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Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel Zuid (Bruxelles / Brussels)
This guide to using the main railway station in the Belgian capital, which goes by the names of Bruxelles-Midi; Brussel-Zuid and Brussels South train station, will explain:
- how to navigate the station;
- what to be aware of when arriving and departing by Eurostar and other train services;
- how to travel to the city centre and the most popular tourist sites;
- what facilities are available at the station.
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An introduction
Somewhat confusing is a pertinent summary of Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid station.
Not only is it in effect three stations in one:
(1) The Eurostar terminal.
(2) The voies/spors (platforms/tracks) used by the other international high speed trains (including Eurostars to Amsterdam).
(3) The voies/spors (platforms/tracks) used by the trains to and from other destinations in Belgium.
It also houses two different tram stops, out of sight lifts and a somewhat hidden Metro station - and the signage at the station is tri-lingual.
To and From the trains
The trains are also out of sight as they depart and arrive at upper level, so the main facilities at the station are all housed in a passage way that runs beneath them.
These facilities include separate SNCB ticket offices for domestic (within Belgium) and international trains.
This passage way named the ‘Couloir Principal' or 'Hoofdgang' links the main entrance/exit on Place Victor Horta and the secondary entrance/exit on Avenue Fosny.
This main passage way has been smartened up in recent years; so it’s not quite as grim as it once was.
Which is a plus as what Bruxelles Midi lacks is a distinct departure hall, to act as a general introduction to the trains; so the main access to the trains is via this central passage way.
Efforts have evidently been made to make the station easier to use, particularly for its regular users.
Hence there being three exits on each voie/spor (platform/track) used by the trains which arrive from other destinations in Belgium.
So ideal if you know where you are going and will be grateful for a short-cut, but hard to fathom if you are a first time user.
Hence splitting up the pertinent information, which can be accessed on the travel guides below.
Book Accommodation
When planning a trip, finding convenient accommodation can be trickier than working out which train to take.
Hence ShowMeTheJourney has partnered with the innovative accommodation portal, Stay 22, to offer three options for discovering your optimum accommodation:
1: Use the map above to see which hotel rooms and Vrbo rentals, with easy access to Bruxelles-Midi, are available.
2: Or click on these cherry-picked properties, offered by Stay 22 partner Booking.com, which are by Bruxelles-Mid and have been selected on the basis of high guest ratings:
Hotel Park Inn by Radisson Brussels Midi
3: Or see what's available with Stay 22's accommodation partners; which include, Expedia, Hotels.com and Trivago - by clicking the large button below.
Stay 22 will 'shuffle' the booking services so that you can be automatically directed to its partner that currently has the optimum availability at this location.
Questions Answered
ShowMeTheJourney has anticipated what questions are most often asked about taking trains to and from Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid station and answered them below.
If you can't find the information you are seeking, you can ask a question by using the Travel Planning Service.
Is there step-free access to and from the platforms /tracks?
Yes - At Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel Zuid station there are passenger passage ways under the tracks used by the trains, but there are both escalators and lifts which link these passage ways to the voies/spoor (tracks /platforms).
How to travel between Bruxelles-Midi and the city centre?
It won't be a surprise that Bruxelles Midi/ Brussel Zuid lives up to its name with a location to the south of the city centre; some distance from all of the city's most popular tourist areas.
The Bourse Building in the heart of the city, is a 20 to 30 min walk.
Though depending on the location of your final destination in Brussels / Bruxelles city centre, taking a train, metro, or tram will be the best option for an easy transfer by public transport.
Though these public transport options use different parts of Midi / Zuid station, hence the guide to making the transfer.
Taking a train on to the Central station
Bruxelles-Centraal station**also lives up to its name with a location only a 5-10 min walk from La Grand-Place.
The Museum of Fine Arts and the other museums in the Coudenberg complex are also a 5-10 min walk from Bruxelles Centraal station.
All InterCity trains passing through the Belgian capital call at Bruxelles-Centraal station in addition to Bruxelles-Midi, but, the international Eurostar and ECD high speed trains to and from Bruxelles/Brussels don't call at Bruxelles-Centraal.
