Zurich Altstetten railway station

Not to be confused with Altstätten SG 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.^[2][3]

Zürich Altstetten
The station at sunset
General information
Location	Altstetten, Zürich Switzerland
Coordinates	47°23′29.4″N 8°29′20.4″E
Elevation	399 m (1,309 ft)
Owned by	Swiss Federal Railways (since 1902) Schweizerische Nordostbahn (1853–1902) Schweizerische Nordbahn (1847–1853)
Line(s)	Zürich–Baden railway line Zürich–Affoltern am Albis–Zug railway line
Platforms	3
Tracks	5
Train operators	Südostbahn Swiss Federal Railways
Connections	ZVV: Bhf. Altstetten
Tram	VBZ/AVA trams 4 20
Trolleybus	VBZ 31
Bus	VBZ 35 78 80 83 89 304 307 Glattalbus bus line 485
Airport	A direct InterRegio (IR) line () every hour to/from Zürich Airport in 0:20h and several other connections with one change
Other information
Fare zone	ZVV 110
Website	Station map
History
Opened	1847 (1847)
Passengers
2018	46,500 per weekday
Services Preceding station Südostbahn Following station Olten towards Bern IR 35 Aare Linth Zürich Hauptbahnhof towards Chur Preceding station Swiss Federal Railways Following station Dietikon towards Basel SBB IR 36 Zürich Hauptbahnhof towards Zürich Airport Preceding station Zurich 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 Schlieren towards Aarau SN1 Limited service Zürich Hardbrücke towards Winterthur Urdorf towards Knonau SN5 Limited service Zürich Hardbrücke towards Pfäffikon SZ
Location
Notes [1]

The station is served by lines S5, S11, S12, S14, S19, and S42 of the Zürich S-Bahn.^[4] 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.^[5]

The station is well connected to the ZVV network, with bus and tram stops on both sides of the station. Since 2022 the station also serves as the eastern terminus of the Limmattal light rail line.

History

The first station on the site was built by the Swiss Northern Railway in 1847, as part of their pioneering line from Zürich 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.^[6]

Layout

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. The tracks are numbered 2–4 and 6–7.^[7]

There are two stations with tram and bus services. Bhf. Altstetten Nord is located north to the railway station, while Bahnhof Altstetten is situated south of the station. Route 4 of the Zürich tram system serves the Bhf. Altstetten Nord station, whilst route 31 of the Zürich trolleybus system passes the south side of the station (Bahnhof Altstetten). Zürich bus routes 35, 78, 80, 83, 89 and 485 also serve the south side of the station, whilst routes 304 and 307 both terminate at Bhf. Altstetten Nord.^[8][9]

Since December 2022, the Limmattal light rail line (route 20) terminates at Bahnhof Altstetten station. The light rail line has its own platforms, across the station plaza from platform two of the S-Bahn services. This service, operated by AVA, runs through the Limmat Valley region and connects to the Zürich tram network at Farbhof, just to the west of Altstetten station.^[10][11][12]

Services

Rail

As of the December 2023 timetable change,^[update] the following rail services stop at Zürich Altstetten:^[13]

• InterRegio:
  • : hourly service between Bern and Chur via Olten.
  • : hourly service between Basel SBB and Zurich Airport.
• Zürich S-Bahn:
  • S5 / S14: two trains per hour between Affoltern am Albis and Wetzikon and hourly service to Zug and Pfäffikon SZ.
  • S11: half-hourly service between Aarau and Winterthur; hourly service to Seuzach or Sennhof-Kyburg; rush-hour service to Wila.
  • S12: half-hourly service between Brugg AG and Winterthur; hourly service to Schaffhausen or Wil.
  • S19: hourly service to Koblenz via Baden (during peak hours), half-hourly to Effretikon (during peak hours to Pfäffikon ZH) via Zürich HB.
  • S42: peak-hour service between Muri AG and Zürich HB.
  • SN1: on Friday and Saturday night, hourly service between Aarau and Winterthur.
  • SN5: on Friday and Saturday night, hourly service between Knonau and Pfäffikon SZ.

Local tram and bus services

Summary of tram and bus services:

• Bahnhof Altstetten to the south of the station, via both western and eastern underpass, AVA light rail line 20 , VBZ trolley bus line 31, VBZ bus lines 35, 78, 80, 83, 89, and VBG line 485.
• Bhf. Altstetten Nord to the north, via the eastern underpass, VBZ tram line 4, VBZ bus lines 304 and 307.

See also

• Rail transport in Switzerland

References

1. "Passagierfrequenz". Swiss Federal Railways. 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
2. map.geo.admin.ch (Map). Swiss Confederation. Retrieved 2012-04-26.
3. Eisenbahnatlas Schweiz. Verlag Schweers + Wall GmbH. 2012. pp. 64–65. ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.
4. "S-Bahn trains, buses and boats" (PDF). ZVV. 2018-12-09. Retrieved 2019-08-22.
5. "Departure Bahnhof Zürich Altstetten" (PDF). Swiss Federal Railways. 2018. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
6. "Altstetten". Historical Dictionary of Switzerland (in French). 2002-06-14. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
7. Swiss Federal Railways (June 2022). "Zürich Altstetten" (PDF) (in German). Retrieved 18 December 2023.
8. "Zurich City Map". ZVV. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
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.
13. Swiss Federal Railways (10 December 2023). "Abfahrt: Zürich Altstetten" (PDF) (in German). Retrieved 18 December 2023.

External links

• Zurich Altstetten railway station – SBB
• Station plan from SBB web page