Zürich Oerlikon railway station

Bahnhof Zürich Oerlikon
The south-eastern front of Zürich Oerlikon station in 2009
Location	Hofwiesenstrasse 369, City of Zürich, Canton of Zürich, Switzerland
Coordinates	47°24′46″N 8°32′42″E / 47.41278°N 8.54500°E
Owned by	SBB CFF FFS (Swiss Federal Railways)
Operated by	SBB CFF FFS
Line(s)	Zürich–Winterthur Furttal
Platforms	6
Tracks	6
Connections	Zürich trams (routes 10, 11 and 14) Zürich buses Glattalbus
Construction
Platform levels	1
Other information
Fare zone	ZVV 110
History
Opened	1855
Rebuilt	1912
Traffic
Passengers	110,000 daily (2008)[1]
Services
Preceding station   Swiss rail network   Following station Zürich Hauptbahnhof   InterRegio Basle to Zürich Airport   Zürich Airport Zürich Hauptbahnhof   InterRegio Lucerne to Zürich Airport   Zürich Airport Zürich Hauptbahnhof   RegioExpress Zürich Hauptbahnhof to Schaffhausen   Bülach Zürich Hauptbahnhof   Zurich S-Bahn S2 line   Zürich Airport Zürich Hardbrücke   Zürich S-Bahn S6 line   Zürich Seebach Zürich Hardbrücke   Zürich S-Bahn S7 line   Opfikon Zürich Hauptbahnhof   Zürich S-Bahn S8 line   Wallisellen Zürich Hardbrücke   Zurich S-Bahn S9 line   Glattbrugg Zürich Hauptbahnhof   Zürich S-Bahn S14 line   Wallisellen Zürich Hardbrücke   Zurich S-Bahn S15 line   Glattbrugg Zürich Hardbrücke   Zürich S-Bahn S16 line   Zürich Airport Zürich Hauptbahnhof   Zürich S-Bahn S19 line   Wallisellen Zürich Wipkingen   Zürich S-Bahn S24 line   Terminus
Location
Zürich Oerlikon railway station (Switzerland)

Zürich Oerlikon railway station (German: Bahnhof Zürich Oerlikon) is a railway station located at Oerlikon in the city of Zurich, Switzerland. It is a major nodal point and junction for both the Zurich S-Bahn network and the Swiss rail network as a whole. Trains on 10 lines of the S-Bahn serve the station, as do frequent inter-regional trains. Inter-city passenger and freight traffic also passes through the station without stopping.

Oerlikon station lies close nearby Hallenstadion and Messe Zürich in the centre of Oerlikon, a suburb of Zürich that was once an independent town, and still remains an important business and retail centre. The Swissôtel Zürich lies immediately opposite the front of the station.

The station building is listed in the Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance as a Class B object of regional importance.^[2]

History

On 27 December 1855 the line from Oerlikon to Winterthur via Wallisellen station was established by the Schweizerische Nordostbahn (NOB), and a temporary wooden train station was built by A. Beckh and Jakob Friedrich Wanner. The following year the line was extendend to Zürich Hauptbahnhof through the Wipkingen Tunnel. Lines from Wallisellen to Uster (1856) and Oerlikon to Bülach via Glattbrugg station (1865) followed. The opening of these lines triggered the industrialization of Oerlikon, and a massive population growth. In particular the large works of Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon was established immediately to the west of the station.^[3][4]

In 1865, the wooden train station was replaced by a stone building. In 1877, the Schweizerische Nationalbahn (SNB) opened the Furttal railway line from Wettingen to Effretikon, via Seebach and Opfikon stations. This line was conceived as a freight bypass for Zürich and whilst it passed close to Oerlikon station, it did not serve it. In 1878 the SNB became insolvent, and was taken over by the NOB. In 1881, a link between the Oerlikon to Bülach line and the Furttal line was constructed to allow trains to run from Oerlikon to Opfikon, and in 1909 a curve was added to also allow trains to run from Oerlikon to Seebach. In 1912, the current station building replaced that of 1865.^[4]

In June 1969 the Käferberg Tunnel was opened, providing a second route to Hauptbahnhof. In October 1979 the line from Oerlikon under Zürich Airport and on to rejoin the main line to Winterthur at Bassersdorf (the Flughafenlinie) opened, including a new station directly under the airport terminal. In June 2014, the Weinberg Tunnel opened, providing a third route to Hauptbahnhof.^[5]

To complement the opening of the Weinberg tunnel, the station's infrastructure was renewed, with the provision of two additional platform tracks and the rebuilding of the station's bus and tram stops. The additional platforms and tracks were constructed on the north-western side of the station, partially on land occupied by the former office building of Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon, dating from the late 19th century and now a restaurant complex known as Gleis 9. Because of its cultural importance to the region, plans to demolish the building were rejected, and instead the 6,200-tonne (6,800-ton) building was moved 60 metres (200 ft) to the west on specially laid tracks. The move took place in May 2012, and took 19 hours.^[1][6][7]

Layout and facilities

The station is aligned on a south-west to north-east axis, and, following its expansion, has eight through platform tracks serving two side platforms and three island platforms. At the centre of the station the platforms are at or about street level, but the slope of the land means they are significantly above street level at the the north-eastern end of the station, whilst the south-western approaches descend into a cutting and, eventually, tunnels. There are station entrances on both sides of the station, but the main station buildings are on the south-eastern side of the station, the same side as the centre of the suburb of Oerlikon. Pedestrian subways link both sides of the station and all platforms.^[8]