So the easiest access to the when arriving from London, Paris or other cities in France, or by Eurostar from Germany - is to take a train from Midi/Zuid station on the 7 minute journey to Bruxelles Centraal station.
You won’t have to wait more than 15 mins - though there isn’t a ‘next train to Bruxelles Centraal’ indicator, to help you work out which platform / voie /spoor it will be departing from.
If you have arrived by Eurostar your ticket will be valid on to any other station in central Bruxelles (that the mainline, and not the metro trains, call at).
Taking a train on to the E.U. Offices
If you'll be taking a train which terminates at Midi / Zuid station and heading for the area around The Council of European Union offices, take a train (and not the metro) to Bruxelles-Schuman station.
Or if you're heading for the area around The European Parliament building take a train (and not the metro) to Bruxelles-Luxembourg station.
Taking a tram
Bourse/Beurse is the nearest tram stop to the heart of the city - but it’s no closer to La Grand-Place, than Bruxelles Central station.
Bourse/Beurse is three stops from Midi on tram lines 4 and 10.
These tram lines cross the city centre in a tunnel, hence at Midi they share an underground station with the Brussels Metro - So if you do want to take these trams, you can follow the signs to the Metro.
The entrance to this underground tram/Metro station is in the main ‘Le Couloir Principal/Hoofdgang’ passage way - opposite the main access to voies 7 - 8.
Avoid the alternative street level tram stops, located on the opposite side of the taxi rank - these are used by tram lines 51 and 81 and 82 - which don't serve the heart of the city
More info on how to connect to the trams at Bruxelles-Midi /Brussel Zuid is available here.
Taking a Metro
For the Atomiumm take Metro Line 6 (direction Roi Baudouin) to Heysel station.
Taking a train to Midi/Zuid station is a particularly good option if you'll be heading for the Atomium, as neither Centraal or Nord stations have a direct link with Heysel station.
For the museum complex at Parc du Cinquantenaire take either Metro Line 2 or Line 6 (direction Simomis Elisabeth) to Arts-Loi/Kunst Wet station.
Transfer there to Metro Line 1 (direction Stockel) or Metro Line 5 (direction Hermann Debroux) and leave those trains at Merode station,
Though if you're heading to the Parc du Cinquantenaire on a train which calls at Bruxelles-Central station, leave the train there and not at Midi/Zuid station.
There are direct Metro trains from Centraal to that Merode station.
How can tickets purchased for the public transport connections?
The bus, metro and tram routes / lines in Bruxelles are managed by STIB and it enables tap to to travel by contactless payments using bank debit cards, or these apps - Google Pay, Apple Pay, Fitbit Pay and Garmin Pay.
Alternatively you can purchase single tickets from kiosks and ticket machines.
How to travel between Midi station and Brussels Airport
Brussels Airport is served by a station named Brussel Airport - Zaventem, which is located directly beneath the main terminal building.
The train services
There is no dedicated Brussels Airport train service providing a link with the city centre, but up to six cxpress IC trains per hour connect the airport with Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel Zuid station - these trains also call at Bruxelles Central and Bruxelles Nord.
When heading to the airport these IC trains will either be terminating at the airport or at other destinations, particularly Antwerpen, Hasselt and Rotterdam.
So look twice at the departure boards because you don't have to take a train terminating at Brussel Airport - a service calling at the airport on route to another destination. may be the next train to depart.
The first train of the day from Bruxelles-Midi typically arrives at the airport before 04:30 and the final train departs shortly after midnight.
The journey time by train between Brussels Airport and Brxuelles-Midi is typically around 20 minutes.
The ticketing
A surcharge price of €6.40, known as the Diabolo fee, is automatically added to the price of the rail tickets when travelling between the Belgian capital and its airport.
Are there cafes or restaurants available?
There are numerous food and drink outlets within Bruxelles-Midi station, but the streets surrounding the station are a better option for a full meal service.
Easy to access options include Cafe Bogard and Brasserie Belge and the Time Off Cafe.
Are there left luggage facilities?
Left luggage lockers are available, you can either pay at the station, or lockers can be booked online in advance.
