Central station

Central station is a common name for a railway station. As well as being used for centrally located stations, such as Manchester Central,^[1] and Melbourne Central, "Central" also appears in names of stations that were once served by railway companies which used Central as part of their name—for example Leicester Central railway station was owned by the Great Central Railway and Central Station (Chicago) was owned by the Illinois Central Railroad.

When translating foreign station names, "Central Station" is commonly used where the literal meaning of the station's name is central station or main station. An example of the latter is the Danish word hovedbanegård. Travel and rail sources such as Rough Guides,^[2] Thomas Cook European Timetable and Deutsche Bahn's passenger information^[3] generally use the native name; whilst some websites^[4][5] and English publications of some national railway operators use "central station" or "central railway station" instead.^[6][7]

Europe

Non-English language names for Central station include:

• Централна гара (tsentralna gara) in Bulgarian
• střed in Czech
• Centraal Station (abbreviated formerly as CS and currently as Centraal) in Dutch
• Gare centrale in French
• Hauptbahnhof, Centralbahnhof or Zentralbahnhof in German
• Stazione Centrale (abbreviated C.le) in Italian
• sentralstasjon in Norwegian
• Estação Central in Portuguese
• Estación Central in Spanish
• centralstation (abbreviated central or C) in Swedish

Non-English language terms that literally mean main station are sometimes translated into English as Central:

• Glavni kolodvor (abbreviated Gl. kol.) in Croatian
• hlavní nádraží (abbreviated hl. n.) in Czech
• hovedbanegård in Danish
• Hauptbahnhof (abbreviated Hbf or HB) in German
• Dworzec Główny in Polish
• hlavná stanica (abbreviated hl. st.) in Slovak

Austria

1. Wien Hauptbahnhof
2. Graz Hauptbahnhof
3. Linz Hauptbahnhof
4. Salzburg Hauptbahnhof
5. Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof
6. St. Pölten Hauptbahnhof
7. Wels Hauptbahnhof
8. Wörgl Hauptbahnhof
9. Leoben Hauptbahnhof

Belarus

1. Brest Central Station (Brest-Centralny, Брест-Центральный)

Belgium

Three stations in Belgium are named "-Central" (Dutch Centraal).

1. Antwerp Central Station (Antwerpen-Centraal)
2. Brussels Central Station (Bruxelles-Central / Brussel-Centraal) - not to be confused with the city's main international station, Brussels Midi (meaning "Brussels south"; the French word "Midi" is generally used as the station's name in English).
3. Verviers Central Station (Verviers-Central)

Denmark

Two Danish stations have names sometimes translated to central:

1. Aarhus Central Station - the busiest Danish station outside the Copenhagen area
2. Copenhagen Central Station - the largest station in Denmark

Bulgaria

There are three stations with "central" in their names:

1. Central Railway Station, Sofia (Централна гара София)
2. Central Railway Station, Plovdiv (Централна гара Пловдив)
3. Ruse Central railway station (Централна гара Русе)

Czech Republic

• Brno hlavní nádraží (Brno)
• Česká Lípa hlavní nádraží (Česká Lípa)
• Děčín hlavní nádraží (Děčín)
• Hradec Králové hlavní nádraží (Hradec Králové)
• Karviná hlavní nádraží (Karviná)
• Kutná Hora hlavní nádraží (Kutná Hora)
• Mladá Boleslav hlavní nádraží (Mladá Boleslav)
• Nymburk hlavní nádraží (Nymburk)
• Olomouc hlavní nádraží (Olomouc)
• Ostrava hlavní nádraží (Ostrava)
• Pardubice hlavní nádraží (Pardubice)
• Plzeň hlavní nádraží (Pilsen)
• Praha hlavní nádraží (Prague) was called Praha střed (Prague Central) from 1953 to 1990.
  • Hlavní nádraží - the corresponding metro station in Prague
• Prostějov hlavní nádraží (Prostějov)
• Trutnov hlavní nádraží (Trutnov)
• Ústí nad Labem hlavní nádraží (Ústí nad Labem)

Finland

Two Finnish stations can be translated to central:

1. Helsinki Central railway station (Helsingin päärautatieasema)
2. Turku Central railway station (Turun päärautatieasema)

Germany

The German words for "central station" are Centralbahnhof and Zentralbahnhof. Geographically central stations may be named Mitte or Stadtmitte ("city centre"), e.g. Koblenz Stadtmitte station. In most German cities with more than one passenger station, the principal station is called Hauptbahnhof meaning "main railway station";^{[2][8][9][10][11][12][13]} some German sources translate this as "central station"^{[8][9][12][14][15][16]} although stations named Hauptbahnhof may not be centrally located.