To the south-west of Oerlikon station, the line through the station divides into three lines, with fly-overs and dive-unders providing non-conflicting access routes to and from the different lines. The three lines all link to Zürich Hauptbahnhof by different tunnels through the intermediate ridge, these being the Wipkingen Tunnel, the Käferberg Tunnel and the Weinberg Tunnel. The first two of these approach the Hauptbahnhof from the west, giving access to both its upper level terminal platforms and its low level through platforms, whilst the Weinberg Tunnel enters the low level through platforms from the east.^[8][9]

To the north-east of Oerlikon station, the line divides into two within the station limits. The south-easternmost two platform tracks serve the line to Wallisellen station and beyond. The remaining platform tracks run together for further, but eventually divide to serve the routes to Seebach, Glattbrugg, Opfikon and Zürich Airport stations respectively.^[8][9]

Trams of both the Zürich tramway system and the Glattalbahn operate from a number of stops adjacent to both sides of the station, as do buses of both the Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich and Glattalbus. Between them these connect the station to much of the city of Zürich and to the Glatt Valley between Oerlikon and Zürich Airport.^[10]

Operation

The station is an important and busy one. It is served by lines S2, S6, S7, S8, S9, S14, S15, S16, S19 and S24 of the Zurich S-Bahn. It is also called at by trains on the InterRegio (IR) lines from Zürich Airport to Basel SBB and Zürich Airport to Luzern, and the RegioExpress (RE) line from Zürich to Schaffhausen.^[11][12]

Train connections to Oerlikon from Zürich Hauptbahnhof are very frequent, and the ride takes only a few minutes. All trains stopping at Oerlikon also serve Hauptbahnhof providing, for most of the day, more than 20 trains per hour (tph) in each direction.^[11][12]

Other stations served (with typical daytime frequencies) include Affoltern am Albis (S14; 2 tph), Baden (IR/S6; 3 tph), Basel (IR; 1 tph), Brugg (IR; 1 tph), Bülach (RE/S9; 3 tph), Effretikon (S7/S8/S19/S24; 8 tph), Enge (S2/S8/S24; 6 tph), Hardbrücke (S6/S7/S9/S15/S16; 10 tph), Herrliberg-Feldmeilen (S6/S16; 4 tph), Hinwil (S14; 2 tph), Kloten (S7; 2 tph), Lucerne (IR; 1 tph), Niederweningen (S15; 2 tph), Pfäffikon SZ (S2/S8; 4 tph), Rafz (S9; 2 tph), Rapperswil (S7/S15; 4 tph), Stadelhofen (S6/S7/S9/S15/S16; 10 tph), Schaffhausen (RE/S9/S24; 3 tph), Thalwil (IR/S2/S8/S24; 7 tph), Uetikon (S6/S7; 4 tph), Uster (S9/S14/S15; 6 tph), Wallisellen (S8/S14/S19; 6 tph), Wettingen (S6; 2 tph), Wetzikon (S14/S15; 4 tph), Winterthur (S7/S8/S24; 6 tph), Wipkingen (S24; 2 tph), Ziegelbrücke (S2; 2 tph), Zug (IR/S24; 3 tph), and Zürich Airport (IR/S2/S16/S24; 8 tph).^[11][12]

Gallery

Oerlikon and its train station on an aerial photography by Walter Mittelholzer (~1920)  The main station building, seen from the street (2010)  The platforms looking south-west, before two extra tracks were added (2010)  View to the north-east of the station, with Wallisellen line diverging to right (2011)  Gleis 9 moving to its new location alongside the station approach (2012)

References

1. "Bahnhof Oerlikon Entwicklungskonzept und Ausbauvorhaben 2010 – 2015" (PDF) (in German). December 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
2. "B-Objekte KGS-Inventar" (PDF) (in German). Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, Amt für Bevölkerungsschutz. 2016-01-01. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-02-09. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
3. "Oerlikon". Historical Dictionary of Switzerland (in German). 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
4. Stutz, Werner (1983). Bahnhöfe der Schweiz von den Anfängen bis zum Ersten Weltkrieg. Zürich: Orell Füssli. pp. 101, 164, 248–249. ISBN 3-280-01405-0.
5. Haydock, David (August 2014). "Zürich's New S-Bahn Tunnel". Today's Railways Europe (224) (Platform 5 Publishing Ltd). pp. 28–32.
6. "Komplettumbau am Bahnhof Oerlikon" [Complete conversion to the Oerlikon station] (in German). Quartierverein Oerlikon. 2009-03-26. Archived from the original on 2009-04-04. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
7. "Massive Zurich building completes 19-hour trip". swissinfo.ch. 2012-05-23. Archived from the original on 2015-09-30. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
8. map.geo.admin.ch (Map). Swiss Confederation. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
9. Eisenbahnatlas Schweiz. Verlag Schweers + Wall GmbH. 2012. pp. 64–65. ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.
10. "Zurich City Map" (PDF). ZVV. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-07-23. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
11. "S-Bahn trains, buses and boats" (PDF). ZVV. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-02-22. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
12. "Departure Bahnhof Zürich Oerlikon" (PDF). Swiss Federal Railways. 2015-12-13. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-04-04. Retrieved 2016-04-04.

External links

• Station data from SBB web site
• Station plan from SBB web site