opened on 23 June 1986 (line 19) and 1 September 2018 (line 9), respectively.

To the east of and parallel to Simonis metro station, the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB) operates a local commuter station Simonis since December 2009.[4] It is served by the Brussels Regional Express Network (RER/GEN) service S10 between Dendermonde, Brussels, Denderleeuw and Aalst.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "La STIB modifie son réseau de métro dès le 4 avril" (in French). 7-sur-7. 13 March 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  2. ↑ Alan Hope (6 November 2013). "Simonis metro station renamed". The Bulletin. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  3. ↑ "Stib: fini Simonis (Elisabeth) et Simonis (Léopold II), place à Elisabeth et Simonis (+nouveau plan du réseau)" (in French). sudinfo.be. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  4. ↑ "NMBS en Infrabel openen twee nieuwe stations in Brussel" (in Dutch). treinreiziger.nl. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 7 December 2012.

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