Is there a First Class lounge?
There is a lounge which can be accessed by Eurostar Premier ticket holders.
Train service summary
The usual pattern of direct long-distance train services to and from Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid is:
*= these trains also call at Bruxelles-Central
- Amsterdam Centraal = 12 or 13 x Eurostar (formerly Thalys) trains per day + 3 x Eurostar trains per day
- Amsterdam Zuid = 1 x ECD train per hour, from December 15th
- Antwerpen = 3 or 4 x IC trains* per hour
- Berlin = 3 x Nightjet trains per week + 3 x European Sleeper trains per week
- Brugge / Bruges = 2 or 3 x IC trains* per hour
- Dusseldorf = 4 x Eurostar (formerly Thalys) trains per day
- Frankfurt (Main) = up to 7 x ICE trains per day
- Gent / Ghent = 2 or 3 x IC trains* per hour
- Köln / Cologne = up to 7 x ICE trains per day + up to 5 x Eurostar (formerly Thalys) trains per day
- Liège / Luik / Liege = 2 x IC trains* per hour
- Lille = up to 7 x Eurostar trains per day + up to 8 x TGV trains per day
- Luxembourg = 1 x IC train* per hour
- Lyon = 4 or 5 x TGV trains per day
- Marseille = 2 or 3 x TGV trains per day
- Mons / Bergen = 1 x IC train* per hour
- Montpellier via Nimes = 3 x TGV trains per day
- Ostend / Ostende (fast route via Gent) = 1 x IC train per hour
- Paris =1 x Eurostar (formerly Thalys) train in most hours
- Rotterdam = 1 x IC train* per hour + 12 or 13 x Eurostar (formerly Thalys) trains per day + 3 x Eurostar trains per day + from Dec 15th 1 x ECD train per hour
- Strasbourg = 2 x TGV trains per day
- Wien / Vienna via Linz = 3 x Nightjet trains per week
See the journey guides for more detailed information.
Multiple Belgian cities including Charleroi, Genk, Hasselt, Kortrijk, Tournai, Verviers and Welkenraedt also have at least hourly IC trains from and to Bruxelles-Midi.
Arriving and Departing by Eurostar
ShowMeTheJourney has produced a series of detailed guides to using specific aspects of the main station in Brussels:
More help with navigating Bruxelles-Midi
ShowMeTheJourney has produced a series of detailed guides to using specific aspects of the main station in Brussels:
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Journeys
# Jump to a directionJourneys from Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel Zuid
Jump to directionsBruxelles / Brussels to Aachen by train
Bruxelles / Brussels to Amsterdam by train
Bruxelles / Brussels to Berlin by train
Bruxelles / Brussels to Den Haag / The Hague by train
Bruxelles / Brussels to Dresden by train
Bruxelles / Brussels to Frankfurt by train
Bruxelles / Brussels to Hamburg by train
Bruxelles / Brussels to Köln / Cologne / Koeln by train
Bruxelles / Brussels to Lille by train
Bruxelles / Brussels to London by train
Bruxelles / Brussels to Lyon by train
Bruxelles / Brussels to Marseille by train
Bruxelles / Brussels to Montpellier by train
Bruxelles / Brussels to Paris by train
Bruxelles / Brussels to Praha / Prague by train
Bruxelles / Brussels to Rotterdam by train
Bruxelles / Brussels to Strasbourg by train
Bruxelles / Brussels to Wien / Vienna by train
Journeys to Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel Zuid
Jump to directionsAmsterdam to Bruxelles / Brussels by train
Berlin to Bruxelles / Brussels by train
Frankfurt to Bruxelles / Brussels by train
Köln / Cologne / Koeln to Bruxelles / Brussels by train
London to Bruxelles / Brussels by train
Lyon to Bruxelles / Brussels by train
Marseille to Bruxelles / Brussels by train
München / Munich to Bruxelles / Brussels by train
Paris to Bruxelles / Brussels by train
Praha / Prague to Bruxelles / Brussels by train
Wien / Vienna to Bruxelles / Brussels by train
This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.
We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.
Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.
So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please consider saying thank you.
This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.
