Reception building
Reception building or reception halls (in Switzerland and Austria : station building or station building; in Austria and South Tyrol also: Shoo building respectively Shoo Hall ) are building at institutions in the movement of persons , as opposed to waiting rooms rooms for holding-company tasks such. B. the general business operations for travelers such as ticket sales and baggage handling , possibly also for customs clearance . They can be found on railways , air transport , shipping , bus transport and cable cars .
Reception building types
Train stations
Reception buildings can also include lounges , changing rooms and living rooms for railway workers as well as sales facilities (restaurants, newspaper kiosks , travel or service centers with ticket sales). If controls are not omitted (e.g. within the Schengen area ), border stations have rooms for passport and customs control. At train stations in cities, the reception building is often converted into a shopping center or combined with one.
Due to the rationalization of the railway operations in Germany and Austria, the reception buildings of many unmanned train stations were closed to prevent damage from vandalism . At some stations there are - in some cases - covered waiting shelters available to the waiting travelers ( DB plus point ). Station buildings that were no longer required for rail operations were also rented or sold for residential purposes or demolished.
Colloquially, the term station is often used for the reception building. In technical terms, however , a train station is the entire facility including tracks, platforms, operations buildings, warehouse, etc.
The oldest surviving station building in Germany is located in the Goslar district of Vienenburg . It opened in 1840.
Airports
Reception buildings in airports are usually named with the English term terminal ; In the past one spoke of the departure and arrival hall . Airport terminals are divided into several areas: arrival area , departure area and handling area with check-in counters and gates . The apron of an airport or airfield begins behind the reception buildings .
An airport can have one or more reception buildings, many of which are connected by (often underground) moving walkways to make it easier for passengers to transfer. In major airports, major airlines often have their own terminals.
Ports and ship stations
In sea ports , but also on navigable rivers and lakes, there may be reception buildings for handling passengers at ship stations. They are operated in a similar way to train stations. Since thousands of passengers can arrive at the same time with larger ships , the reception buildings of the ports concerned are sometimes very large. Depending on the type of port, there may also be one station building per pier ; Even competing ferries mostly have moorings with their own reception building.
literature
- Mihály Kubinszky : Europe's Railway Stations. Your story, art and technology . Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1969