Vilvoorde train station must be renovated soon, says mayor

Hans Bonte, the mayor of Vilvoorde, has threatened legal action against rail authority NMBS and the rail infrastructure company Infrabel regarding promised renovation works on his city’s main railway station.

Infrabel announced in early 2014 a budget of €20 million for renovations, which would begin that summer last six years. Last November, it announced that the works would be postponed because of budgetary constraints.

Vilvoorde station’s platforms, staircases and underground passages are in a severe state of disrepair, and Bonte (SP.A) later threatened to close parts of the station for safety reasons. “There is a consensus here that the station has to be dealt with urgently,” Bonte said in November. “There are safety concerns. It is not accessible to wheelchair users or people with pushchairs. Delay is certainly not an option, unless people think it would be better for the station to close.”

Infrabel said the works would not take place before 2018. Federal mobility minister Jacqueline Galant was due to visit Vilvoorde today but had to cancel. “This is a new blow,” responded Bonte. “We hope the minister can soon find the time, though I’ve been told her visit will not take place soon.”

He said the city would “try to force the renovations through by judicial means” and referred to the new station planned at future shopping and leisure centre Uplace in nearby Machelen. “It is unbelievable that renovations in Vilvoorde station are postponed for budgetary reasons, while when it comes to Uplace, funds are available for a new station.”

photo: put/De Standaard