Warning - Brussels Midi Station
 

Just got back from changing trains @ Brussels midi station & thought i'd better remind people about the no of pickpockets & thieves that are operating there.

In the space of 15 mins of sitting in the food hall, 2 people had their wallets stolen, a fight broke out when someone else was caught trying to steal a bag & a bloke sitting in the Thalys waiting area was telling someone on his mobile that he'd just had his laptop stolen.
There seems to be a distinct lack of police pressence in the station and tends to rely on a few railway officials to keep an eye out for their passengers.
The Thalys waiting areas are relatively safe as they are regulary checked on by Thalys staff members who question anyone who looks like they do not belong in there & ejects them.

It's not a station i'd use through choice but it does offer the best coonections to Cologne from the UK so needs must.

I agree that you need to watch your things there.

On a completely unrelated note - I notice most English-speaking people refer to it as "Brussels Midi", yet would say "Brussels North" or "Brussels Central" for the other main stations. Why not "Brussels South"?

for the same reason, we say kings cross and not croix du roi for the london underground station ;)

But, as stut points out, following that principle, you would then expect English speakers to say Bruxelles-Nord//Brussel-Noord or Bruxelles-Aeroport National//Brussel Nationaal luchthaven, rather than Brussels North or Brussels Airport train station.

seen like this, makes sense :) but on other sides, you can actually find the term brussels south. btw, what do they print on the train-tickets?

can't remember. I guess that sncb tickets would be in either French or Dutch (Bruxelles-Midi/Brussel-Zuid, possibly abbreviated to Bruxelles-M//Brussel-Z), sncf tickets in French and ns tickets in Dutch. Don't have a UK-issued eurostar ticket at hand so not sure what the story is there.

My theory why Brits don't use Brussels South is probably a reflection of limited linguistic knowledge/fear of confusing their interlocutor. Most Brits, even monolingual ones or with only schoolboy French at their disposal, will guess that Bruxelles-Nord or Brussel-Noord would be the same as Brussels North. Ditto for central/centraal. Some might have more difficulties in making the connection between Midi/Zuid and South. So using the original version might be less confusing.

Strangely, though, whereas Brussels-North is widely used, many (most?) English speakers would say "Gare du Nord" rather than Paris North Station.

From a recent trip: Bruxelles Midi to Amsterdam CS (purchased online from RailEurope).

We always call them "Noord", "Centraal" and "Zuid"...

Same here: Bruxelles Midi - London St. Pancras from a Eurostar trip three weeks ago.


EDIT But it shows up as Bru-Zuid/Midi on the stamp in my passport.

Eek, I'm going through there (though at least it's to get to the Thalys area) in a week and a half -- thanks for the heads-up, I'll be more careful because of what you mentioned. How about St Pancras and Köln Hbf?

Midi...
 

...has always been kind of nasty. I'm not sure why there is so little police presence - but it's not one of those places you'd want to spend any time. There used to be a big business around the station in fake passport sales. Don't know whether Belgian authorities have cracked down on that - but it all leaves a bad taste in my mouth about Brussels.

Add any big station in Europe to the list. I had a bag stolen at Amsterdam CS. (And the nice policeman who took my statement said he was ripped off at a station in Rome.) At some stations in the Netherlands there are regular PA announcements about thieves and pickpockets. But for some reason the police apparently make no effort to prevent the scourge. :rolleyes: If it's so bad you have to keep warning people about it, how difficult would it be to set up some cameras or do some visible or undercover policing?

We felt safer in the Thalys waiting area but there's nowhere to get anything to eat or drink.
Watch out around the food court area as that's where most of the thefts took place.
St Pancras had a heavy police pressence & when you go into the Eurostar waiting area you should be fine.
If you are using Koln HBF watch your bags but if you're going comfort 1 on the Thalys or 1st class on DB you can use the 1st class lounge which is secure.
To be fair there are warnings about pickpockets in many languages @ the station but whilst you're busy reading the warnings.....

If you're taking the Eurostar (not sure about Thalys), after you clear security & passport control but prior to boarding, you'll find yourself in another waiting area. On the left near the boarding point, there's a small shopping area and food court that's only available to those that have cleared security. This should be open until just prior to departure.

Having been through Midi a few times over the past month, I haven't experienced anything that would make me want to avoid the place, nor do I fear theft there more than any other train station. Like always when traveling, be smart, be vigilant, and be aware of your surroundings and you'll be fine.

Actually, I'm using both -- are there two competing lounges? :)