![Interior of Wien Hauptbahnhof](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Interior_of_Wien_Hauptbahnhof.jpg)
Wien Hauptbahnhof, Vienna Central Station
or Vienna Main Station is the main
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 Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...
in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
,
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 ...
, located in the
Favoriten
Favoriten (; Central Bavarian: ''Favoritn''), the 10th district of Vienna, Austria (german: 10. Bezirk, Favoriten), is located south of the central districts. It is south of Innere Stadt, Wieden and Margareten. Favoriten is a heavily populate ...
district.
It became fully operational in December 2015, linking major railway lines from the
north
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north ...
,
east,
south
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
and
west
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
, and replacing the old
Wien Südbahnhof
Wien Südbahnhof (German for ''Vienna South Station'') was Vienna's largest railway terminus. It closed in December 2009 and was demolished in 2010 to be replaced with a new station, Wien Hauptbahnhof. It was located in Favoriten, in the south ...
terminus. With 268,000 daily commuters it is Austria's busiest long-distance railway station. Aside from being voted "Austria's most beautiful railway station" (six times in total; five years in a row), it was also second in
Consumer Choice Center's ranking of "Top 10 Railway Stations for Passenger Convenience in Europe".
History
Background
During the 1990s, interest arose in the redevelopment of
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
's railway stations, particularly the
Südbahnhof and Ostbahnhof termini, which were at right-angles to one another.
The concept of a new integrated station that served north–south and east–west routes, including three
TEN corridors, to replace both of the existing stations, was mooted.
Around this time,
Zurich-based Theo Hotz Architects and Planners were awarded an initial design contract to develop a new station solution for the area. While the plans produced by Theo Hotz do not directly correspond with the subsequently-built structure, the architects were still responsible for a large proportion of the station that was later constructed, particularly the design for both the main
concourse
A concourse is a place where pathways or roads meet, such as in a hotel, a convention center, a railway station, an airport terminal, a hall, or other space.
The term is not limited to places where there are literally pathways or roadways or t ...
and the platforms.
The new station, known as Hauptbahnhof, has been designed as a single structure with through platforms, and is capable of handling more trains a day on much less space than its predecessors.
It has direct links to the centre of Vienna via the U-Bahn network, while ÖBB state that the other principal stations in the city are to be reachable from the station within 30 minutes.
The design of the new station also features extensive onsite retail opportunities, including a 20,000-square-metre shopping centre positioned below track level, which accommodate for around 100 shops and restaurants, as well as an on-site underground car park with spaces for up to 600 cars and 1,110 bicycles.
A major benefit of the scheme has been the release of land within the city centre which had previously been occupied by the two former termini. Plans for its reuse were incorporated into the development of the new station and it has become a major urban development in its own right to include various office, retail and educational facilities.
Significant investment has been attracted from several sources. Specifically, the new headquarters for
Erste Group Bank AG
Erste Group Bank AG (Erste Group) is an Austrian financial service provider in Central and Eastern Europe serving 15.7 million clients in over 2,700 branches in seven countries.
History
Erste Group was founded in October 1819 as ''Erste österr ...
and ÖBB's corporate headquarters have both been built on this site, along with the new Sonnwendviertel residential district of 5,000 innercity apartments, accommodating up to 13,000 people.
On 15 December 2006, the
city council of Vienna gave its consent to the construction of a new station in the city;
at the time, the city authorities had assessed the project's cost to be around 850 million
euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
s.
An environmental assessment for the rail infrastructure begun during the following year; the design reportedly incorporated around 100 km of new track, as well as around 300 switches and crossing. The design of the station included measures to make it both energy-efficient and environmentally friendly; features such as integrated
CO2-controlled
ventilation and
geothermal energy
Geothermal energy is the thermal energy in the Earth's crust which originates from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of materials in currently uncertain but possibly roughly equal proportions. The high temperature and pr ...
systems have been incorporated, while both the windows and walls are furnished with
soundproofing.
Construction
During June 2007, construction work formally commenced in the form of preliminary works, such as the remodelling of the existing
S-Bahn
The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban-suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble c ...
station Südtiroler Platz. In 2008, the S-Bahn and the U-Bahn stations at Südtiroler Platz were connected to one another, while the Südbahnhof was demolished, a process which took until 2010 to complete.
The bulk of Südbahnhof's services (platforms 11-19) were closed with the timetable change of 13 December 2009; during this transition period,
Wien Meidling railway station temporarily took on many of Südbahnhof's services until the new station could be completed.
During 2009, ÖBB Infrastruktur awarded a €220 million contract for the station's construction to a consortium led by Strabag; at this point, it was intended for the first stage of the project to have been completed by 2013, while the finalisation of the overall project was due to occur during 2015.
