Chur railway station

Chur railway station (German: Bahnhof Chur) serves the town of Chur, capital of the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. Opened in 1858, it is the most important railway junction in Graubünden.

Chur
Central pass-through (for metre-gauge) and terminal (for standard-gauge) railway station, PostAuto/AutoDaPosta terminal station.
Trains at Chur station
General information
Location	Bahnhofplatz 1-2 Chur Switzerland
Coordinates	46°51′11.088″N 9°31′44.108″E
Elevation	584 m (1,916 ft)
Owned by	Swiss Federal Railways Rhaetian Railway
Line(s)	Chur–Rorschach line Landquart–Thusis line Chur–Arosa line
Distance	13.7 km (8.5 mi) from Landquart 25.7 km (16.0 mi) from Sargans [1]
Platforms	6
Tracks	15
Train operators	Südostbahn Swiss Federal Railways THURBO Rhaetian Railway Glacier Express Deutsche Bahn
Connections	PostAuto Schweiz and Bus und Service [de] buses[2]
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Platform levels	2 (3 passenger levels)
History
Opened	30 June 1858 (1858-06-30)
Passengers
2018	24,900 per working day[3]
Services
Preceding station Swiss Federal Railways Following station Landquart towards Basel SBB IC 3 Terminus Landquart towards Zürich Hauptbahnhof IR 13 Preceding station Südostbahn Following station Landquart towards Bern IR 35 Aare Linth Terminus Preceding station DB Fernverkehr Following station Landquart towards Hamburg-Altona ICE 12 Terminus ICE 20 Preceding station Rhaetian Railway Following station Tiefencastel towards Tirano Bernina Express Terminus Reichenau-Tamins towards St. Moritz IR 38 Domat/Ems towards Disentis/Mustér RE 7 Domat/Ems towards Thusis RE 8 Terminus RE 6 Chur Altstadt towards Arosa R 16 Preceding station Glacier Express Following station Disentis/Mustér towards Zermatt Glacier Express Reverses direction Tiefencastel towards St. Moritz Preceding station St. Gallen S-Bahn Following station Landquart towards Sargans S12 Terminus Preceding station Chur S-Bahn Following station Chur West towards Thusis S1 Chur Wiesental towards Schiers Chur West towards Rhäzüns S2
Location

The station is the terminus of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS) standard-gauge main line from Zürich, and is also one of the most important stations on the Rhaetian Railway (RhB) metre-gauge network.^[1]

Since 1986, on top of it one finds the central Grisonian PostAuto/AutoDaPosta bus terminal.

SBB InterCity, InterRegio, and RegioExpress services stop at the station, alongside Rhaetian Railway InterRegio, RegioExpress and Regio services. The station is also served by several Deutsche Bahn InterCity Express trains and by the Glacier Express. Finally, local service is provided by both the St. Gallen and Chur S-Bahn networks.

History and development

1850-1895

Planning for a station at Chur began in 1850. After heated debate, the station was built at its present site, just outside the city limits, and designed as a terminus of the Rheineck–Chur railway. It was opened on 30 June 1858 (1858-06-30).

The first operator of the station was the United Swiss Railways. Initially, only a temporary wooden goods shed was constructed as a station building. But in 1860 work was completed on a station building still visible today^[when?] in modified form. In 1876, that building was moved to a new location on the Gürtelstrasse, where it has remained ever since.

With continuing increases in tourism in the area, a new station building was completed on 1 November 1878. It still exists today,^[when?] but over the years has undergone several modifications.^{[citation needed]}

1896-1985

In 1896, the Rhaetian Railway opened a narrow gauge line between Landquart and Thusis. The first 13.68 kilometres (8.50 mi) of that line ran parallel with the already well established standard gauge line between Landquart and Chur.

Due to a ruling by the Swiss Federal Council, the Rhaetian Railway was forced to abandon plans for a railway station of its own in Chur, and instead had to integrate itself into the existing United Swiss Railways station.

In 1903, the Albula Railway was opened, making necessary another expansion of Chur station. In 1914, traffic at the station increased even further, with the opening of the Chur–Arosa railway. Between 1926 and 1928, following yet another sharp increase in traffic, the station was completely rebuilt. As part of the late 1920s renovation, the number of tracks was increased, new bridges were built, and the track layout was simplified. Simultaneously, buildings from earlier times were refurbished, and new buildings were erected.^{[citation needed]}

1985-present

The station is located in the centre of the town of Chur, and forms the transition between the old and new towns.

