Basel SBB Railway Station

Basel SBB railway station (german: Bahnhof Basel SBB, or in earlier times ''Centralbahnhof'' or ''Schweizer Bahnhof'') is the central railway station in the city of Basel, Switzerland. Opened in 1854, and completely rebuilt in 1900–1907, it is Europe's busiest international border station. Basel SBB is owned by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS). The other major railway station is Basel Badischer Bahnhof, operated by the German railway company Deutsche Bahn, on the north side of the Rhine from the city centre.

Trains operated by SBB CFF FFS use Basel SBB to link Basel with destinations within Switzerland and Italy, as do Deutsche Bahn Intercity-Express (ICE) trains to and from Germany, Zürich and Interlaken, most SNCF TGV trains to and from Paris, and some regional trains to and from Alsace. Additionally, the station is served by three lines of the Basel S-Bahn.

The 1907 neo-baroque station building is a heritage site of national significance. It also contains Bâle SNCF (shown in SBB CFF FFS online timetables as Basel SBB Gl. 30-35, and in other online timetables as Basel SNCF), which is located through a border crossing and is used by other trains to and from France. Directly outside the station building is the Centralbahnplatz, which is a major hub of the Basel tramway network, and the Basel terminus of a direct bus service to the EuroAirport.

Location

The station area is situated at the southern side of the city centre, in an elongated area between the Zoological Garden to the west and the to the east.

The borders of four of Basel's districts come together at the station area. However, the area is, according to the Statistical Office, divided between only two districts: the station itself is located in , while most of the tracks on the eastern side of the station (including the goods station), along with the Centralbahnplatz in front of the station (including the BIS Tower), are attributed to the .

The Elisabethenanlage in front of the Centralbahnplatz belongs to , while the opposite Basel SNCF is part of the district.

History

Beginnings

The first railway to reach Basel, the (StB; Strasbourg Basel Railway), arrived there in 1844. The following year, 1845, the ''Elsässerbahn'' (Alsatian Railway) built the first station in the Basel metropolitan area, within the city walls. Basel thereby became the first Swiss city to be connected to the new means of transport.

After the arrival of the railway, there was a passionate debate in Basel about the pros and cons of the railway and its possible continuation towards Lucerne and from there through the Gotthard towards Italy.

Meanwhile, the '' Rheintalbahn'' from Mannheim and Karlsruhe also approached Basel from the north; in 1851 it reached Haltingen (a district of Weil am Rhein), on the Swiss border.

In 1853, the '' Schweizerische Centralbahn'' railway company (SCB) was founded in Basel. Its purpose was the establishment of a link between the city of Basel and the economic centres of the Mittelland cantons, and perhaps even also the expansion of the transport corridor from Lucerne to the Gotthard.

The Viaduktstrasse in Basel – including the , which is adjacent to the Zoo Basel parking lot – was also the formation of the ''Elsässerbahn'' until 1902. Today, the viaduct serves tram lines 1 and 8, as well as motor vehicle traffic, and a plaque on the bridge railing recalls its earlier role as a rail bridge.

Provisional station

In 1854, construction on the future Hauenstein railway line began. Right up until the opening of the first section of the route from Basel to Liestal, the controversial question of the site and design of the Basel railway station remained unresolved.

However, to accommodate the commencement of railway operations on 19 December 1854, the ''Centralbahn'' built a simple temporary timber structure, according to plans developed by chief architect Ludwig Maring. By the opening day, all of the temporary station buildings had been completed, including a timber train shed.

This modest provisional station, equipped with makeshift facilities, was made up of individual detached buildings and was used only for just under six years. The station site consisted of the station building, a goods shed, a carriage and locomotive shed and a turntable at the railhead. As the station building stood on the northeastern side of the station, alongside the station yard, the station was not configured as a terminus.

The provisional station served only as the starting point of the SCB lines, and had no connection with either the French station or the Badischer Bahnhof, which was opened in 1855 as the terminus of the Rheintalbahn.

Centralbahnhof

On 29 June 1857, the Grand Council of Basel-Stadt agreed to the construction of a link between the French line and the ''Centralbahn'' and the erection of a through station in the field in front of the ''Elisabethen- Bollwerk''. The city bore the cost of the land purchase.

At the start of 1859, the SCB began construction work on the site of the new station, to a design by Maring. In addition to a passenger station, the new station yard featured a goods station relocated to the Gundeldingen district, and two new locomotive sheds, one of them for the SCB, and the other for the '' Chemins de fer de l'Est'', which had taken over the StB in 1854.

On 4 June 1860, railway operations began at the new Basel Centralbahnhof. However, it was not until May 1861 that all the new facilities were completed.

The Centralbahnhof was a joint station, with the northern facade of its station building facing the newly created Centralbahnplatz. On each side of the station building were the boarding halls, each with two tracks – on the eastern side for the Swiss trains and on the western side and for the French trains. To the south of the station building were the goods shed and two large warehouses, with an access road from the Güterstrasse.

In subsequent years, modifications were made to the Centralbahnhof to enable it to deal with its substantially increasing traffic, including trains entering and leaving Basel along a number of new lines:

* The connecting line between Basel Badischer Bahnhof and the Centralbahnhof, which was handed over to traffic on 3 November 1873.
* The