While using Hauptbahnhof in its journey planner^[17] and passenger information, in English-language publications Deutsche Bahn uses variously Hauptbahnhof,^[18] Main^[19] and Central.^[19][20]

In Germany, Hauptbahnhof is abbreviated to Hbf.

The following stations historically bore the name Centralbahnhof or Zentralbahnhof as part of their proper name:^[21]

1. Chemnitz Hauptbahnhof^[22]
2. Köln Hauptbahnhof^[23][24]
3. Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof^[25]
4. Hamburg Dammtor station: documents from around the time of the opening of the station refer to Centralbahnhof.^[26][27] or Zentral-Bahnhof.^[28]
5. Ingolstadt Hauptbahnhof^[29]
6. Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof^[30]
7. Mainz Hauptbahnhof^{[31][32][33][34]}
8. München Hauptbahnhof^[35] until 1 May 1904.
9. Oldenburg Hauptbahnhof (called Centralbahnhof Oldenburg from 1879 to 1911^[36])
10. Osnabruck Hauptbahnhof^[37]
11. Stuttgart Zentralbahnhof (or Centralbahnhof) was a centrally located station on the Zentralbahn (replaced by Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof, which opened on a new site east of the centre in 1922).^[38]

Italy

1. Agrigento Centrale railway station
2. Bari Centrale railway station
3. Barletta Centrale railway station (FNB)
4. Bologna Centrale railway station
5. Catania Centrale railway station
6. Gorizia Centrale railway station
7. La Spezia Centrale railway station
8. Lamezia Terme Centrale railway station
9. Livorno Centrale railway station
10. Messina Centrale railway station
11. Milano Centrale railway station
12. Napoli Centrale railway station
13. Palermo Centrale railway station
14. Pescara Centrale railway station
15. Pisa Centrale railway station
16. Prato Centrale railway station
17. Reggio Calabria Centrale railway station
18. Tarvisio Centrale railway station - now closed
19. Torre Annunziata Centrale railway station
20. Trieste Centrale railway station
21. Treviglio railway station, also known as Treviglio Centrale
22. Treviso Centrale railway station
23. Trieste Centrale railway station

Netherlands

In the Netherlands, a centraal station (abbreviated CS), in its original sense, was a railway station that was served by several railway companies; it therefore used to have the same meaning as a union station in the English-speaking world. Since the various private railways were merged in the early 20th century into a national railway, the term came to mean, in everyday language, the main railway station of a city.

Since the 2000s, the railways hold to the rule that a city's main station may be called Centraal if it has more than a certain number of passengers per day (currently 40.000). This meant that Almere Centraal had to be demoted to Almere Centrum; however, Leiden was renamed Leiden Centraal. Additionally, stations with international high-speed trains can get the name Centraal; this applies to Arnhem. Breda was supposed to get the epithet after renovation in 2016, but since the high speed trains don't stop there yet, it is still called Breda.

Non-railway signage, such as on buses or roads, sometimes indicates Centraal or CS even when a city's main railway station isn't actually named as such.

Six stations have the word Centraal:

1. Amsterdam Centraal
2. Den Haag Centraal
3. Leiden Centraal
4. Rotterdam Centraal
5. Utrecht Centraal
6. Arnhem Centraal

There are also stations with the word Centrum, which indicates the station is in the city centre:

1. Almere Centrum
2. Barneveld Centrum
3. Ede Centrum
4. Kerkrade Centrum
5. Lelystad Centrum
6. Schiedam Centrum
7. Veenendaal Centrum
8. Vlaardingen Centrum

Norway

1. Oslo Central Station (Oslo Sentralstasjon)
2. Trondheim Central Station (Trondheim Sentralstasjon)

Poland

The designation "main station" (Dworzec główny, abbreviated to " Gł") is used in many Polish cities to indicate the most important passenger or goods station, for instance Szczecin Główny. However, there is an exception:

1. Warszawa Centralna railway station is the principal station in the capital Warsaw, the Warszawa Główna railway stations having closed.

