An impetus due to high speed
The history of this project is obviously closely connected to that of high speed in Belgium -- high speed, which has given a new impetus to rail traffic and has put the country at the heart of a network that is constantly establishing new relations. And yet, what seems self-evident today, was far from being so yesterday. It was necessary to persuade sceptics that high speed and small country were not incompatible, and that Wallonia in particular could be more than just a transit area. The people of Wallonia, and of the Liège region in particular, understood as much and were called upon to wage and win -- this battle for the rail. The first plans for the high speed network in northern Europe actually left Liège out. Once victory had been won, the station had to be radically reconsidered a reflection that Euro Liège TGV had already anticipated on the rail front and to which it would soon give the architectural dimension now known to all. |