Zürich Stadelhofen railway station () is an important local railway station in the city of Zurich (fare zone 110 of the Zürcher Verkehrsverbund, ZVV). It is located on the Zurich-Rapperswil, Zürich-Winterthur, Zürich-Uster lines of the SBB CFF FFS (Swiss Federal Railways). An adjacent station, , is the terminus of the Forchbahn (FB) suburban railway and is served by several lines of the Zürich tram network.

Stadelhofen lies close to the Zurich Opera House and near Bellevue Square. It is located in the city centre next to Lake Zürich and constitutes an early work by architect Santiago Calatrava in the city where he had studied.

History

thumb|left|Changes to the railway routes in 1990

Stadelhofen station opened in 1894, at the same time as the Lake Zürich right bank railway (Rechtsufrige Zürichseebahn) from Zürich Hauptbahnhof to Rapperswil station. Until 1990, the station was an intermediate stop on this single track line, which departed from the Hauptbahnhof in a westerly direction, before performing a clockwise 270 degrees turn via a viaduct over the River Limmat and passing through Letten station and the Letten tunnel to Stadelhofen. By rail the distance between the Hauptbahnhof and Stadelhofen was some , despite the fact that they are only apart in a straight line.

In 1990 there were major changes to the railway geography of this part of Zürich. To the north of Stadelhofen, the Letten tunnel was closed and replaced by the twin-track Hirschengraben tunnel, which took a direct route under the River Limmat to Hauptbahnhof, serving new through low level platforms there. At the same time a junction was formed to the south of Stadelhofen, allowing trains leaving Zurich to take either the original right bank line to Tiefenbrunnen station and onwards to Rapperswil, or to travel via the newly built Zürichberg Tunnel to Stettbach station and points to the east and north of Zurich.

Stadelhofen therefore became part of the through west–east backbone of the Zürich S-Bahn, and was rebuilt into its current form with an additional platform and enhanced station infrastructure.

The station can be accessed from either side. An underground retail arcade runs the length of the station below the tracks and provides access between the platforms and station entrances. Underground access is supplemented by two bridges which span the station, one carrying a footpath and the other restricted road traffic.

All trains from the main Stadelhofen station operate via the Hirschengraben Tunnel and low-level platforms 41–44 at Hauptbahnhof, continuing to Hardbrücke station. They provide, for most of the day, 18 trains per hour (tph) to or from these central Zürich stations. Other stations served include:

  • : hourly service between and via .
  • : hourly service between and via .
  • : hourly service between and via .
  • : hourly service between and via .
  • : hourly service between and via .
  • : hourly service to via .
  • : hourly service to .

Architecture

The existing Stadelhofen station building dates from 1894, and was built in a neoclassical style reflecting the surrounding buildings. In the 1990s the train station was rebuilt by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. The principal challenge of this rebuild was to add a third track to a station constrained by a steep hillside rising above the station to one side, and an urban square to the other.

The resulting design preserved the existing station building on the square side, and excavated the hillside to provide room for the third track and the platform serving it. The hillside was then restored with a multilevel structure that reinstates the walkways and bank above, while providing an open, naturally lit island platform underneath serving the new track and its pre-existing neighbour. The massive canopy over this platform is complemented by a much lighter metal and glass canopy over the platform on the square side of the station. An underground arcade was created beneath the length of the station, providing retail space as well as access between the platforms and station entrances. The arcade is framed by sculptural arches, and is naturally lit through glass blocks embedded on the platforms. As well as the underground arcade, two bridges span the station, linking the city on each side.

<gallery mode=packed>

File:Bahnhof Stadelhofen 2010-09-04 15-10-10 ShiftN.jpg|The frontage of the station seen from Stadelhofen square

File:Bahnhof Stadelhofen.20060404-193358.jpg|The view of the station from the southern overbridge

File:Zürich - Bahnhof Stadelhofen IMG 4362.jpg|The station building as seen from the northern overbridge

File:Bahnhof Stadelhofen - Stadelhoferplatz 2014-03-08 13-42-24.JPG|The southern pedestrian overbridge

File:Bahnhof Stadelhofen.jpg|The arcade below the tracks

File:Santiago Calatravaː Haus zum Falken beim Bahnhof Zürich Stadelhofen.jpg|Haus zum Falken in 2025 (contains bicycle parking station)

</gallery>

See also

  • History of rail transport in Switzerland
  • List of railway stations in Zurich
  • Rail transport in Switzerland

Further reading

References

  • Interactive station plan (Zürich Stadelhofen)
  • Station plan from SBB web site