| Zürich Hauptbahnhof (Zürich HB) |
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| Zürich Hauptbahnhof viewed from the east. | |
| Location | |
| Address | Bahnhofplatz 15 8001 Zürich |
| Municipality | Altstadt (Zurich) |
| District | Zurich District |
| Canton | Zürich |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Line(s) | |
| Other information | |
| Opened | 9 August 1847 |
| Architect | Jakob Friedrich Wanner |
| Electrified | 5 February 1923 |
| Rebuilt | 1871, 1990 |
| Passengers | 350,000 per day |
| Platforms | 26 |
| Owner | SBB-CFF-FFS |
| Line ops | SBB-CFF-FFS Sihltalbahn Uetlibergbahn |
| Connections | |
| Zürich S-Bahn
S 2 S 3 S 4 |
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| Zurich trams | |
| Zurich buses | |
| Location map | |
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Zürich HB
Zürich HB (Switzerland)
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| Zürich Hauptbahnhof Statistics | |
|---|---|
| "Long Distance" tracks | 16 tracks 3 to 18, Street Level |
| "S-Bahn" tracks | 10 tracks 1+2, 21 to 24 underground tracks 51–54 Street level |
| Trains (daily number of arrivals and departures) |
Long Distance: 884 (tracks 3–18) S-Bahn: 442 (tracks 51–54) 1281 (tracks 21–24) 308 (tracks 1+2, SZU) Total: 2915 trains |
| Shunting moves (daily) |
about 5000 (incl. yards) |
| Switches and Signals | Switches: 799 dwarf Signals: 791 Main Signals: 177 |
Zürich Hauptbahnhof (often shortened to Zürich HB) (English: Zurich Central Station or Zurich Main Station) is the largest railway station in Zurich and also in Switzerland. Zurich is a major railway hub, with services to and from across Switzerland and neighbouring European countries such as Germany, Italy, Austria and France. Constructed initially as the terminus of the Spanisch Brötli Bahn, which was the first railway built completely within Switzerland, it is one of the oldest railway stations in Switzerland. Serving up to 2'915 train rides a day, Zurich Main Station is one of the busiest railway stations in the world.
It is located in the Altstadt or old town in central Zurich at the confluence of the rivers Limmat and Sihl, where the river Sihl passes the station in a tunnel between the tracks of the upper and the lower level. The track system of the station extends about 4 km (2.5 mi) to the west.
The station is inscribed on the Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National Significance.[1]
Contents |
The first Zurich railway station was built by Gustav Albert Wegmann, on what were then the northwestern outskirts of the city. It was the terminus of the so-called Spanisch-Brötli-Bahn, opened on 9 August 1847. Within five years, there was a continuous railway line from the station across northwestern Switzerland to Lausanne via Solothurn.
In 1871, the original station building gave way to a new building at the same site. The new structure was designed by architect Jakob Friedrich Wanner to meet Zurich's increased transport needs. Its main entrance is a triumphal arch facing the end of the then newly built Bahnhofstrasse. In front of the arch stands a monument to the railway pioneer Alfred Escher. The magnificent sandstone neo-Renaissance building features richly decorated lobbies and atriums, restaurants and halls. Originally housed inside it was the headquarters of the Schweizerische Nordostbahn (NOB). The train hall, spanned by iron trusses, initially covered six tracks. Its stone walls with arches and arched windows portrayed a simple, monumental impression of space.
The station received its present name, Zürich Hauptbahnhof, in 1893, to reflect that year's incorporation of many of Zurich's suburbs into an enlarged municipality. In 1902 – the year the SBB-CFF-FFS took over the Schweizerische Centralbahn and the NOB - the parts of the tracks located inside the eastern end of the train hall were lifted, due to a lack of space. Since then, the terminating point of those tracks has been at a more central location, immediately to the north of the Bahnhofstrasse. Also in 1902, four more tracks and a north wing with a restaurant and railway mail service were added to the north of the train hall. In the vacant space left inside the train hall, new rooms were built for baggage handling.