The railway infrastructure for the project was largely built by a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
between Arge Östu-Stettin and HOCHTIEF Construction, while the station's diamond-shaped roof was installed by UNGER Steel.
The total cost of building the new station has been stated to have been around €987 million; it was financed via ÖBB, the city authorities, the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
, and property development opportunities.
During April 2010, the construction programme entered into full swing.
That year, work began on building the rail infrastructure at the station. In excess of 45,000 cubic meters of concrete was used in the construction of the structure's baseplate as well as the entrance to the underground garage.
By the end of 2010, both the bridge support structures and the platforms had been completed. In 2011, construction of office buildings in the Belvedere district commenced.
During the construction process, a wooden viewing platform, known as the ''Bahnorama'', was erected to the west of the new station building.
According to its planners, RAHM Architects, the viewing platform was the highest walkable wooden tower in Europe at the time, measuring 66 metres from base to tip. The structure was composed of around 150 tonnes of spruce
timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...
, reinforced with steel elements, and assembled from four pre-fabricated modules which were lifted into place using
cranes
Crane or cranes may refer to:
Common meanings
* Crane (bird), a large, long-necked bird
* Crane (machine), industrial machinery for lifting
** Crane (rail), a crane suited for use on railroads
People and fictional characters
* Crane (surname ...
.
Opening
On 6 August 2012, trains began passing through the new Hauptbahhof station without stopping.
During December 2012, the station attained a partial operational status, coinciding with a timetable shakeup on 9 December and the induction of some new alignments;
as a result, both regional and S-Bahn services began using platforms 9-12, while long-distance trains continued to not stop at the station.
On the morning of 10 October 2014, Wien Hauptbahnhof was formally inaugurated in a ceremony held at the station, officiated by
Austrian President Heinz Fischer.
["Wien Hauptbahnhof officially inaugurated."](_blank)
''Railway Gazette International'', 10 October 2014. At one point, it was expected that the Hauptbahnhof would be able to fully open during December 2014, however delays were encountered, attributed to difficulties in the completion of a key footbridge, which meant the station was not fully operational until December 2015.
Upon attaining full operational status, the station has been anticipated to handle 145,000 passengers and 1,000 trains per day.
In terms of its mainline connection, the new station serves as a key meeting point in Vienna for four individual major railway lines; it also provided access to other local services including the Vienna S-Bahn, a tramway and several bus lines.
["Vienna Central Station (Wien Hauptbahnhof)."](_blank)
''railway-technology.com'', Retrieved: 3 June 2018.
The station has a total of five island platforms, each with 2 sides, for a total of 10 platforms. These five islands are complete with striking canopies, measuring roughly 210 metres in length and between 6 and 15 metres in height; the canopies are built on top of a
welded and
bolted steel framework, covered by Alucobond
composite
Composite or compositing may refer to:
Materials
* Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances
** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts
** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic materials ...
panels, and supported at 38-metre intervals by transverse solid concrete frames, which are clad in sheet
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistan ...
.
[Schoof, Jakob]
"Almost completed: The new Central Railway Station in Vienna's Belvedere district."
''detail-online.com'', 22 October 2014. To facilitate a high rate of pedestrian movement across the station, a total of 29
escalator
An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the step tread horizo ...
s and 14
elevator
An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They ...
s are present to provide full step-free access to all areas.
Passengers are provided with various onsite amenities, along with 800 seats spread throughout the station, while free
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio waves ...
is available in certain designated areas. A dedicated 'Kids Corner' facility is present for the benefit of families with younger passengers. A Lion of St Mark sculpture from the former Südbahnhof is also present, which symbolises the restoration of the route through to
Venezia, Italy.
The new station offers significantly improved connectivity, principally focused upon international routes.
By moving the main access to
Südtiroler Platz, the new station is better connected to the
Vienna U-Bahn system, and is also accessible by
Vienna S-Bahn,
tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...
and bus lines.
The Südtiroler Platz S-Bahn station was renamed Wien Hauptbahnhof (platforms 1 and 2) in December 2012.
