Redevelopment around Eindhoven Centraal

15 May Redevelopment around Eindhoven Centraal

As Eindhoven prepares for the KnoopXL redevelopment around Eindhoven Centraal, the city is finally moving toward an idea urban planners already discussed just after World War II: reconnecting Woensel with the city centre.

Today, the traffic-heavy Fellenoord area between the station and Kruisstraat will be redesigned into a more urban and walkable district. But decades ago, Eindhoven considered a much more dramatic solution.

Before the war, Fellenoord was a lively working-class neighbourhood. Much of it disappeared during the war years and reconstruction focused heavily on traffic and infrastructure. One major frustration remained: the Woenselse level crossing between the Demer and Fellenoord. Because of constant rail traffic, the crossing was often closed for long periods.

A radical idea for a divided city

A committee led by industrialist Mignot proposed transforming Eindhoven Central into a terminal station. Trains from Tilburg and Den Bosch would curve around Woensel and enter the station from the east.

The idea was ambitious but clear: remove the railway barrier dividing the city. In front of the station, planners imagined a huge public square that would naturally connect Woensel and downtown Eindhoven into one urban centre.

The proposal never happened. Dutch Railways rejected the idea because trains would constantly need to reverse direction, making through-connections difficult. The operation would also be massive and Philips opposed the plan because it conflicted with ambitions around what is now Strijp-S.

Instead, NS (Dutch railways) chose elevated rail tracks. Construction began in 1947 and finally ended the long traffic delays caused by passing trains.

Still, nearly a century later, KnoopXL is trying to achieve something remarkably similar: repairing the connection between Woensel and the inner city that infrastructure once broke apart.

Source: Newspaper Oost Brabant 4-8-1945 and stationsinfo.nl @openeindhoven

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