Zürich Hauptbahnhof, Switzerland
Posted by: 
fi67
N 47° 22.655 E 008° 32.481
32T E 465377 N 5247226
Zürich Main Station, the largest railway station of Switzerland
Waymark Code: WM6TZE
Location: Zürich, Switzerland
Date Posted: 07/20/2009
Views: 69
Zürich Hauptbahnhof (often shortened to Zürich HB) or Zürich Main Station is the largest railway station in Zürich. Centrally situated within the city, it accommodates trains from all over Switzerland and neighboring European countries such as France, Italy, Austria and Germany.
The ground floor has 20 tracks (Tracks 3 - 18 and 51 - 54). Tracks 3 - 18 are 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 mostly used by regional trains.
One floor below lie two tracks (Tracks 1 and 2), for the exclusive usage of SZU S-Bahn trains, which head west towards Uetliberg and the western part of the canton of Zürich.
Another floor below there are four tracks catering mainly to regional trains in the canton. The S-Bahn trains use the four tracks (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 Zürich trams interconnect. Train connections to Zürich Stadelhofen, Zürich Hardbrücke, Zürich Oerlikon and Zürich Enge are very frequent, and the ride takes only few minutes.
Until 1991, this station was a dead-end station which did not permit traffic to go through the station. In 1991, an underground passage was opened to enable S-Bahn trains to proceed to Zurich Stadelhofen.
Zurich HB is served by more than 2,700 daily trains. The station is busy at all times, with trains running as early as 5 AM and as late as 1 AM 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).
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
There is a lot of reconstroction work done at the main building at the moment (July 2009): Additional underground tracks, therefore relocation of some shopping areas etc. I will upload more pictures when you can actually "see" the station as soon this is possible (end of work is planned for 2014, but maybe the main portal will be free earlier).
Is the station/depot currently used for railroad purposes?: Yes
Is the station/depot open to the public?: Yes
If the station/depot is not being used for railroad purposes, what is it currently used for?:
The station is home to a large underground shopping centre of over 200 shops, restaurants or other businesses
What rail lines does/did the station/depot serve?: SBB
Station/Depot Web Site: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
Please post an original picture of the station/depot taken while you were there. Please also record how you came to be at this station/depot and any interesting information you learned about it while there.