Rotterdam has a new Central Station. This public transport terminal is re-anchored in the city centre and integrated in the European network of
transport hubs created by the arrival of the high speed rail system (HSL). A Grand Station of international standing is created. In the design,
the city is drawn to the new station by compacting the small-scale urban fabric round about so that railway zone and city become a single entity.
The finer texture with its new sight lines and the mix of living and working will greatly improve the social climate of this zone.
On entering the tall light-filled station concourse, travellers have an overall view and see at once where the trains are. The sunken and widened
passage beneath the tracks is a natural continuation of the concourse. Platforms have a largely transparent roof some 250 metres long
spanning the entire track zone.
The entrance on Spoorsingel is a modest one in keeping with the low-key residential area there and the smaller passenger flow. In stark contrast,
the tall glass and timber concourse on the city side is clearly the main gateway to the metropolitan city centre. The new building's shape
expresses the internal logistics of this transport hub. Marking the onset of Rotterdam's 'cultural axis', the new Grand Central Station points the
way to the city's heart.