On 18 February 1916, the SBB-CFF-FFS decided that electrification of its network would be by means of the high-tension single-phase alternating current system that still applies to this day on all routes. On 5 February 1923, the electrified Zug–Zurich railway was put into operation, as the first electrified line to Zurich. By as early as 1927, all routes emanating directly from Zürich Hauptbahnhof had been electrified. In 1933, the station's simple concourse and the iron and glass train shed was created with seven and a half arches to cover 16 tracks. As part of that work, the main hall was shortened by two segments.
In the 1940s, the line between Zurich and Geneva served as a "parade route". The first lightweight steel express train had entered service on this route in 1937. By 11 June 1960, the SBB-CFF-FFS network was largely electrified. In the following year, the SBB-CFF-FFS introduced its first four system electric trains under the name Trans Europ Express, and thereby increased the Zürich Hauptbahnhof's international importance.
In 1963, about 500 metres before the concourse, an imposing six-storey concrete cube arose in the station yard. It was designed by SBB-CFF-FFS architect Max Vogt, and since 1966 has been the home of the Zentralstellwerk Zürich (central signalling control). The then state of the art, relay-controlled interlocking system replaced the decentralised mechanical and electro-mechanical signal boxes in the station throat, including the Stellwerk «Seufzerbrücke» ("Bridge of Sighs" signal box), which had spanned the entire station throat just east of the Langstrasse.
The signalling control system was modernized to coincide with the commissioning of the Zurich S-Bahn. It is equipped with a computerized controller that performs the standard operations. Apart from the tracks and points (switches) of the "Sihlpost station" (which are controlled by an electronic control system), the entire control of the points and signals in the Langstrasse–Concourse section is still largely under relay control, in some cases still with the original relay sets installed in 1966.
The immense station yard, with its platform tracks and station building is a bottleneck for the city of Zurich. The Limmat and the Sihl were further bottlenecks, and the combination of the three led to gridlock in the 1950s and 1960s. In parallel, there were plans for a subway system. Although the people voted in 1962 against it, the city's Civil Engineering Department had started by then to convert the Bahnhofplatz for the purpose of a possible underground line.
On 1 October 1970, construction of Bahnhofplatz and the pedestrian and shopping arcade Shopville was completed. Upon its opening, the Bahnhofplatz became a pedestrian-free zone, and the underground Shopville the only access to the station. Contrary to expectations, Shopville did not capture the support of the people, who, in 1973, voted even more emphatically to reject a subway system.
In the 1980s, Shopville became a drug dealing hub, due to its proximity to the Autonomen Jugendzentrum Zürich ("Autonomous Youth Center Zurich"). Its low point was reached at the end of the decade, by which time travellers avoided all parts of it other than the concourse and the tram stop. Consequently, there were several nighttime closures by mesh fences. However, the solution to this problem was forseeable, as the people had agreed on 29 November 1981 to the construction of the Zurich S-Bahn and the extension of the Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn to the Hauptbahnhof.
For the realization of the S-Bahn, the 2.1 km (1.3 mi) long Hirschengraben Tunnel was built from the Hauptbahnhof to Zürich Stadelhofen. This new line continued through the Zürichberg Tunnel to Stettbach, with connections to the existing lines to Dietlikon and Dübendorf. In the Hauptbahnhof, two underground stations were constructed. For the S-Bahn, a four track railway station with the working title Museumstrasse was built, and the Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn was extended to the SZU station, which had once been intended for the never-realized U-Bahn. The opening of the S-Bahn was finally achieved on 27 May 1990.
Since 1990, underground shopping arcades have connected the two underground stations with the main hall. Black and white striped walls of marble floors and granite are the main design features of what is one of the largest shopping centres in Switzerland.
