Basel SBB train station

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Basel SBB
SBB train station and the Centralbahnplatz
SBB train station and the Centralbahnplatz
Data
Location in the network Separation station , border station
Design Through station
Platform tracks
abbreviation BS ( SBB )
XSB ( DB )
IBNR 8500010 ( SBB )
8718791 ( SNCF )
opening December 19, 1854
Website URL Basel SBB train station
Profile on SBB.ch No. 10
Architectural data
Architectural style Neo-baroque
architect Emil Faesch , Emanuel La Roche
location
City / municipality Basel
Canton Basel city
Country Switzerland
Coordinates 611 375  /  266 320 coordinates: 47 ° 32 '51 "  N , 7 ° 35' 23"  O ; CH1903:  611 375  /  two hundred and sixty-six thousand three hundred and twenty
Height ( SO ) 277  m
Railway lines
List of train stations in Switzerland
i16

The Basel SBB railway station (usually Basel SBB , more rarely called Centralbahnhof or Swiss Railway Station ) is the largest border station in Europe and the largest and most important railway station in Basel. Trains from Basel to Switzerland , Italy and Germany as well as the TGVs to France depart from Basel SBB station. Regional trains to Alsace run from Basel SNCF , the Alsatian train station, which is attached to the SBB train station, but has its own reception area and platforms . Most of the long-distance trains, as well as an S-Bahn line and a few other local trains to Germany, end or start in Basel SBB. They also stop at the Badischer Bahnhof , the second largest train station in Basel, which is operated by Deutsche Bahn .

The representative building with a neo-baroque facade was built between 1905 and 1907 by Emil Faesch and Emanuel La Roche .

With an average of around 135,000 travelers per working day, Basel SBB is the sixth most frequented train station in Switzerland.

location

The station area is located on the southern outskirts of the city in a long area between the zoological garden in the west and the Brüglinger plain in the east. The boundaries of four districts converge at the station area; According to the statistical office, the area is divided into two parts of the city: the station itself is in the Gundeldingen district , most of the tracks in the east ( freight station ) and the Centralbahnplatz in front of the station (including the BIZ tower ) are assigned to the St. Alban district . The Elisabethenanlage in front of Centralbahnplatz is already part of the suburbs , while the market hall opposite the French train station still belongs to the Ring district .

history

Details of the front view of the SBB train station

The first railway , the Chemin de fer Strasbourg-Bâle (StB) , reached Basel in 1844 and in 1845 the Elsässerbahn built the first train station in the city, within the city walls. Basel was the first Swiss city to be opened up by the new means of transport ( see also Basel SNCF train station ). After the arrival of the railway, there were passionate discussions in Basel about the pros and cons of the railway and about a continuation of the railway to the Mittelland and Gotthard . From the north, the Rhine Valley railway line from Mannheim - Karlsruhe approached the Rhine city ​​and reached Haltingen (a district of Weil am Rhein ) on the Swiss border in 1851 .

In 1853 the “ Schweizerische Centralbahn ” (SCB) railway company was founded in Basel with the aim of connecting the city of Basel to the economic centers of the Mittelland cantons and, later, perhaps expanding the transport axis from Lucerne to the Gotthard. The Viaduktstrasse in Basel - including the viaduct that adjoins the parking lot of the Basel Zoo - was the route of the then Alsatian Railway until 1902 . Today the viaduct serves tram lines 1 and 8 as well as car traffic. A plaque on the bridge railing reminds of this.

Provisional station for the “Swiss Central Railway” from 1854

In 1854, construction work began on the future trunk line through the Hauenstein . Until the opening of the first section from Basel to Liestal , the controversial question of the location and design of the Basel train station remained unsolved. In order to be able to commence rail operations on December 19, 1854, the Centralbahn built a simple temporary structure in wooden construction based on plans by the director's architect Ludwig Maring on Engelgasse / Lange Gasse . On the opening day, the high-rise buildings were built, except for the wooden railway hall . This modest station with makeshift facilities consisted of individual buildings and was used for almost six years. The railway system consisted of the reception building , a goods shed , a wagon and locomotive remise and a hub at the end of the track. Since the reception building was on the northeast side next to the tracks, the station was not considered a terminus . The station was only the starting point of the SCB routes and had neither a connection to the French station nor to the Badischer Bahnhof of the Rhine Valley Railway, which was built in 1855 .

