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Ottignies railway station

Ottignies railway station is located in Ottignies, part of the city of Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, in the province Walloon Brabant in the Walloon region of Belgium. It lies along railway line 161 (Brussels to Namur) and at the ends of railway line 139 (Leuven to Ottignies) and railway line 140 (Ottignies to Marcinelle).

The station was opened in 1855 by the Grande compagnie du Luxembourg and from 1884 had a station building designed by the architect Charles Licot. This building was destroyed in 1996 and replaced by a new, modern and functional building inaugurated in 1999.

Ottignies is an important station on the National Railway Company of Belgium (SNCB) network and is the busiest station in Wallonia. It is served by InterCity (IC), suburban (S), local (L), rush hour (P) and touristic (ICT) trains.

Location
Lying at an altitude of 67 metres, Ottignies is a junction-point located at the kilometric point (PK) 28.484 of the railway line 161 (Brussels to Namur) between the stations of Profondsart and Mont-Saint-Guibert; at the PK 0.000 of the railway line 140 (Ottignies to Marcinelle), the next station on that line being Céroux-Mousty, and at the PK 28.935 of the railway line 139 (Leuven to Ottignies), the previous station being Limal.

Arranged in an X shape, Ottignies railway station has the particularity of having its passenger building located in the centre of the tracks. The first five tracks, used by trains operating on line 161 (and 161D) are located on the western side of the building. Tracks 6 and 8, generally used by trains operating on line 139, come to a dead-end right behind the station building. Track 7 is a siding. Tracks 9, 10 and 11 are located on the eastern side of the building and are used by the trains operating on line 140. Changing platforms is only possible on the northern side of the station. Track 11 can only be used by trains operating on line 139 or 140. The tracks are numbered from the west.

The 1885 station
The first station in Ottignies was opened on 14 June 1855 by the Grande compagnie du Luxembourg a few days after the opening of the section of track between La Hulpe and Gembloux of its railway from Brussels to Luxembourg. From August 1855 it became an important railway hub with the opening of the line from Charleroi to Leuven.

The 1884 station
In 1884, the temporary structures were replaced by a Neoclassical building designed by the architect Charles Licot. Over the years, Licot’s building was extensively modified.

The 1999 station
A project for a new station was considered in the 1980s. It was approved in 1991, with plans to demolish the existing station building and build a new one.

Construction started in 1996 and the station was opened in 1999. It is a post-modern concrete bicolour cross-shaped building with large windows.