In 1996 the main hall was cleared of its subsequently erected temporary installations. In 1997, the train hall was fitted on both sides with pitched roofs on sloping concrete supports, designed by local architects Meili, Peter.
The planning of the S-Bahn, and also the Rail 2000 long-haul project, repeatedly raised the idea of building the Weinberg Tunnel, a through route from Zürich Hauptbahnhof to Oerlikon. That proposal was initially postponed, but the great success of the S-Bahn led to an expansion of services and, consequently, to capacity constraints. Plans were made to expand existing rail lines within Zürich leading to the north to more tracks, but this encountered resistance from the population living near those rail lines. As alternative the construction of the Weinberg tunnel and 4 additional underground tracks in the railroad station was suggested and confirmed by a referendum.
In 2002, an architectural competition was held for the new Löwenstrasse transit station, and won by the architect Jean-Pierre Dürig. On 22 December 2006, the Federal Office of Transport approved the building of the tunnel and a third underground four-track Löwenstrasse station. In September 2007, construction began on the project, nicknamed "Durchmesserlinie" (cross-city link).
The new line runs from the Altstetten railway station, crosses the Zürich HB station throat on a bridge, and leads into the underground Löwenstrasse station. From there, it goes through the new, approximately 5 km (3.1 mi) long Weinberg Tunnel in a long left hand curve under the existing Zürich HB–Stadelhofen line. It then ends at the level of the portals of the existing Wipkinger Tunnels in Oerlikon, where it connects with the northbound lines, especially the line towards Zurich Airport and Winterthur HB.[2]
In 2007, the SBB-CFF-FFS and the Deutsche Bahn entered into a station partnership between the Zürich HB and the Berlin Hauptbahnhof. The purpose of the arrangement is to promote knowledge sharing between operators of similarly sized stations.[3]
Access to the station is via the existing underground Sihlquai Passage and the newly created Gessnerallee Passage. The Gessnerallee Passage will also provide an additional 1700 m² of retail space.
There are station bells above the rear exit of the large hall. In the old 1847 station, the bells rang before each departure of the Spanisch-Brötli-Bahn: The signal order prescribed as follows: "10 minutes before the departure of a train, one [bell]; 5 minutes before the same, two [bells]; and immediately prior to departure, three bells". For the 1871 renovations, the architect Jakob Friedrich Wanner gave the station clock the place of honour in the portal above the main entrance, and the bells were placed in a small tower in the east facade.
On 12 September 2006, to commemorate the station's 150th anniversary, the ETH Zurich installed the NOVA, a three-dimensional, bivalent display, which consists of 25,000 individually addressable light balls. It represents a play of light of several colors, but can also represent cinematic sequences. It is expected to remain hanging in the station until further notice.[4]
The former, almost completely renovated station concourse is one of the largest covered spaces in Europe, at over 55,000 m². Various events take place there regularly, including "open air" cinema, vegetable, flea and Christmas markets and other events such as skating, beach volleyball and the "warm up" for the Street Parade.
Underneath the Bahnhofplatz and the station is the ShopVille shopping arcade.
Since 8 June 2009, Zürich HB has been the site of the first SBB lounge. This waiting room is exclusively for holders of a first-class general subscription or a valid international first-class ticket or for frequent traveller program members of the Railteam partner railways.[5]
The ground floor has 20 terminal tracks (Track 3 – 18 and 51 – 54). Tracks 3 – 18 are used for trains coming from major areas in Switzerland as well as most, if not all, international trains, such as the EuroCity, Cisalpino, TGV and InterCityExpress. Tracks 51 – 54 are used by Zurich S-Bahn trains and extra rush hour trains travelling via Zürich Enge and/or Zürich Wipkingen.
One level below on the southern side of the station the two terminal tracks 1 and 2 can be found, which are exclusive used by SZU S-Bahn trains, heading west and south towards Üetliberg and the Sihl valley.