"Centralbahnhof" from 1860

On June 29, 1857, the Grand Council of Basel approved the construction of a connection between the French line and the Central Railway and the construction of a continuous station on the field in front of the Elisabethen bulwark . The city bore the cost of buying the land. At the beginning of 1859, the SCB began construction work on the station facilities designed by Maring, which, in addition to the passenger station, included the freight station and two locomotive depots that were offset from the Gundeldinger district. One locomotive hall was intended for the SCB, the other for the French Eastern Railway.

On June 4, 1860, rail operations began in Basel's new “Centralbahnhof”. It took until May 1861 for all the facilities to be complete. The station was a shared station. The northern front of the central reception building faced the newly created Centralbahnplatz . To the right and left of it were the boarding halls, each with two tracks, to the east for the Swiss trains and to the west for the French trains. On the south side, opposite the reception building, were the goods shed and two large warehouses with access from Güterstrasse.

Further changes for Basel Central Station made it possible to cope with the marked increase in traffic in the years that followed:

With the additional traffic, the capacity of the "Centralbahnhof" was no longer sufficient. As a first relief measure, the dismantling and formation of freight trains in the provisional marshalling yard , which opened on March 10, 1876 , was relocated to the open field "auf dem Wolf", east of the station. Around this time, talks began with the aim of replacing the level crossings on the Elsässerbahn and in the "Centralbahnhof", which are a hindrance to urban traffic, by lowering the railway and by overpasses . As early as 1874, temporary wooden walkways were built for pedestrians at Margarethenstrasse and Heumattstrasse, which were later replaced by iron constructions. Since 1879 the Pfeffingerstrasse ran under the station in the area of ​​today's Peter-Merian-Brücke.

The original wooden construction of the main hall from 1860 in the Swiss chalet style has been preserved except for some of the original wooden ornaments. It was rediscovered in dismantled form towards the end of the 20th century and rebuilt by the Zürcher Oberland Steam Railway Association in Bauma at the local train station, with the missing original parts being remade.

After the referendum on the nationalization of the railways in Switzerland in 1898, the Federal Council decided ...

  • the construction of a new central station at the previous location,
  • lowering the entire system by 2.7 meters,
  • the laying of the Alsatian line in a low area, in a wide arc around the city,
  • relocation of the entire goods and warehouse operations to the provisional Wolf marshalling yard .

Provisional "Centralbahnhof" from 1902

The definitive project for a new “Centralbahnhof” in Basel was worked out in 1899. On March 16, 1900 the Federal Council gave its approval to the plans, which saw the lowering of the entire station area and the access lines. First the freight traffic was relocated to the Wolf station and on May 12, 1901 the Elsässerbahn, which ran in a low position and in a wide arc, was opened.

The provisional station was built on the vacated, sunken area south of the station and put into operation on June 2, 1902. The development also took place from the south, from the Güterstrasse. For this purpose, not only were various streets extended, but also two tram lines . The provisional facility remained in operation until June 24, 1907, the provisional facilities and access roads were then dismantled and the two tram lines in Güterstrasse were tied through. The station underpass into the Gundeldinger district was built around the point of the access road. 1902–1903 the old station was demolished.

Basel SBB railway station from 1907

The passerelle of the SBB train station
The interior of the five-part railway hall
Basel SBB platform hall with TGV and SBB EW IV

In 1902 the "Schweizerische Centralbahn" became part of the newly created Swiss Federal Railways (SBB). The new train station, which has since been referred to as the “Swiss Federal Railway Station” or “Basel SBB”, was one of the first major SBB structures. The new Basel SBB train station, designed by Emil Faesch and Emanuel La Roche , was put into operation on June 24, 1907. The station building is characterized by its extraordinary length, as the Basel SNCF station with its customs facility for international transfer traffic is "attached" to its west side .

