ssander, no, as far as I know the NS site doesn't have such a facility I'm afraid.
The train schedules in the Netherlands are currently being changed - many lines will no longer run to a set timetable but will have trains running at more frequent intervals- every 10-15 minutes. I'm not sure yet how it all works, as I don't use the train much and tend to use just a small local line when I do. Things are a bit screwed up by the weather at the moment too.

Joe- yes Geoff, as usual, is on top of new things - i just rode an IC train from Brussels to Rotterdam and it did not even go thru the suburban Berchem station - formerly some trains only stopped at Berchem because, as Geoff says, Centraal station was a dead-end terminal and trains would have to come back out to near Berchem to re-join the mainline. The mainline now goes under Antwerpen Centraal and keeps going south (?) thru the port area to re-join the IC mainline to Roosendaal and points north.

isusie - from Zavemtem airport's train station, right in the arrivals hall or a few steps from it take the train to Brussels Midi (a k a Brussels-Zuid, or 'South Station 'in English - Brussels main station and change for Bruges - twice bourly i believe but at least hourly

Now there could be trains direct from the airport to Bruges as far as i know but the dependable thing if not is to take a train to Midi Station, the rail hub in Brussels.

isusie...

Here is the link I referred to earlier that generates custom timetables on the Belgian system:

http://p2w-hari.b-holding.be/p2w/que...?whichTask=pf&

You can put in your exact dates (or range of dates), departure and arrival stations, and other preferences. Within a minute or so, it will email you a PDF of the schedule...or provide a web link to the PDF...your choice.

It's really great once you get the hang of correctly picking your stations (the hardest part for me till I figured it out - station names are not always obvious).

Make sure you pick "Brussels Airport [Station/Stop]" as your departure station, and "Brugge" (without any extra words) as your destination. Otherwise it assumes you are somewhere inside the airport that requires an 8-10 minute walk, and sends you to a minor Brugge station rather than the main one.

It may require you to clarify this after you first pick your stops.

Hope this helps -- I am not an expert, and I just discovered this today...planning for my May trip.

SS

Bruges has no 'minor' stations, Bruges has only one marked as B
http://hari.b-holding.be/Hafas/bin/query.exe/en?

"from Zavemtem airport's train station, right in the arrivals hall or a few steps from it take the train to Brussels Midi (a k a Brussels-Zuid, or 'South Station 'in English - Brussels main station and change for Bruges - twice bourly i believe but at least hourly"

This information is incorrect.

1. There are up to 4 trains per hour from Brussels airport to the three main Brussels train stations. The easiest place to change for trains to Bruges/Brugge is the Gare du Midi/Brussel Zuid station. However, it is also possible to catch a train to Ghent and change there to Bruges trains. However, the trains to Ghent first stop in Brussels.
http://www.brusselsairport.be/en/par...and-from/train

2. The trains do not depart from the arrivals hall level.
You can download an airport map here:
http://www.brusselsairport.be/en/air...ls-airport-map

Guess they moved the train station since i last arrived in Brussels some years ago and got right on the train just after leaving the arrivals hall - going down one level i remember. So not as convenient as once was i guess. Thanks for the correction

MLF611...

Are you sure that the way from the airport to Bruges is via Midi? When I put the stations in at the Belgian rail website, they route me through Nord. I think I'm doing this right, but you never know. :-)

Wobbers...

I guess I mis-spoke about minor stations in Bruges - I think they can send you to stations on the outskirts of town such as St-Pieters. At least it seems that way.

SS

Ssander, the trains will stop at all three stations (Nord, Centrale, Midi). Nord is the first of the three stations on the way to Bruges from the airport which is probably why the website recommends it. OTOH, Nord is run down and can be confusing the first time you use the station. Midi is a better place to change trains.

Ahhh...I see.

Thanks you very much for the tip.

SS

Was surprised a few weeks ago when taking an IC train from Brussels Midi to Amsterdam that the train stopped at Centrale station but did not stop at Nord station - these trains always have stopped there before so was really surprised. That said i'm sure the more regional trains MLF is talking about do stop there- one advantage in boarding in Nord before Centrale and Midi is that you have a better seat selection before most of the passengers will board at the other two stations -and if a few weeks back was any indication, in 2nd class these trains can be rather full - especially around rush hours - so i'd suggest boarding at Nord for that reason