On the same level on the northern side are 4 through tracks for local commuter trains (mostly S-trains, mostly within the canton) can be found. The S-Bahn trains that travel via Zürich Stadelhofen use these four tracks 21 to 24. Zürich Hauptbahnhof is a nodal point where the S-Bahn Zürich lines S2, S3, S5, S6, S7, S8, S9, S12, S14, S15, S16, S21 and S24, the Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn (S4 and S10) and Zurich trams interconnect. Train connections to Zürich Stadelhofen, Zürich Hardbrücke, Zürich Oerlikon and Zürich Enge are very frequent, and the ride takes only few minutes.
Between tracks 21–24 and 1–2 another four tracks (which will probably be 31–34) are under construction.
Until 1991, this station was just a terminus station which did not permit traffic to go through the station. In 1991, an underground passage with tracks 21–24 was opened to enable S-Bahn trains to proceed to Zürich Stadelhofen.
Zurich HB is served by more than 2,900 daily trains. In 2004, it had an average of 340,000 passengers each day.[6] The station is busy at all times, with trains running from 05:00 until 01:00 during the week. From Friday night to Sunday morning, the trains run all day and all night as part of the ZVV Nachtnetz (night network).
The main station is accessible from five tram and bus stations:
The station is home to a large underground shopping centre called "ShopVille" of over 200 shops or other businesses. It benefits from the Swiss employment law rule that while generally labour on Sundays is not allowed, it is allowed in "centres of public transport".[7] The huge underground "Rail City" is, therefore, usually bustling on Sundays even while the streets of Zurich are largely empty.
| Preceding station | SNCF | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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toward Paris-Est
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TGV | Terminus | ||
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Baden AG
toward Brussels-South
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EuroCity | Terminus |
Since the commissioning of the Zürich S-Bahn in May 1990, the Hauptbahnhof has been the central node of the so-called Zürich S-Bahn Stammnetz (core network). All of the S-Bahn lines operating radially through the station run through the «Museumstrasse station» and the Hirschengraben Tunnel connected with it.
The remaining Stammnetz lines, which run between the left bank Lake Zurich railway and Oerlikon via the hairpin at the Hauptbahnhof, originally used the ground level tracks inside the train shed. Following the commissioning of the «Sihlpost station» in 2003, these lines were moved to the new wing station, some of them immediately, and the remaining ones at the timetable change in December 2004. With the commissioning of the second cross-city link in 2013, all of these lines will become "real" radial lines that will not reverse direction at the Hauptbahnhof, and will therefore be moved to the «Löwenstrasse station».
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S 2 Effretikon – Zürich Flughafen – Zürich HB – Pfäffikon SZ – Ziegelbrücke S 3 Aarau – Lenzburg – Dietikon – Zürich HB – Effretikon – Wetzikon S 4 Zürich HB – Adliswil – Sihlwald S 5 Niederweningen/Rafz – Oberglatt – Zürich HB – Uster – Pfäffikon SZ S 6 Baden AG – Regensdorf – Zürich HB – Uetikon S 7 Winterthur HB – Kloten – Zürich HB – Meilen – Rapperswil S 8 Weinfelden – Winterthur HB – Wallisellen – Zürich HB – Pfäffikon SZ S 9 Zug – Affoltern am Albis – Zürich HB – Uster |
S 12 Brugg – Zürich HB – Winterthur HB – Seuzach/Seen S 14 Zürich HB – Oerlikon – Uster – Wetzikon – Hinwil S 15 Affoltern am Albis – Zürich HB – Uster – Rapperswil S 16 (Thayngen – Winterthur HB –) Zürich Flughafen – Zürich HB – Herrliberg-Feldmeilen (– Meilen) S 21 (Zürich HB –) Thalwil – Zug S 24 Zürich HB – Thalwil – Horgen Oberdorf |
Around the station, the trams and trolleybuses of the Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ) provide local public transport services. The Hauptbahnhof is one of the most important nodes of the Zurich tramway network.