The asymmetrical floor plan of the station shows on the outside the representative appearance of the federal buildings for the time. The interiors are wide and tall. The reception building is aligned with the central axis of the Centralbahnplatz and shows a huge glazed Tudor arch window between two clock towers under curved domes. Behind the facade one could assume a terminus station, but this is not the case in Basel. Through the entrances in the clock towers, travelers reach the counter hall under a steel arch construction lined with wood. Large murals from the 1920s advertise the tourist destinations in Switzerland. They are depictions of Lake Sils , Gstaad , Jungfraujoch and the Matterhorn . They were created by Hans Beat Wieland (1867–1945), Werner Miller (1892–1959), Ernst Hodel junior (1881–1955) and Ekkehard Kohlund (1887–1974). The largest is also by Ernst Hodel junior (1927), measures five by fifteen meters and shows Lake Lucerne . The ticket and currency exchange counters are embedded in the wall facing the square. In the past, you could also find luggage check-in and hand luggage storage here; today these ancillary services can be found in the basement using escalators and stairs. In the east part of the current travel center was the baggage claim. The first / second class (now Migros) and third class (now brasserie / kiosk) restaurants were located in the wing on the northwest side. The station was famous for its station buffets. These were gradually abandoned in the 1990s. In addition to a remaining specialty restaurant, other commercial uses now occupy the high rooms decorated with murals. A separate entrance west of Centralplatz on Centralbahnstrasse leads to the trains going to Alsace at the SNCF station in Basel .

The platform allocation initially corresponded to the private railway age, because the use of the platforms was separated according to directions. The station originally had 10 tracks, of which the three end tracks 1 to 3 were previously reserved for local traffic. Tracks 1 to 10 are spanned by a five- aisle railway hall . The hall was built in 1905 by Buss AG from Pratteln near Basel and is 93 meters wide and 120 meters long (tracks 1/2), 230 meters (tracks 3/4) and 200 meters (tracks 5 to 10). Track 4 is continuous up to the French train station , where it changes to track 30, where the overhead line can be switched from the voltage of the French traction current of 25,000 volts 50  Hertz to the Swiss voltage  of 15,000 volts 16.7 Hertz. On the southern side of the station there is a double-track line at a lower level, which connects the Basel-Muttenz marshalling yard with the French main line and mainly serves through freight trains.

Aerial view of the Basel SBB from the west (1988)
The new interlocking of the SBB in Basel

Since 1878 there has been a transport post office in the immediate vicinity of the Badischer Bahnhof , which was responsible for handling postal traffic with the Deutsche Reichspost . Around the same time, the Centralbahnhof took over the exchange of pieces with France, Belgium, Great Britain and Alsace. A parcel transit office was created for this task in 1907. The transport transit office had a total traffic of nearly 3.5 million items in 1912. This traffic volume was too big for the old rooms in the Badischer Bahnhof. Therefore, from 1911 to 1913, a new building was built in Basel SBB station, which is an island within the station. Seven separate sidings led to the new post office building.

On September 13, 1913, the transit office at Badischer Bahnhof was merged with the parcel transit office at Basel SBB station. The new post office Basel 17 Transit was given its own building with separate sidings in the Basel SBB train station and included a post office and customs office. There was close cooperation with the Deutsche Reichspost. Both sides agreed on a joint office within the Basel 17 Transit post office. In this, the PTT took over the administration for the services of both countries and carried out work that was exclusively in the interests of the Deutsche Reichspost. The Reichspost only operated a small accounting office.

Because of the lowering of the tracks, it was difficult to add more tracks to the station. On the south side the platform system with the additional tracks 11 and 12, with an extension of the pedestrian underpass to the Gundeldingerquartier, and in 2003, during the construction of thePasserelle, to be completed with tracks 14 and 15. This made it possible to increase the capacity in connection with the introduction of the 1982 timetable and the 2000 railway . In June 2008, tracks 16 and 17 were finally put into operation.

