Oostende railway station
Oostende railway station is located in Ostend in West Flanders, Belgium. The first station in Ostend was opened in 1838 during the reign of Leopold I of Belgium on the former Belgian railway line 62 to Torhout and is now a supermarket. The NMBS station was opened in 1913 during the reign of Albert I of Belgium. The station is designed to connect trains and ferries and is built with Scottish Granite, Bluestone from Soignes and Limestone from Euville. It is constructed in a classical style of architecture inspired by the French architect from the 18th Century  François Mansart and the Louis XVI of France style. The station was served by a daily Thalys high speed service to Paris between 1998 and 31 March 2015. Train services. The Ostend station is a major hub on the NMBS network with frequent InterCity trains serving Brugge railway station, Gent-Sint-Pieters, Brussels South and Liège-Guillemins on Belgian railway line 50A. Connecting InterCity trains run to Antwerpen and Kortrijk. The station is served by the following services: Kusttram. Ostend is a major hub on the Kusttram which is the coastal tramway run by De Lijn. Cycling. To encourage cycling  the station has an extensive number of cycling racks. Former Ferries. Regie voor Maritiem Transport used to run services connecting to the Port of Dover connecting with Network SouthEast trains from Dover Western Docks to London Victoria and London Charing Cross stations. These ceased in 1994. In the past ferries operated to Folkestone Harbour connecting with Folkestone Harbour station boat trains to London Victoria and London Charing Cross.