Sweden

In Sweden the term "central station" (Centralstation, abbreviated to Central or C) is used to indicate the primary station in towns and cities with more than one railway station. Many are termini for one or more lines. However, the term can also occur in a broader sense, even being used for the only railway station in a town. In some cases, this is because other stations have closed but, in others, the station is called "central" even though there has only ever been one. In these cases, the term "central" was used to highlight the level of service required due to the station's importance in the network, particularly at important railway junctions.

1. Arlanda Central Station (Stockholm Arlanda Airport)
2. Gothenburg Central Station
3. Halmstad Central Station
4. Hässleholm Central Station
5. Jönköping Central Station
6. Malmö Central Station
7. Norrköping Central Station
8. Nässjö Central Station
9. Stockholm Central Station
10. Uppsala Central Station
11. Västerås Central Station
12. Lund Central Station
13. Kalmar Central Station
14. Karlskrona Central Station
15. Kristianstad Central Station
16. Linköping Central Station
17. Helsingborg Central Station
18. Södertälje Central Station
19. Örebro Central Station

Switzerland

Similar to principal stations in Germany, the most important station in Zürich is called Hauptbahnhof (Main Railway Station), which in some sources is translated to central station in English.^[39]

Additionally, Basel SBB railway station was originally known as the Centralbahnhof or, in English, Basle Central Station^[40][41][42] and is still sometimes referred to today as the Centralbahnhof or Basel/Basle Central Station.^[43][44][45]

In Switzerland, Hauptbahnhof is abbreviated to HB.

Turkey

1. Adana Central railway station
2. Ankara Central railway station
3. Eskişehir Central railway station
4. Gaziantep Central railway station
5. İstanbul Sirkeci railway station
6. İzmir Alsancak railway station
7. Kars Central railway station
8. Kayseri Central railway station
9. Mersin Central railway station

United Kingdom

Many railway stations in Britain that use 'Central' are not 'principal' stations, and are called Central to distinguish them from other stations with different names, or for prestige. In some cases, a station originally owned by the Great Central Railway in locations served by more than one station was called Central. Town also appears: for example Edenbridge Town distinguishes it from Edenbridge station.

One of the few 'principal' stations in the UK that is called 'Central' and truly is in the centre of the city it serves is Glasgow Central station. Though Glasgow was once served by four principal terminus stations, all within the city centre, only one was called 'Central'. With a few exceptions such as the Argyle line, Central serves all stations south of the city while Glasgow Queen Street serves as the principal station for all services North of the city. Likewise, Cardiff Central is located in the city centre and is the mainline hub of the South Wales' rail network, which includes 19 other stations in Cardiff itself, one of which is another principal city centre station, Cardiff Queen Street.

America

North America

United States

In the United States, several "Central" stations were built by railways called "Central", the best known example being Grand Central Station in New York City, is so named because it was built by the New York Central Railroad. Others, however, are not. For example, the new Miami Central Station is being built for Amtrak as the principal and intermodal station to serve rapid transit, commuter rail, intercity rail, and intercity bus services in Miami.

This contrasts with a union station, which, in the past, served more than one railway company (the equivalent term in Europe is a joint station). This is no longer the case, as the government-funded Amtrak took over the operation of all intercity passenger rail in the 1970s and 1980s.

• Buffalo Central Terminal, in Buffalo New York State
• Central Station, Chicago, Illinois
• Grand Central Station, Chicago, Illinois
• Central (CTA Green Line), Chicago, Illinois
• Central (CTA Purple Line), Evanston, Illinois
• Central Station (JTA Skyway), Jacksonville, Florida
• Central Station (Memphis), Memphis, Tennessee
• Miami Central Station, Miami, Florida
• Grand Central Terminal, New York City

Canada

• Central LRT Station, in Edmonton
• Central Station (Montreal), in Montreal
• Guelph Central Station, an intermodal (rail/bus) station in Guelph

Cuba

• Central Railway Station, Havana, commuter and national rail station in Havana

South America

• Estación Alameda in Santiago, Chile is known unofficially as Estación Central

Brazil

• In Brazil, "Central Station" is called as "Estação Central" and can be a place that integrates bus or train.
• Central do Brasil, in Rio de Janeiro
• Estação da Luz, in São Paulo