In 2003, the new could Passerelle architects Cruz y Ortiz Arquitectos be opened up to the western end of the station hall of the main hall over the tracks Quartier Gundeldingen the platforms together. This pedestrian passage with shopping facilities is 185 meters long, 30 meters wide and replaces the underpass. The old tunnel is now used for operational and logistical purposes. The passerele is part of the new commercial concept « RailCity » of the SBB. With the construction of the passerelle, the RailCenter and the railway information were relocated from the counter hall to the former baggage hall. The counter pavilion of the customer service in the counter hall from 1987 could then be removed, and since then the cleared hall has been able to fully develop its spacious impression.

In 1998 and 1999 a new signal box was built on behalf of the SBB. The architects of this striking building were Herzog & de Meuron . The entire SBB railway operations in Basel and on the routes to Laufen, Sissach, Laufenburg and Brugg were monitored and remote-controlled from this building until summer 2015. With the commissioning of the central operations center in Olten, remote control of operations was relocated there. The actual interlocking technology for the Basel SBB train station is still located in the building itself.

links

Around 465 trains leave the SBB station every day, and about the same number of trains arrive at the station. On average, a passenger train leaves or arrives at the station every 90 seconds. There are also freight trains on the through tracks and mail trains entering and leaving the underground post station .

Long-distance transport

International long-distance transport

Both ICE and TGV trains run in Basel SBB .

SBB ICE trains run every hour from Basel , alternating in the direction of Berlin , Hamburg , Cologne and other German cities. The German cities of Duisburg and Düsseldorf are served by trains in the direction of Hamburg. EuroCity trains to Milan and TGV to Paris run several times a day . The direct connection to Luxembourg and Brussels was discontinued in 2016. The direct connection to Innsbruck and Vienna was discontinued in 2010. In December 2018, the direct TGV connection to Marseille was also discontinued.

There are also long-distance buses from Basel SBB (Meret-Oppenheim-Strasse) to destinations all over Europe.

International night trains

A direct night connection still exists with Berlin and Hamburg . This was taken over by ÖBB after the end of the CNL trains in December 2016 and integrated into the Nightjet network .

There used to be night connections to Amsterdam (until December 11, 2016), Copenhagen (until November 1, 2014), Prague (until December 11, 2016) and Rome (until December 13, 2009)

The longest direct connection was with direct carriages from Madrid via Geneva and Basel to Moscow until the 1990s, in 2010 it was shortened as Basel - Moscow-Belorusskaya again on the train service. It was finally discontinued on December 13, 2013.

National long-distance transport

InterCity trains run several times an hour to Zurich main station , Olten and Bern . Zurich - Chur , Olten - Lucerne - Bellinzona - Lugano , Olten - Bern - Interlaken / Visp - Brig and Delsberg - Biel are reached at least every hour .

Regional traffic

Tri-national S-Bahn Basel

Line S1 of the S-Bahn Basel to Laufenburg

As a border station , regional traffic to Germany , France and Switzerland is also oriented. The network of the Basel S-Bahn extends from Frick / Laufenburg in the east, Olten in the south, Porrentruy in the west to Mulhouse in the north-west and Zell im Wiesental in the north-east.

SBB

A "TER 200" towards Strasbourg train station

SNCF

Relief lines during rush hour

SBB

Deutsche Bahn

Night lines during the weekends

SBB

city ​​traffic

Basel SBB train station is well integrated into the tram and bus network of the city of Basel and its agglomeration. The city center can be reached by tram from the train station in 5–10 minutes. The university, the hospitals, the trade fair and the airport can be reached by bus.

tram
Bus and tram station in front of the SBB train station

Of the BVB -powered tram lines:

From the BLT -powered tram lines:

bus
Bus route 50 "Express" to EuroAirport

Of the BVB operated bus lines:

  • 30 SBB / SNCF train station - Spalentor - UKBB - Feldbergstrasse - Badischer Bahnhof
  • 30E SBB / SNCF train station - Spalentor - UKBB
  • 42 SBB / SNCF train station - Tinguely Museum - (Hoffmann La Roche -) Wettsteinallee - Niederholz train station - Bettingen Dorf
  • 48 SBB / SNCF train station - Schützenhaus - Gartenstrasse - Bachgraben
  • 50 SBB / SNCF train station - Brausebad - Kannenfeldplatz - EuroAirport
  • 50 Express train station SBB / SNCF - EuroAirport

Planned connections

Several connections have been announced and will depart from Basel in the future. Work is also being carried out on the future of the Basel rail junction (see also Herzstück-Basel ). This includes various new connections and densifications of existing lines.