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Due to its central location in Switzerland and in Europe, the station was quickly able to establish itself as an important railway junction. Most trains running through several European countries operated through Switzerland. In addition, a majority of Swiss mainline trains travelled to or from Zurich. For the clock-face timetable introduced to Switzerland in 1982, Zurich is the "pacemaker". Delays and other disruptions at Zürich Hauptbahnhof sometimes affect the whole of Switzerland.
Long-distance trains meet in Zurich on the hour and half hour, and thus connect with each other. In cases of delays, connecting trains wait a maximum of 3 minutes beyond the scheduled departure time, except for some international trains and the late night trains. S-Bahn services do not wait for late connecting trains, but the long-distance trains - contrary to popular opinion - usually wait for delayed S-Bahn trains (also for a maximum of 3 minutes).
Operation of the railway tracks is handled by train traffic controllers (German: Zugverkehrsleiter (ZVL)), who are based in the central signal box. Their individual workstations are divided into sectors, and include the tracks in the passenger terminal, the station throat and the access routes. Train movements are normally set automatically by a central computer, on the basis of preset routes, and with the assistance of a conflict detector (resulting in timely and trouble-free traffic). Whenever necessary, the train traffic controllers optimize train routes, so that as many trips as possible operate simultaneously. In addition, all of the approximately 5,000 shunting movements must be set manually by the train traffic controllers, so as not to affect other train movements.
The above ground terminating tracks are served by three train traffic controllers:
Another ZVL is responsible for remote control of the S-Bahn. He serves the entire trunk route from Stettbach via Zürichberg Tunnel to Stadelhofen, Zürich HB and on to Hardbrücke and the right shore Lake Zurich railway from Küsnacht to Stadelhofen.
The station throat area is divided between ZVL "West" and "Vorbahnhof". The so-called "south entrance" leads most of the long distance traffic from Altstetten towards Hauptbahnhof right through the centre of the station throat. One special feature of the station throat is a level crossing with barrier, over which twelve tracks pass. It is located just east of Duttweilerbrücke. As this is an SBB-CFF-FFS non-public access way, the barrier is usually closed.
The entrance to the Herdern maintenance facility has its own signal box, from which the stabling tracks 400, 800 and 900 are controlled. The Herdern stabling area looks towards Hardbrücke (S-Bahn tracks), over the so-called "Überwerfung Mitte" towards the station throat and a connecting track to Altstetten. In addition, the ZVL Herdern controls the former Nord signal box, which is part of an area including the field groups J (Ida) and H (Heiri), as well as access for maintenance annexe G (UAG), which is controlled by a point operator.
The train traffic control team is headed by a team leader, the so-called "station supervisor" (German: Bahnhofüberwacher or just Bue). He does not work directly on the points and signals, but is responsible primarily for making decisions to ensure connections, and about track utilization in the event of delays and disruptions. The station supervisor is also a focal point in the operations control centre for any kind of irregularity. Due to the sometimes very hectic operations, the position of station supervisor is occupied by two people during the morning and evening rush hours. Support for the station supervisor is provided by a BUe assistant, who performs mainly administrative duties. He is also responsible for updating the electronic train data with short-term changes, and supports the station supervisor in case of failure, for example by filling out the checklist, or by recording emergency operations on the panoramic wall.
In the Zurich central signal box is the "Hirzel" area, the remote control system for the Zürich HB–Thalwil–Pfäffikon SZ and Thalwil–Zug–Cham lines. Since the integration of remote train control in late 2007, this area is no longer in the control room on the 5th floor of the signal box, but on the ground floor. The remote control system is divided into a "Zimmerberg" section (Zürich Wiedikon to Oberrieden/Oberrieden Dorf), "Etzel" (Horgen bis Altendorf) and two "Zug" sections (Zug railway station and the remainder of the Stadtbahn remote control system).