Zürich Altstetten railway station

Zürich Altstetten railway station (German: Bahnhof Zürich Altstetten) is a railway station in the Altstetten quarter of the Swiss city of Zürich. The station is located on the Zürich to Olten main line and is the junction for the Zürich to Zug via Affoltern am Albis line.[1][2]

Zürich Altstetten
The station at sunset
Location	Altstetten, City of Zürich, Canton of Zürich Switzerland
Coordinates	47°23′30″N 8°29′21″E
Elevation	399 m (1,309 ft)
Owned by	SBB CFF FFS (Swiss Federal Railways)
Operated by	SBB CFF FFS
Line(s)	Zürich–Olten Zürich–Affoltern am Albis–Zug
Platforms	3
Tracks	7
Train operators	SBB, ZVV
Connections	Zürich trams (No. 4) Zürich trolleybuses (No. 31) Zürich buses (No. 78, 80, 89, 95, 304, 307 & 308)
Other information
Fare zone	ZVV 110
Website	Station map
Services
Preceding station Swiss Federal Railways Following station Olten towards Bern InterRegio IR 35 Zürich Hauptbahnhof Terminus Dietikon towards Basel SBB InterRegio IR 36 Zürich Hauptbahnhof towards Zürich Airport Preceding station Zürich S-Bahn Following station Urdorf towards Zug S5 Zürich Hardbrücke towards Pfäffikon SZ Schlieren towards Aarau S11 Zürich Hardbrücke towards Seuzach or Wila Schlieren towards Brugg AG S12 Zürich Hardbrücke towards Schaffhausen or Wil Urdorf towards Affoltern am Albis S14 Zürich Hauptbahnhof towards Hinwil Dietikon towards Koblenz S19 Zürich Hauptbahnhof towards Pfäffikon ZH Dietikon towards Muri AG S42 Zürich Hauptbahnhof Terminus
Location
Zürich Altstetten Location in Switzerland

The station is served by lines S5, S11, S12, S14, S19, and S42 of the Zürich S-Bahn.[3] It is also a calling point for the hourly InterRegio services that link Basel to Zurich Airport via Zürich Hauptbahnhof, and Bern to Zürich via Olten.[4]

History

The first station on the site was built by the Swiss Northern Railway in 1847, as part of their pioneering line from Zurich to Baden, and hence was one of the first railway stations in Switzerland. Over time, this line became today's Zürich to Olten main line and the principal rail route between Zürich and northern and western Switzerland. The Zürich to Zug via Affoltern am Albis line opened in 1864, making Altstetten into a junction station. In 1907, the Swiss Federal Railways, who had taken over both lines, opened a workshop near the station.[5]

Operation

The station has one side platform and two island platforms, served by five tracks, and has station buildings and entrances on both the north and south sides of the station. The platforms and entrances are connected by a pair of pedestrian subways.[6]

The track 1 is built very close to the station building, in pedestrian area, as a light rail track (embedded into pavement). It is not used during normal operations. The numbers of tracks actually in use start from 2. The track 5 has no platform. It is only used for the passing trains that do not stop at this station.

For most of the day, the following regional services of the Zürich S-Bahn are provided:

• S5 Zug – Affoltern am Albis – Zürich HB – Uster – Wetzikon – Rapperswil – Pfäffikon SZ
• S11 (Aarau – Lenzburg –) Dietikon – Zürich HB – Zürich Stettbach – Winterthur – Seuzach / Sennhof-Kyburg (– Wila)
• S12 Brugg AG – Zürich HB – Zürich Stettbach – Winterthur – Schaffhausen / Wil SG
• S14 Affoltern am Albis – Zürich HB – Oerlikon – Uster – Wetzikon – Hinwil
• S19 ( Koblenz – Baden – ) Dietikon – Zürich HB – Oerlikon – Effretikon ( – Pfäffikon ZH )
• S42 Zürich HB – Othmarsingen – Muri AG

Additionally there are single InterRegio trains per hour that call at Altstetten in both directions.[4][7]

• Between Zurich Airport and Basel SBB.
• Between Zürich Hauptbahnhof and Bern via Olten.

Route 4 of the Zürich tram system serves a terminus on the northern side of the station, whilst route 31 of the Zürich trolleybus system passes the south side of the station. Zürich bus routes 78, 80, 89 and 95 also serve the south side of the station, whilst routes 304, 307 and 308 terminate at the north side.[8][9]

Future development

Future plans involve the construction of the Limmattal light rail line that will link Altstetten station with communities further west in the valley of the Limmat. It is planned that the line will be partially opened by 2020 and will connect to the city tram system at Farbhof, just to the west of Altstetten station, with an extension of existing city tram service over the light rail line as far as Schlieren.[10][11][12]

Gallery

• 
  The station from above, looking to the south and west
• 
  The south-side station building from the street
• 
  The north-side station entrance

References

1. map.geo.admin.ch (Map). Swiss Confederation. Retrieved 2012-04-26.
2. Eisenbahnatlas Schweiz. Verlag Schweers + Wall GmbH. 2012. pp. 64–65. ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.
3. "S-Bahn trains, buses and boats" (PDF). ZVV. 2018-12-09. Retrieved 2019-08-22.
4. "Departure Bahnhof Zürich Altstetten" (PDF). Swiss Federal Railways. 2018. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
5. "Altstetten". Historical Dictionary of Switzerland (in French). 2002-06-14. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
6. "Zürich Altstetten" (PDF). Swiss Federal Railways. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-07-24. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
7. "Koblenz–Dietikon–Zürich HB–Effretikon–Pfäffikon ZH" (PDF). Bundesamt für Verkehr. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
8. "Zurich City Map" (PDF). ZVV. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-07-23. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
9. "Zürich West Tram". Archived from the original on 2012-03-17. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
10. Moglestue, Andrew (March 2010). "Limmattalbahn". Retrieved 2013-06-14.
11. Moglestue, Andrew (October 2011). "Limmatalbahn to connect to Zürich tram". Retrieved 2013-06-14.
12. Moglestue, Andrew (June 2013). "Limmattalbahn into central Zürich?". Retrieved 2013-06-14.

External links

• Station data from SBB web page
• Station plan from SBB web page