Announced connections

In the period 2021–2025, the half-hourly service is to be introduced between Basel SBB and Biel / Bienne . It is not yet clear what type of train should be used for the second connection per hour, but in some places there are indications of an inter- regional connection. This could, among other things, connect Dornach-Arlesheim to long-distance traffic. In addition, the existing intercity connection (IC 51) is to be connected again alternately to Lausanne and Geneva Airport when the Léman 2030 rail project in western Switzerland is completed and the bottlenecks between Lausanne and Geneva have been removed.

From December 2025, the new long-distance FLIRT 3 will be used on the new line .

Connections in planning

The Basel railway junction is to be upgraded with various projects. These include, among other things, the center- piece cross- link between the SBB train station and the Badischer Bahnhof and new stops on the Schwarzwälderbrücke and in Dornach , as well as a rail link for the EuroAirport .

In addition, the trinational Basel S-Bahn is to be relaunched, which means that there will be many new connections. In long-distance traffic, the clocks are to be increased at the same time. Here are a few examples:

literature

  • Werner Stutz: Railway Stations in Switzerland: From the Beginnings to the First World War. New edition by Orell Füssli, Zurich 1983, ISBN 3-280-01405-0 .
  • Fritz Kunz: Europe's train station: 125 years of Basel Central Station, 1860–1985. Basler Schriften, 29. Pharos, H. Schwabe, Basel 1985, ISBN 3-7230-0221-8 .
  • Dorothee Huber: Basel SBB train station. (Swiss Art Guide, No. 754, Series 76). Ed. Society for Swiss Art History GSK. Bern 2004, ISBN 3-85782-754-8 .
  • Roland W. Scholz, Michael Stauffacher, Sandro Bösch, Pius Krütli (eds.): Train stations in the city of Basel: Sustainable train station and urban development in the trinational agglomeration. Rüegger, Zurich 2005, ISBN 978-3-7253-0831-6 .

Web links

Commons : Basel SBB train station  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Agreement between the German Empire and Switzerland, regarding the establishment of German customs clearance points at the railway stations on the left bank of the Rhine in Basel  - sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Railway stations / station users. SBB, accessed on November 4, 2017 .
  2. ^ Ernst Mathys, Hermann Mathys: 10,000 information on the Swiss railways / Renseignements sur les chemins de fer Suisses. A reference work / Un aide-mémoire. Self-published by the authors, 1949, p. 71.
  3. ↑ Witnesses to early Swiss tourism advertising. In: badische-zeitung.de. Retrieved March 24, 2015 .
  4. ^ A b Alfred Dietiker: From the post office Basel 17 Transit and its exchange of parcels with other countries . In: Postal Magazine . No. 2 , 1932, p. 56-68 .
  5. ↑ http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/leben/reisen/Das-langsame-Sterben-der-Nachtzuege/story/29185980 , accessed on November 28, 2014.
  6. ↑ http://www.drehscheibe-online.de/foren/read.php?17,4687411 , accessed on November 28, 2014.
  7. ↑ On Friday evening the last wagon destined for Russia left the SBB station . TagesWoche , December 13, 2013.
  8. ↑ http://www.watson.ch/Schweiz/Wirtschaft/430824600-Abfuhr-an-die-BLS--SBB-wollen-Monopol-im-Fernverkehr-mit-allen-Kr%C3%A4ften-verteidigen , accessed on September 8, 2017.
  9. ↑ Herzog & de Mauron: 2030 S BAHN BASEL route plan The present of the future, April 2017.
  10. ↑ SBB Mouette. SBB.ch, accessed on May 30, 2020 .
  11. ↑ Herzog & de Mauron: 2030 S BAHN BASEL route plan The present of the future, April 2017.