Linz Hauptbahnhof or Linz Central Station is a railway station in

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

, the third largest city in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, and capital city of the

federal state A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...

Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, a ...

. Opened in 1858, the station is the centrepiece of the Linz transport hub. It forms part of the Western Railway, and is also a terminus of the Pyhrn Railway, the Summerauer Railway, and the

Linzer Lokalbahn Linzer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Anna Linzer, American novelist and non-profit management consultant *Dafna Linzer (born 1970), American journalist * Daniel I. Linzer (born 1954), American molecular biologist and acad ...

(LILO). The station is owned by the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB); train services are operated by the ÖBB and the LILO. With 40,800 passengers daily in 2018/2019, it is the busiest station in Austria outside of Vienna, and the 7th-busiest overall. Linz Hauptbahnhof is situated in Bahnhofplatz, near the southern edge of the city centre.

History

Bahnhof der Kaiserin-Elisabeth-Bahn - Linz

The first Linz central

station building A station building, also known as a head house, is the main building of a passenger railway station. It is typically used principally to provide services to passengers. A station building is a component of a station, which can include tracks, p ...

was completed in 1858, to coincide with the arrival of the

Empress Elisabeth Railway The Empress Elisabeth Railway (german: Kaiserin Elisabeth-Bahn, KEB) was the name of a former railway company during the time of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Its rail network was centred on the Western Railway line from Vienna to Salzburg wit ...

company's Western Railway from Vienna. The station was rebuilt from 1936 by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

- being the closest city to

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

's birthplace - in a severe

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

style characterized by a reinforced concrete frame, high ceilings, and elongated windows. But by the time of its completion, Linz had already been designated one of five "Führer cities" where complete remodelling would take place. The site of the station in the remodelling plan was designated as the site of the

Führermuseum The ''Führermuseum'' or ''Fuhrer-Museum'' (English: Leader's Museum), also referred to as the Linz art gallery, was an unrealized art museum within a cultural complex planned by Adolf Hitler for his hometown, the Austrian city of Linz, near ...

, with the station to be moved four kilometers to the south at the opposite end of a new main boulevard.Plaut (1946) However, these remodelling plans never came to fruition, and with the rebuilt station building damaged by Allied bombing during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the station was rebuilt for a second time between 1949-1955 in a contemporary sober style. By the end of the twentieth century, it was no longer appropriate to the increasing requirements of contemporary public transport. Between 2002-2004, the rebuilt station building was completely replaced with a new building designed by Wilhelm Holzbauer. This redevelopment also added the

Terminal Tower Terminal Tower is a 52-story, , landmark skyscraper located on Public Square in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Built during the skyscraper boom of the 1920s and 1930s, it was the second-tallest building in the world when it was comple ...

skyscraper as part of a mixed-use complex.

Station building

The present station building is structured in three levels. The main entrance is at ground level, next to the taxi rank, and also provides the connection to the station's bus terminal. Hauptbahnhof Linz

The bus terminal is used by Postbuses and some bus and

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

routes operated by Linz Linien. It is also used by the Welser company's regional buses, which connect Linz with the neighbouring communities of

Traun Traun () is an Austrian city located on the north bank of the river Traun and borders Linz, the capital of Upper Austria, to the east. The name ''Traun'' is derived from the Celtic word for river (''dru''). Traun is the fifth largest city in U ...

and

Ansfelden Ansfelden is a town in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. The rivers Traun and Krems run through the municipality. The town is perhaps best known for being the birthplace of the composer and organist Anton Bruckner. Ansfelden has two museum ...

. The railway platforms are accessible via the intermediate level of the building. Here, alongside the ÖBB ticket windows, information services, and the ÖBB club lounge, are shops and restaurants. In the basement, there are stops for all three lines of the Linz tramway network, and an underground parking garage. Due to its short transfer routes, large size and bright ambience, the building has repeatedly won the Verkehrsclub Österreich's award for the most popular and beautiful railway station in Austria, ahead of the central stations at Klagenfurt, Wiener Neustadt, and Wels.

Train services

The station is served by the following services: *Westbahn services Salzburg - Attnang Puchheim - Wels - Linz - Amstetten - St Pölten - Vienna *Intercity Express services (ICE 91) Hamburg - Hanover - Kassel - Nürnberg - Passau - Linz - St Pölten - Vienna - Vienna Airport *Intercity Express services (ICE 91) Dortmund - Essen - Düsseldorf - Cologne - Koblenz - Frankfurt - Nürnberg - Passau - Linz - St Pölten - Vienna - Vienna Airport *RailJet services Zürich - Innsbruck - Salzburg - Linz - St Pölten - Vienna - Győr - Budapest *RailJet services Munich - Salzburg - Linz - St Pölten - Vienna - Győr - Budapest

Platforms

As at 2015, Linz Hauptbahnhof had 14 operating station platforms, of which platforms 21 and 1 were allocated to Linzer Lokalbahn trains. The platforms are of the latest design, to correspond with the requirements of the ÖBB's ''Bahnhofsoffensive''. All are equipped with elevators or escalators. All platforms, except platform 22 are through platforms. Platforms 21 and 22 are primarily used by the S-Bahn lines.

Interchange

Following the ''Bahnhofsoffensive'', some changes were visible in public transport interchange at Linz Hauptbahnhof.

Tram station

Until 2004, the Hauptbahnhof was served only by line 3 of the

Linz tram system Trams in Linz (german: Linzer Straßenbahn-Netz) is a network of tramways forming the backbone of the urban public transport system in Linz, which is the capital city of the federal state of Upper Austria in Austria. The network is operated by th ...

. Lines 1 and 2 ran along the Wienerstraße, a short distance away. The Wienerstraße route has now been relocated underground between Goethekreuzung and Herz Jesu Kirche. By that new route, lines 1 and 2 now join line 3 in serving the Hauptbahnhof. The former above ground tram route between Blumauerplatz and Herz Jesu Kirche had been removed by 2009, and the streets were resurfaced. Thus, nothing now remains of the old route. The Hauptbahnhof tram stop is now long and has space for 2

Cityrunner The Bombardier Flexity Outlook is a series of low-floored, articulated light-rail trams manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. Part of the larger Bombardier Flexity product line (many of which are not low-floor), Flexity Outlook vehicles are ...

trams. Both ends of the station are fitted with reversing loops.

Bus terminal

In 2004, the bus terminal was built east of the Hauptbahnhof. The bus station is below the county offices (regional service centre) and is at ground level. In the bus terminal there are three long bus platforms, where the Linz AG Linien, Postbus und Wilhelm Welser Traun buses all stop. The bus terminal is a total of long and wide.

References

External links

Linzer Lokalbahn
- official site {{in lang, de Buildings and structures in Linz Railway stations in Upper Austria Transport in Linz