Schijnpoort (Antwerp premetro station)

Schijnpoort is an underground station in the Antwerp premetro network. The station was named after the Schijnpoort gate, part of the Brialmont fortifications, which was demolished in 1970 when constructing the R1 ring road.[1] It was opened in 1996 as part of the northern premetro axis and was originally only served by tram route 3. Currently, it is also serviced by tram route 5 (since 2006),[2] tram route 6 (since 2007)[3] and tram route 2 (since 2012).[4]

Schijnpoort
General information
LocationBelgium
Coordinates51°13′38″N 04°26′20″E
Operated byDe Lijn
Construction
Structure typeunderground
Platform levels2
History
Opened1 April 1996 (1996-04-01)
Services
Preceding station Antwerp tram Following station
Sport
towards P+R Merksem
 Tram route 2 Handel
towards Hoboken
Handel
towards P+R Melsele
 Tram route 3 Sport
towards P+R Merksem
Handel
towards P+R Linkeroever
 Tram route 5 Sportpaleis
towards Wijnegem
Sport
towards P+R Luchtbal
 Tram route 6 Handel
towards P+R Olympiade
Location
Schijnpoort is located in the Antwerp premetro network
Schijnpoort
Schijnpoort
Location within the Antwerp premetro network

Lay-out

The design of the station is characterized by the presence of large colored arrows used as signpost and the circular windows separating the escalators from the platforms.

The -1 level of the station contains an entrance hall which contains ticket offices and has exits on both sides of the Schijnpoortweg. On the -2 level lies the platform toward Handel station, used by trams going toward the city centre. The -3 level contains the northbound platform toward Sport station, serviced by trams going toward Merksem, Luchtbal and Deurne.

Just south of the station also lies the unused premetro tunnel under the Pothoekstraat and Kerkstraat, which now links the northern and eastern premetro tunnels. The tunnel was built in the 1970s and was to be used by tram route 3, but has, as of 2016, not yet been finished due to budgetary issues that arose during construction.[5] It contains the also unfinished premetro stations Stuivenberg and Sint-Willibrordus.

Location

Schijnpoort station is situated directly underneath the Schijnpoortweg, between the R10 "Singel" ring road, and railway line 12. In its vicinity lie the cargo station Antwerpen-Schijnpoort, the Spoor Noord park and the Schijnpoort sewage treatment facility. Since 2015, the Sinksenfoor, Antwerp's largest funfair, is annually held on the Spoor Oost terrain near the station.[6] The fair takes six weeks in the months May and July, and had to move to the terrain from its previous standing place at the Zuiderdokken after complaints from local inhabitants led to a preliminary injunction forcing the organizers to find a different location.[7]

References
  1. "Schijnpoort-Schatten van Deurne" (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  2. "Tram 5 doorkruist Antwerpen". Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch). 30 September 2005. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  3. "Tram 6: vanaf najaar nieuwe tram voor Antwerpen" (in Dutch). 5 March 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  4. "Merksem. Het nieuwe aanbod van De Lijn" (PDF) (in Dutch). 1 September 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  5. "Grote nutteloze werken in België" (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  6. "Sinksenfoor voor het eerst op Spoor Oost". Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch). 12 May 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  7. "Sinksenfoor mag niet op Gedempte Zuiderdokken". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 18 April 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  • www.delijn.be, the operator of all public city transport in Antwerp and Flanders.
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