Romanshorn railway station (german: Bahnhof Romanshorn) is a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

that serves the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Romanshorn Romanshorn is a municipality in the district of Arbon in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. History Romanshorn was probably settled in the 7th century, and is first mentioned in 779 as ''Rumanishorn'' in a land grant from Waldrata to the Abb ...

, in the canton of

Thurgau Thurgau (; french: Thurgovie; it, Turgovia), anglicized as Thurgovia, more formally the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is part ...

, Switzerland. Opened in 1855, the station is owned and operated by

SBB-CFF-FFS Swiss Federal Railways (german: link=no, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, ''SBB''; french: link=no, Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, ''CFF''; it, Ferrovie federali svizzere, ''FFS'') is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usuall ...

. It forms the

junction Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film * Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film * Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002 * Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...

between the

Winterthur–Romanshorn railway The Winterthur–Romanshorn railway, also known in German as the ''Thurtallinie'' ("Thur valley line"), is a Swiss railway line and was built as part of the railway between Zürich and Lake Constance (Bodensee). It connects Winterthur with Romans ...

, the Schaffhausen–Rorschach railway and the Romanshorn–Nesslau Neu St. Johann railway. The SBB-CFF-FFS and THURBO operate both long-distance and local traffic to and from the station. These include four St. Gallen S-Bahn lines and an

InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...

train to

Brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

Layout and connections

Romanshorn railway station is situated in Neustrasse, at the eastern edge of the city centre. The station has a

side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms ...

with one track ( 1) and two

island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...

s with two tracks each ( 2–3 and 4–5). On the other side of the tracks is the Romanshorn ferry terminal, for ferries across

Lake Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, ca ...

History

Early years

After two years of planning, the station was opened in 1855, together with the first stage of the Winterthur–Romanshorn railway, of which it was a terminus. Also in 1855, the

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 erected, according to plans by

Johann Jakob Breitinger Johann Jakob Breitinger (1 March 1701 in Zürich – 14 December 1776) was a Swiss philologist and author. Life Breitinger studied theology and philology and first earned recognition from 1730 through a new edition of the Septuaginta. From ...

. In 1869, the

Swiss Northeastern Railway The Swiss Northeastern Railway (''Schweizerische Nordostbahn''; NOB) was an early railway company in Switzerland. It also operated shipping on Lake Constance (''Bodensee'') and Lake Zürich. Until the merger of the Western Swiss Railways into the ...

(german: Schweizerische Nordostbahn, links=no) put into service the

Seelinie The Lake Line
at www.sbb.ch. Accessed on 13 Jan 201 ...

between Romanshorn and

Rorschach Rorschach may refer to: * Hermann Rorschach, a Swiss psychiatrist ** Rorschach test, his psychological evaluation method involving inkblots * Rorschach (character), a character from the comics ''Watchmen'' * Rorschach (comic book), a 2020 comic * ...

. In the same year, the

Lake Constance train ferry The Lake Constance train ferries (''Bodensee-Trajekte'') were train ferries that were set up in the 19th century by railway companies to transport rail freight wagons across Lake Constance (''Bodensee'') between the five states located around the ...

was established, for cross-border goods traffic to and from Germany between Romanshorn and

Friedrichshafen Friedrichshafen ( or ; Low Alemannic: ''Hafe'' or ''Fridrichshafe'') is a city on the northern shoreline of Lake Constance (the ''Bodensee'') in Southern Germany, near the borders of both Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (''Kre ...

, and between

Lindau Lindau (german: Lindau (Bodensee), ''Lindau am Bodensee''; ; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Lindou'') is a major Town#Germany, town and Lindau (island), island on the eastern side of Lake Constance (''Bodensee'' in German) in Bavaria, Ge ...

and

Bregenz Bregenz (; gsw, label= Vorarlbergian, Breagaz ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switze ...

. In 1871, the railway connection with Kreuzlingen Hafen and over the border to

Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...

was handed over to traffic. On 1 October 1910, the Bodensee-Toggenburg-Bahn opened the line to

Nesslau Nesslau is a municipality in the Toggenburg district of the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. The current municipality was formed in 2013 and includes the villages of Nesslau, Krummenau and Stein. History The area was incorporated into the ...

, via

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website ...

and

Wattwil Wattwil is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Toggenburg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the municipality of Krinau merged into Wattwil. The

train ferry A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train f ...

to Lindau and Bregenz was suspended with the outbreak of World War II, and the link with Friedrichshafen was discontinued in 1976, after 107 years of operation.

