Designed by the architect François Coppens in neoclassical style, this second "North Station" (French: Gare du Nord, Dutch: Noordstation) was a single-storey railway complex that stretched in width from the Rue d'Aerschot/Aarschotstraat to the Rue du Progrès/Vooruitgangsstraat, and in length, from the Place Rogier to the Avenue de la Reine/Koninginnelaan (nowadays a tunnel).

To connect the neighbourhoods on both sides of the railway, there were only two pedestrian bridges: one at the Place Rogier and the other at the Rue Dupont/Dupontstraat.

The Belgian railway network grew rapidly during the second half of the 19th century, becoming the densest in continental Europe.

It was designed in post-war modernist style by architects Jacques and Paul Saintenoy, assisted by Jean Hendrickx Vanden Bosch.

[4] A group of statues from the station's former façade were reconstructed at the Warandepark in Diest, Flemish Brabant, Belgium.

As a result, the station building (on the side of the Boulevard Simon Bolivar/Simon Bolivarlaan) is now part of this larger complex.

In 1992, the Brussels-Capital Region decided to erect an Art Deco-inspired office building for its officials above the CCN.

Due to the construction of this CCN and the large volume of the office building above it, the architectural appearance of the North Station with its iconic clock tower was diminished.