Starý Smokovec railway station ( sk, Železničná stanica Starý Smokovec) is a

junction station ''Junction station'' usually refers to a railway station situated on or close to a junction where lines to several destinations diverge. The usual minimum is three incoming lines. At a station with platforms running from left to right, the minimum ...

in the High Tatras. It serves the ski, tourist and health resort of

Starý Smokovec Starý Smokovec (; german: Altschmecks; hu, Ótátrafüred; pl, Stary Smokowiec) is a part of the town of Vysoké Tatry (town), Vysoké Tatry in northern Slovakia in the Tatras. Its name is pronounced approximately "Star-EE Smoke-oh-vets", mea ...

, in the

Prešov Region The Prešov Region, also Priashiv Region ( sk, Prešovský kraj, ; hu, Eperjesi kerület; uk, Пряшівський край) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions and consists of 13 districts (okresy) and 666 municipalities, 23 o ...

, northeastern

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

. Opened in 1908, the station is the focal point of the

metre gauge Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...

Tatra Electric Railway (TEŽ). It forms the junction between the TEŽ's Poprad-Tatry–Štrbské Pleso main line and its only other line, the Starý Smokovec–Tatranská Lomnica branch. The station is currently owned by

Železnice Slovenskej republiky Railways of the Slovak Republic ( sk, Železnice Slovenskej republiky, acronym: ''ŽSR'') is the state-owned railway infrastructure company of Slovakia. The company was established in 1993 as the successor to the Czechoslovak State Railways ( ...

(ŽSR); train services are operated by Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko (ZSSK).

Location

Starý Smokovec railway station is right in the heart of Starý Smokovec, which forms part of the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Vysoké Tatry Vysoké Tatry (; hu, Magastátra, ; german: Höhe Tatra, ; pl, Wysokie Tatry, ; cs, Vysoké Tatry, ), formally Mesto Vysoké Tatry () is a town at the feet of the Slovak part of High Tatras in Slovakia including all the major resorts in that ...

, a conglomerate of separate and different settlements (originally separate villages). The only common feature of the Vysoké Tatry settlements is that they are the main tourist resorts in the Slovak High Tatras, connected through a common railway network, the TEŽ. After the country's capital, Vysoké Tatry is Slovakia's major tourist destination.

History

The station was opened on , together with the rest of the TEŽ's first stage, between

Poprad-Tatry Poprad (; hu, Poprád; german: Deutschendorf) is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatra Mountains, famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. It is the biggest town of the Spiš region and the tent ...

and Starý Smokovec.Catchpole, page 41 On 16 December 1911, Starý Smokovec became a temporary switchback station, with the opening of the branch between Starý Smokovec and

Tatranská Lomnica Tatranská Lomnica (; hu, Tátralomnic, pl, Tatrzańska Łomnica) is a part of the town of Vysoké Tatry in northern Slovakia in the Tatras The Tatra Mountains (), Tatras, or Tatra (''Tatry'' either in Slovak () or in Polish () - ''plura ...

. The station was finally transformed into a junction station on 13 August 1912, when the rest of the TEŽ's main line was completed between Starý Smokovec and Štrbské Pleso.

Facilities

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 ...

is an attractive three-storey building of half timbered design. It houses information and ticketing facilities, and a restaurant.

Train services

Starý Smokovec railway station is the junction of the following High Tatras railway lines: * Line : Poprad-Tatry–Štrbské Pleso (the TEŽ's main line) * Line : Starý Smokovec–Tatranská Lomnica

Interchange

The station offers interchange with local buses.

Services

References

Notes

Books

External links

Starý Smokovec railway station on vlaky.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stary Smokovec Railway Station Railway stations in Prešov Region Railway stations opened in 1908 1908 establishments in Austria-Hungary