Bus terminal, on the upper level

Chur station platforms

The most striking of the station's buildings is now the roof over the Postauto bus station, which is located above the station platforms.

In 1986, the architects Richard Brosi and Robert Obrist won first prize in a competition for the design of the bus station, including its roof. Their idea was to create an airy concourse, and the structure built to their design was completed in 1993.

Comprehensive redevelopment of the station began in 2000. The complete redesign of the station was a joint project of the SBB-CFF-FFS, the Rhaetian Railway and the town of Chur. As part of the redevelopment, a new pedestrian underpass was opened in 2003. By 2006, the underpass had been expanded to the south. As a connection to the southern end of the underpass, a new shopping mall was opened. Meanwhile, the height of the platforms was raised to Switzerland's usual height of 55 cm, and the platform roofs were renewed.

The old station building, which was called Belle Epoque, was completely renovated in a project completed in 2007. Between the tracks of the SBB and those of the Rhaetian Railway's Chur-Arosa line is now a new office and retail building.

The Chur bus station was moved closer to the railway station and has a direct connection to the underground shopping arcade. Also, the Bahnhofplatz in front of the station was extensively renovated in 2007.^{[citation needed]}

Arosabahn

Main article: Chur–Arosa railway line

Chur is also the lower terminus of the Chur-Arosa line (the Arosabahn), which has its own dedicated platforms (numbers 1 & 2) at the front of Chur station, on Bahnhofplatz.

Hourly passenger services operate on the Arosa line (service "R 16" on the Rhaetian network) to the town and resort of Arosa, calling at a number of places between. The route is shown as timetable 930 in the Swiss national timetables.^[4]

Services

Long-distance

The following long-distance services call at Chur:^[5]

• Intercity Express:
  • ICE 20 Two round-trips per day over the Chur–Rorschach line to Hamburg.
• InterCity:
  • Hourly service over the Chur–Rorschach line to Basel SBB or Zürich HB
• Glacier Express: Several round-trips per day over the Landquart–Thusis line between Zermatt and St. Moritz.
• Bernina Express: Several round-trips per day over the Landquart–Thusis line to Tirano.

Regional

As of December 2024^[update], the following regional services call at Chur:^[5]

• InterRegio:
  • Half-hourly service over the Chur–Rorschach line to St. Gallen, hourly service to Zürich HB.
  • Hourly service over the Chur–Rorschach line to Bern, via Zürich HB.
  • IR 38 Hourly service over the Landquart–Thusis line to St. Moritz
• RegioExpress:
  • RE 7/RE 8 Hourly service over the Landquart–Thusis line to Disentis/Mustér and Thusis.

Local

Chur is served by three S-Bahn lines, and regional trains on the Chur–Arosa line:^[5]

• Chur S-Bahn S1 / S2: half-hourly service between Rhäzüns and Schiers and hourly service to Thusis.
• St. Gallen S-Bahn S12: half-hourly service over the Chur–Rorschach line to Sargans.
• Regio: hourly service over the Chur–Arosa line to Arosa.

Bus stations

The bus station on Bahnhofplatz

Other stations in Chur

There are three other railway stations in Chur:

• Chur Stadt (on the Chur-Arosa line)
• Chur West (towards Thusis)
• Chur Wiesental (towards Landquart)

Images

• 
  The substantial railway sidings, alongside the main running lines, to the west of the station
• 
  RhB Lokomotive line-up in Chur (May 2008)
• 
  Station upper level
• 
  Platforms 1 & 2 (for the Arosa service, R4)
• 
  Rhaetian Railway "Crocodile" at Chur station
• 
  signal box completed 2003

See also

• Rail transport in Switzerland

References

1. Eisenbahnatlas Schweiz. Cologne: Schweers + Wall. 2012. p. 25. ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.
2. "Linienplan Chur" (PDF) (in German). Bus und Service AG. 15 December 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
3. "Passagierfrequenz". Swiss Federal Railways. September 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
4. Timetable 930: Chur-Arosa-Chur
5. "Abfahrt: Bahnhof Chur" (PDF). Swiss Federal Railways (in German). 10 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.

External links

• Chur railway station – SBB
• Chur railway station – Rhaetian Railway