Asia

India

• Kanpur Central (CNB), in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh
• Mangalore Central (MAQ) in Mangalore, Karnataka
• Mumbai Central (BCT), in Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Trivandrum Central (TVC), in Trivandrum, Kerala
• Chennai Central (MAS), in Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Israel

• Beersheba Center Railway Station, Be'er Sheva
• Haifa Center HaShmona Railway Station, Haifa
• Modi'in Center Railway Station, Modi'in
• Tel Aviv Savidor Central Railway Station, Tel Aviv

Japan

• Kagoshima-Chūō Station, in Kagoshima, formerly Nishi-Kagoshima Station

South Korea

• Seoul Station, a central station in Seoul
• Busan Station, a central station in Busan

Taiwan

• Taipei Railway Station, a central station in Taipei City
• Xinzuoying Station, a central station in Kaohsiung City

Hong Kong

• Central Station, an interchange station in the Mass Transit Railway (MTR), which links the Tsuen Wan Line, the Island Line and the lines (Tung Chung Line and Airport Express) terminating at the nearby Hong Kong Station. The station is named after Central District on Hong Kong Island, where it is located, and is not served by intercity trains.
• Hung Hom Station, an interchange station in the Mass Transit Railway (MTR), which links the West Rail Line, the East Rail Line and the intercity trains, which links the lines of cross-border services to Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. It is the terminal station of Guangzhou-Kowloon Through Train and the only station serving cross-border trains to Mainland China.

Malaysia

Sentral is the Malay spelling for the English word central.

• Kuala Lumpur Sentral railway station, in Kuala Lumpur

Africa

South Africa

• Johannesburg Park Station, Johannesburg

Australia

• Central railway station, Brisbane, Brisbane
• Melbourne Central railway station, named after Melbourne Central Shopping Centre, Melbourne
• Central railway station, Sydney, also known as Sydney Terminal, Sydney
• Gawler Central railway station, Adelaide
• Wynnum Central railway station, Brisbane