Train services
![Trains in Wien Hauptbahnhof, 2019 (02)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Trains_in_Wien_Hauptbahnhof%2C_2019_%2802%29.jpg)
The station is served by the following services:
*Intercity Express services (ICE) ''Hamburg - Hanover - Kassel - Nürnberg - Passau - Linz - St Pölten - Vienna''
*Intercity Express services (ICE) ''Dortmund - Essen - Düsseldorf - Cologne - Koblenz - Frankfurt - Nürnberg - Passau - Linz - St Pölten - Vienna''
*Intercity Express services (ICE) ''Berlin - Halle - Erfurt - Coburg - Nürnberg - Passau - Linz - St Pölten - Vienna''
*
RailJet services (RJ) ''Zurich - (Bregenz -) Innsbruck - Salzburg - Linz - St Pölten - Vienna - (Vienna International Airport) - Győr - Budapest''
*RailJet services (RJ) ''(Frankfurt - Stuttgart -) Munich - Salzburg - Linz - St Pölten - Vienna - Győr - Budapest''
*RailJet services (RJ) ''Frankfurt - Stuttgart - Ulm - Friedrichshafen - Lindau-Reutin - Bregenz - Innsbruck - Salzburg - Linz - St Pölten - Vienna (- Vienna International Airport)''
*RailJet services (RJ) ''Graz - Vienna (- Vienna International Airport) - Breclav - Brno - Pardubice - Prague''
*RailJet services (RJ) ''Villach - Klagenfurt - Vienna (- Vienna International Airport)''
*RailJet services (RJ) ''Vienna - Klagenfurt - Villach - Udine - Treviso - Venice''
*RailJet Express services (RJX) Vienna - St Pölten - Linz - Salzburg - (Innsbruck - Bregenz - Zürich)/(Munich)
*EuroCity services ''Vienna - Győr - Budapest - Kiskunmajsa - Novi Sad - Belgrade''
*EuroCity services ''Vienna - Győr - Budapest - Szolnok - Oradea - Cluj-Napoca''
*EuroCity services ''Vienna - Győr - Budapest - Debrecen - Zahony ( - Kyiv
leeping Cars''
*EuroCity services ''Vienna - Győr - Budapest''
*EuroCity services ''Vienna - Breclav - Prerov - Ostrava - Bohumín - Katowice - Warsaw (- Gdansk - Gdynia)''
*EuroCity services ''Vienna - Graz - Maribor - Ljubljana''
*EuroCity services ''Vienna - Graz - Maribor - Zagreb''
*
Nightjet
Nightjet (stylised as nightjet) is a brand name given by the Austrian Federal Railways ÖBB to its overnight passenger train services.
''Nightjet'' operates in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland. ...
services ''Vienna - Ostrava - Wroclaw - Frankfurt/Oder - Berlin''
*Nightjet services ''Vienna - Klagenfurt - Villach - Bologna - Florence - Rome''
*Nightjet services ''Vienna - Klagenfurt - Villach - Padova - Verona - Milan''
*Nightjet services ''Vienna - Linz - Salzburg - Villach - Udine - Venice''
*Nightjet services ''Vienna - Klagenfurt - Villach - Bologna - Florence - Pisa - Livorno''
*Nightjet services ''Vienna - Innsbruck - Feldkirch - Buchs - Zurich''
*Nightjet services ''Vienna - Linz - Hanover - Hamburg''
*Nightjet services ''Vienna - Linz - Frankfurt - Koblenz - Cologne - Düsseldorf (- Amsterdam / Brussels)''
*Nightjet services ''Vienna - Innsbruck - Feldkirch - Bregenz''
*
EuroNight
EuroNight, abbreviated EN, is a European train category which denotes many main-line national and international night train services within the Western and Central European inter-city rail network. Overview
The classification and name were bro ...
services ''Zurich - Buchs - Feldkirch - Innsbruck - Vienna - Budapest''
*EuroNight services ''Munich - Salzburg - Linz - Vienna - Budapest''
*EuroNight services ''Vienna - Breclav - Prerov - Ostrava - Bohumín - Katowice - Warsaw / Krakow''
*EuroNight services ''Vienna - Kosice''
*Night Train (''Romanian Railways'') ''Vienna - Győr - Budapest - Lokoshaza - Arad - Timisoara - Craiova - Bucharest''
*Regiojet ''Vienna - Breclav - Brno - Pardubice - Prague''
Local public transport
The station is served by the following
municipal public transport services:
* U-Bahn:
* Tram: , ,
* Bus: ,
Tram D is a small walk from the main entrance and can be accessed from section E of platforms 3 to 12. The D station is called "Hauptbahnhof Ost".
Construction
File:Wien Hauptbahnhof-Bau-01.jpg, Started in 2011
File:Wien Hauptbahnhof under construction Jan 2012.jpg, In January 2012
File:Bahnorama 2012 - 002.jpg, In August 2012
File:Vienna Central Station 01.jpg, In October 2012
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
External links
Hauptbahnhof WienEnglish-language official website of the project
Building proposals
{{Authority control
Hauptbahnhof
Buildings and structures in Favoriten
Railway stations in Austria opened in 2012
Railway stations in Austria opened in 2015
2012 establishments in Austria