Railfan Tour of Switzerland - Wednesday - Zurich Hauptbahnhof Part One



Zurich Hauptbahnhof 

Paul has prepared some extensive notes and photos of the Zurich Hauptbahnhof.  This will be in several parts. 
The busiest station in Switzerland is Zurich Hauptbahnhof (Zurich HB) which is used primarily by the SBB. It has 26 tracks serving almost 3000 trains daily and it is one of the busiest stations in the world. It was built in the 1870s and is a main shopping destination as well as a transport hub. There are three levels for platforms and the "Shopville" shopping plaza.  The river Sihl river passes right through the station with platforms passing above and below the river.
This shows the general layout of the station with the surrounding tram tracks shown in purple
  • Tracks 3 to 18 are terminal tracks located at ground level, served by two side platforms and seven island platforms. These are used by long-distance trains from throughout Switzerland, and by international trains.
  • Tracks 21 and 22 are underground terminal tracks, served by a single island platform, and located on the southern side of the station. These are used by S-Bahn trains, heading west and south towards Uetliberg and the Sihl valley.
  • Tracks 31 to 34 are underground through tracks, served by a pair of island platforms, and located just to the north of tracks 21 and 22. These are used by long-distance and S-Bahn trains running to and from Oerlikon station via the Weinberg Tunnel.
  • Tracks 41 to 44 are underground through tracks, served by a pair of island platforms, and located on the northern side of the station. These are used by S-Bahn trains.

Zurich HB is well connected with the tram network. The VBZ trams have stops on three sides of the station


The main concourse is a large space which is often used for special events like Oktoberfest, or sports and is rarely empty. Restaurants have patios on the concourse although these can be unpleasant because of the cigarette smoke. SBB is in process of banning smoking in its stations but it is strange it has taken this long for this to happen bearing in mind the underground levels have been non-smoking for a while

Zurich HB is rarely crowded even in rush hours. Trains are on time and passengers able to pre-board. There are no crowds gathered waiting for a screen to update followed by a mad dash for a platform with hundreds of other people. This, unfortunately, is normal practice in France where platforms are announced shortly before train departure. In Switzerland platform information is published each December and is good for the next 12 months.

The main departure screen. Because of the large number of departures this can only cover the next 30-40 minutes.  However, yellow departure boards, giving full details, are spread throughout the station..

Decorations in the main concourse

ShopVille extends for three floors under the station. There is no need to ever leave the station since anything from groceries and wine to clothing and electronics can be bought here.

The Zurich concourse has a highly visible Swiss Railway Clock

For those in a hurry the inevitable Selecta and Lavazza coffee machines are very much in evidence

One of several areas for parking bikes at Zurich HB
Train Shed
The main level consists of stub end platforms 3 to 18 covered by a large train shed.

ICN intercity train and a double decker Regio service in the train shed

DB ICE 1 high speed train and a refurbished Re 460

Zurich is the destination for Austrian Railways OBB Railjet trains

In spite of the high utilization there is room for special excursions - Red Arrow Churchill train

Re 460 in special livery. The stub end platform means that inbound locomotives are buried at the stub end of the platform until the train can leave. The train this loco recently hauled in has been uncoupled and is ready to go with another engine on the front but the engine is stuck for the moment.

Re 4/4 buried on stub platform 15

Sometimes even switchers get buried in the stub platforms! This Ee 922 is waiting for a TGV to leave. The crew don't seem to mind.


In the next blog we will take a look outside the train shed.











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