Modernisation 2001–2003

After a major renovation at the beginning of the 20th century, almost no significant modifications were made to the passenger station for nearly 90 years. Around the turn of the millennium, the signals and points (switches) at the station were still controlled by

signal box In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...

es equipped with mechanical

lever frame Mechanical railway signalling installations rely on lever frames for their operation to interlock the signals, track locks and points to allow the safe operation of trains in the area the signals control. Usually located in the signal box, the ...

s made by the

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

firm of Jüdel in 1912. The southern station throat was spanned by the last signal gantry in Switzerland. Also, the public facilities were outdated, and access to tracks 5 and 6 was via a level crossing, which was secured by the legendary "''Chetteli''", i.e. chains and a roller shutter. To enable interchange with the ferries, trains to and from Zürich had to be moved during their layovers, make the pathway to the ferry terminal accessible. The SBB-CFF-FFS therefore decided to make an investment of 50 million francs in the modernization of the station. The contribution to be made by the local community was approved in a referendum with an 86 percent "yes" vote. The modernisation work began in the summer of 2001, and lasted until the end of November 2003. Track 1, the

locomotive shed The motive power depot (MPD) or locomotive depot, or traction maintenance depot (TMD), is the place where locomotives are usually housed, repaired and maintained when not being used. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine she ...

dating from 1900, various other buildings and the tracks of the former

goods depot In economics, goods are items that satisfy human wants and provide utility, for example, to a consumer making a purchase of a satisfying product. A common distinction is made between goods which are transferable, and services, which are not tra ...

were all taken out of service. The mechanical signal frames were replaced by a Siemens SIMIS C type electronic system, and therefore the signals and the manually operated barriers were also replaced. Comfort was also greatly improved in the public areas of the station. The "''Chetteli-Übergang''" was replaced with a generous pedestrian underpass. New passenger information leaflet displays and screens were installed to replace the lever operated boards dating from 1920. The platforms were raised, and the roofs and speakers were renewed. The two kiosks were replaced by a new building. Thanks to an extension of Platform 2, express trains to Zürich can now use Track 3. As part of this modernisation work, the Bahnhofplatz was renovated. National publicity for the renovations was ensured by the sculpture of the mythical creature "''mocmoc''", a creation of the artist duo Com&Com. The local controversy about the sculpture resulted in a 2004 referendum.

Developments since 2003

The SBB-CFF-FFS locomotive shed and the signal boxes have been operated since 2003 by the ''Verein Historische Mittel-Thurgau-Bahn'', and since 2005 also by the ''Stiftung Historisches Bahnhof-Ensemble Romanshorn'', as ''Locorama'', a railway world of experience. The historic signal gantry, the

coaling stage A coaling tower, coal stage, coaling plant or coaling station is a facility used to load coal as fuel into railway steam locomotives. Coaling towers were often sited at motive power depots or locomotive maintenance shops. In the early years o ...

and the

water crane A water crane is a device used for delivering a large volume of water into the tank or tender of a steam locomotive. The device is also called a water column in the United States and Australia. As a steam locomotive consumes large quantities of ...

are also part of ''Locorama''. As part of

Rail 2000 Rail 2000 (German: ''Bahn 2000''; French: ''Rail 2000'', Italian: ''Ferrovia 2000'') is a large-scale project of the Swiss Federal Railways (SFR) established in 1987 to improve the quality of the Swiss rail network for the New millennium. It ...

, an

service, operating to an hourly clock-face timetable using

IC2000 The IC 2000 is a double-deck train in Switzerland and is run by Swiss Federal Railways (SBB-CFF-FFS) as part of its InterCity service. Top speed is 200 km/h. The train set can be composed of up to 10 coaches and provides close to 1,000 se ...

trains, was established between Romanshorn and

. ETH-BIB_Com_FC18-8590-025_Romanshorn_xx0781.jpg, aerial view (1981) SBB Historic - F 122 00869 001 - Romanshorn Stellwerk I Bahnseite.jpg, signal box I (1997) SBB Historic - F 122 00869 002 - Romanshorn Stellwerk II Bahnseite.jpg, signal box II (ca. 1990) Signal Box Romanshorn II (4558105064).jpg, interior of signal box II (2010) SBB Historic - F 122 00869 008 - Romanshorn Stellwerk V Bahnseite.jpg, signal box V (2002)

Services

the following services stop at Romanshorn: *

: hourly service to ; trains continue to or

. *

RegioExpress RegioExpress (RE) is a fast regional train service in Switzerland, run by Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS) or other railway companies (such as TILO, BLS, tpf, transN, THURBO or RhB). It is comparable to the Regional-Express in Germany, ...

: hourly service between

and

Herisau Herisau is a municipality and the capital of the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. It is the seat of the canton's government and parliament; the judicial authorities are situated in Trogen. The central hamlet and the houses around ...

. * St. Gallen S-Bahn: ** : half-hourly service between

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the ...

and via . ** : hourly service to

Weinfelden Weinfelden is a municipality in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. It is the capital of the district of the same name. Weinfelden is an old town, which was known during Roman times as Quivelda (Winis Feld). Weinfelden is mostly known through ...

and half-hourly service to

. On Saturdays and Sundays, service every two hours from Rorschach to via . ** : half-hourly service to Wil via Weinfelden. *

Zürich S-Bahn The Zürich S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn Zürich) system is a network of rail lines that has been incrementally expanded to cover the ZVV area, which comprises the entire canton of Zürich and portions of neighbouring cantons (Aargau, Glarus, ...

: ** : peak-hour service between

Zürich main station , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

and Romanshorn via .

References

External links

*
Locorama
– official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Romanshorn railway station Railway stations in the canton of Thurgau Railway stations opened in 1855 Swiss Federal Railways stations Romanshorn 1855 establishments in Switzerland Railway stations serving harbours and ports