Zurich Altstetten railway station () is a
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
in the
Altstetten quarter of the
Swiss
Swiss most commonly refers to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Swiss may also refer to: Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
* Swiss Café, an old café located ...
city of
Zurich
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
. The station is located on the
Zürich to Olten main line and is the junction for the
Zürich to Zug via Affoltern am Albis line.
The station is served by lines , , , , , and of the
Zürich S-Bahn
The Zurich S-Bahn () system is a network of rail lines that has been incrementally expanded to cover the ZVV area, which comprises the entire canton of Zurich and portions of neighbouring cantons (Aargau, Glarus, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, ...
.
It is also a calling point for the hourly
InterRegio
The InterRegio, often shortened to IR, is a train categories in Europe, train category for mainly domestic train services in use in some European countries, with Swiss Federal Railways operating the most dense network. InterRegio trains are semi ...
services that link
Basel
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
to
Zurich Airport
Zurich Airport is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the airline hub, principal hub of Swiss International Air Lines. It serves Zurich, the largest city in Switzerland, and, with its surface transport links, much of the rest o ...
via
Zürich Hauptbahnhof
Zürich Hauptbahnhof, often shortened to Zürich HB or just HB, and known in English as Zurich Main Station, is the largest railway station in Switzerland and one of the busiest in Europe. It is a major railway hub, with services to and from a ...
, and
Bern
Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
to
Zürich
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
via
Olten
Olten (; High Alemannic: ''Oute'') is a town in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland and capital of the district of the same name.
Olten grew into a town during the Middle Ages at the location of a bridge over the Aare. After a period of de ...
.
The station is situated within
fare zone 110 of the
Zürcher Verkehrsverbund
The Zürcher Verkehrsverbund (ZVV), is the largest public transportation network in Switzerland. It covers the canton of Zurich and adjacent areas. All modes of public transportation (rail, light rail, bus, trolleybus, lake passenger liner, fun ...
(ZVV) and well connected to the ZVV network, with bus and tram stops on both sides of the station. Since 2022 the station also serves as the eastern terminus of the
Limmattal light rail line
The Limmattal light rail line () is a metre gauge tram line in the Limmat Valley between Altstetten (Zürich), Zürich Altstetten and Killwangen which started service in 2022. The line is 13.4 kilometres (8.3 mi) long and serves 27 stops. It is ...
.
History
The first station on the site was built by the
Swiss Northern Railway
The Swiss Northern Railway ( German: ''Schweizerische Nordbahn'', SNB), informally known as the ''Spanisch-Brötli-Bahn'', opened the first railway line within Switzerland in 1847, the Zürich–Baden line. This followed the extension of a Fre ...
in 1847, as part of their pioneering line from
Zürich
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
to
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Ba ...
, and hence was one of the first railway stations in Switzerland. Over time, this line became today's Zürich to Olten main line and the principal rail route between Zürich and northern and western Switzerland. The Zürich to Zug via Affoltern am Albis line opened in 1864, making Altstetten into a junction station. In 1907, the
Swiss Federal Railways
Swiss Federal Railways (, SBB; , CFF; , FFS) is the national railway company of Switzerland.
The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Bern. It used to be a State-owned enterprise, government institution, but since 1999 it has be ...
, who had taken over both lines, opened a workshop near the station.
Layout
The station has one side platform and two island platforms, served by five tracks, and has station buildings and entrances on both the north and south sides of the station. The
platforms and entrances are connected by a pair of
pedestrian subways. The tracks are numbered 2–4 and 6–7.
There are two stations with tram and bus services. ''Bhf. Altstetten Nord'' is located north to the railway station, while ''Bahnhof Altstetten'' is situated south of the station. Route
4 of the
Zürich tram system serves the ''Bhf. Altstetten Nord'' station, whilst route
31 of the
Zürich trolleybus system passes the south side of the station (''Bahnhof Altstetten'').
Zürich bus routes 35, 78, 80, 83, 89 and 485 also serve the south side of the station, whilst routes 304 and 307 both terminate at ''Bhf. Altstetten Nord''.
Since December 2022, the
Limmattal light rail line
The Limmattal light rail line () is a metre gauge tram line in the Limmat Valley between Altstetten (Zürich), Zürich Altstetten and Killwangen which started service in 2022. The line is 13.4 kilometres (8.3 mi) long and serves 27 stops. It is ...
(route 20) terminates at ''Bahnhof Altstetten'' station. The light rail line has its own platforms, across the station plaza from platform two of the
S-Bahn
The S-Bahn ( , ), , is a hybrid urban rail, urban–suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German language, German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit syst ...
services. This service, operated by
AVA, runs through the
Limmat Valley
The Limmat Valley (German: ''Limmattal'') is a river valley and a region in the Canton (Switzerland), cantons of Canton of Zürich, Zürich and Canton of Aargau, Aargau in Switzerland.
Geography
The Limmat () is a long river located in ...
region and connects to the Zürich tram network at Farbhof, just to the west of Altstetten station.

Services
Railway
the following rail services stop at Zürich Altstetten:
*
InterRegio
The InterRegio, often shortened to IR, is a train categories in Europe, train category for mainly domestic train services in use in some European countries, with Swiss Federal Railways operating the most dense network. InterRegio trains are semi ...
:
** : hourly service between and via .
** : hourly service between and .
*
Zürich S-Bahn
The Zurich S-Bahn () system is a network of rail lines that has been incrementally expanded to cover the ZVV area, which comprises the entire canton of Zurich and portions of neighbouring cantons (Aargau, Glarus, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, ...
:
** / : two trains per hour between and and hourly service to and .
** : half-hourly service between and ; hourly service to or ; rush-hour service to .
** : half-hourly service between and Winterthur; hourly service to or .
** : hourly service to
Koblenz
Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary.
Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...
via (during peak hours), half-hourly to (during peak hours to ) via
Zürich HB.
** : peak-hour service between and Zürich HB.
** : on Friday and Saturday night, hourly service between Aarau and Winterthur.
** : on Friday and Saturday night, hourly service between and Pfäffikon SZ.
Local tram and bus services
Summary of tram and bus services:
*Bahnhof Altstetten to the south of the station, via both western and eastern
underpass
A subway, also known as an underpass, is a grade-separated pedestrian crossing running underneath a road or railway in order to entirely separate pedestrians and cyclists from motor or train traffic.
Terminology
In the United States, as ...
,
AVA light rail line ,
VBZ trolley bus
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 ...
line , VBZ bus lines , , , , , and
VBG line .
*Bhf. Altstetten Nord to the north, via the eastern underpass,
VBZ tram line , VBZ bus lines and .
See also
*
List of railway stations in Zurich
*
Public transport in Zurich
Public transport in Zurich is available for four main Mode of transport, modes of transport—boat, bus, train and tram—assisting residents of and visitors to Zurich move around the of List of cities in Switzerland, Switzerland's largest city ...
*
Rail transport in Switzerland
Rail transport in Switzerland is noteworthy for the density of its network, its coordination between services, its integration with other modes of transport, timeliness and a thriving domestic and trans-Alps, Alp freight system. It is made nece ...
References
External links
*
Station planfrom SBB web page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zurich Altstetten Railway Station
Swiss Federal Railways stations
Altstetten
Altstetten may refer to:
*Altstetten, Erdweg, Bavaria, Germany
*Altstetten, Rennertshofen, Bavaria, Germany
*Altstetten (Zürich), Canton of Zürich, Switzerland
{{Geodis ...
Railway stations in Switzerland opened in 1847