Notes

1. ↑ Manchester Central at www.disused-stations.org.uk. Retrieved 17 Jun 2017.
2. 1 2 Rough Guide to Berlin. Rough Guides. April 2008. p. 363. 
3. ↑ "bahn.com - your online travel booking tool for rail journeys, holidays, city trips and car rental". Deutsche Bahn. 
4. ↑ Vienna Central Station (Wien Hauptbahnhof), Austria at www.railway-technology.com. Retrieved 30 Jul 2014.
5. ↑ Munich Central Station at www.muenchen.de.Retrieved 30 Jul 2014.
6. ↑ Vienna Central Train Station at www.oebb.at. Retrieved 30 Jul 2014.
7. ↑ Munich central station at www.bahn.de. Retrieved 30 Jul 2014.
8. 1 2 Ernst, Dr.-Ing. Richard (1989). Wörterbuch der Industriellen Technik (5th ed.). Wiesbaden, Germany: Oscar Brandstetter, p. 461. ISBN 3-87097-145-2.
9. 1 2 Worsch, Wolfgang (2004). Langenscheidt Muret-Sanders Großwörterbuch, Teil II, Deutsch-Englisch , Langenscheidt KG, Berlin, Munich, Vienna, Zurich, New York, p. 504. ISBN 3-468-02126-7.
10. ↑ Rudolf Böhringer German for everybody--and you! 1966 Page 2 "Well, Bahnhof means 'station' just as Hauptbahnhof means 'main station'."
11. ↑ German Dictionary 21st Century Edition. Collins. 1999. 
12. 1 2 "Hauptbahnhof". Austria: dict.cc GmbH. Retrieved 23 August 2013. 
13. ↑ "German-English Dictionary English Translation of "Hauptbahnhof"". London: HarperCollins Publishers. Retrieved 23 August 2013. 
14. ↑ "Translations for hauptbahnhof in the German » English dictionary". Germany: Pons GmbH. Retrieved 23 August 2013. 
15. ↑ Hauptbahnhof translations at dictionary.reverso.net. Retrieved 19 Feb 2015
16. ↑ Edwards, Brian (2011). Sustainability and the Design of Transport Interchanges. Oxford & New York: Routledge. p. 149. ISBN 978-0-415-46449-9. 
17. ↑ "bahn.com - your online travel booking tool for rail journeys, holidays, city trips and car rental". Germany: Deutsche Bahn. Retrieved 14 August 2013. 
18. ↑ "Station profile > Berlin Hauptbahnhof". Germany: Deutsche Bahn. Retrieved 23 August 2013. 
19. 1 2 "Business Travel - News from Deutsche Bahn" (PDF). Germany: Deutsche Bahn. Spring 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013. 
20. ↑ "Your perfect connections from the airport directly to your destination". Germany: Deutsche Bahn. Retrieved 14 August 2013. 
21. ↑ See de:Centralbahnhof
22. ↑ Chemnitz Central Station (Centralbahnhof/Hauptbahnhof), 1873 engraving by Strassberger at Buddelkasten. Accessed on 21 Aug 2013
23. ↑ Baedeker Karl (1860). Die Rheinlande von der Schweizer bis zur holländischen grenze: Schwarzwald bis zur Holländischen Grenze., 11th Revised Edition, Verlag von Karl Baedeker, Coblenz, p. 272
24. ↑ Degener, August Ludwig (1908). Wer ist's?, Verlag Herrmann Degener.
25. ↑ Empfangs-Gebäude für den Central-Bahnhof zu Frankfurt. Wasmuth. 1881. 
26. ↑ Benrath, H. (1901). Die neuen Eisenbahnanlagen und der Centralbahnhof in Hamburg (in German). Neue Börsen-Halle. 
27. ↑ "Hamburg, Central-Bahnhof nach Vollendung, Lithografie" (in German). 1901. 
28. ↑ Karl Müller (1904). "Hamburgs Zentral-Bahnhof in Bilt und Wort" (in German). 
29. ↑ Rundgang durch mehr als 150 Jahre Straßenverkehr in Ingolstadt (1844 – 1999) by Josef Würdinger (2011). (pdf)
30. ↑ Heim, Ludwig; Peters, O (1881). Der Central-Bahnhof zu Magdeburg. Ernst & Korn. 
31. ↑ Heymann, C. (1883). Repertorium der technischen Journal-Literatur, p. 95.
32. ↑ Hessische Landstände, 1. Kammer (1902). Verhandlungen in der Ersten Kammer der Landstände des grossherzogthums Hessen in Jahre..., p. 165.
33. ↑ Hessisches Landessstatistisches Amt (1879). Mitteilungen des Hessischen landesstatistischen amtes, p. 10
34. ↑ Verein Deutscher Eisenbahnverwaltungen (1865). Zeitung des Vereins Deutscher Eisenbahnverwaltungen: Organ d. Vereins, Vol. 5
35. ↑ Centralbahnhof München. Pläne und Tafeln. 1885. 
36. ↑ Bahnhof Oldenburg at www.laenderbahn.info. Retrieved on 30 Jul 2013.
37. ↑ Bergmann, Baurath (1898). Der Centralbahnhof in Osnabrück, Zeitschrift für Bauwesen, Ministry of Public Works
38. ↑ Achim Wörner (30 January 2008). "Der Hauptbahnhof im Spiegel der Zeit". Stuttgarter Zeitung (in German). 
39. ↑ "Mobility & Transport". City of Zürich. Retrieved November 3, 2013. 
40. ↑ Haddon, J. (1893). The Review of the Churches, Vol. 3, p. v, Christian Union.
41. ↑ Stübben, Joseph (1896). Centralbahnhof Basel: Gutachten des Königl. Baurats Herrn Stübben in Köln über die Beziehungen der Bahnhofs-Projekte zu dem städtischen Strassennetz, Schweizerische Centralbahn-Gesellschaft (Basel).
42. ↑ The Railway Gazette, Vol. 82, p. 602, 1942.
43. ↑ Kunz, Fritz (1985). Der Bahnhof Europas: 125 Jahre Centralbahnhof Basel, 1860 - 1985 ; [Festschr. zum Jubiläum "125 Jahre Centralbahnhof Basel", 4 - 6 Oct 1985], Pharos-Verlag, H. Schwabe. ISBN 978-3-7230-0221-6
44. ↑ Airtrain at the Swiss Air website. Retrieved on 30 Jul 2013
45. ↑ Basel - Location and Arrival at www.swisstraveling.com. Retrieved on 30 Jul 2013