Gare Centrale (Jonction)/Centraalstation

   The goal of linking the Gare du Nord with the Gare du Midi had been broached since railways had first arrived. From 1841 to the early 1870s, an iron track was laid along the inner ring road to link the Allée Verte and Gare du Midi stations. Such circuitous solutions were insufficient, but, despite numerous proposed projects, nothing was decided until shortly before World War I when a law was passed mandating that a direct rail line be built. Demolition work began with razing of the Putterie district. Work stopped during the war and postwar financial constraints retarded further activity. In 1927, the national government voted to discontinue work. In 1935, a national office for completion of the junction Nord-Midi was created that allowed acquisition of the needed financial backing. Indecision and postponement had left areawide piles of debris and deep craters in the terrain for decades. Work resumed, was interrupted again by World War II, and was completed in October 1952. The Gare Centrale is the smallest but most heavily used of the city's three principal stations.

   See also Transportation and Communications.