Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that answer the question.
Query: How fast are the trains in the Zürich Underground Railway?
Line 1 was planned right through to the construction stage since it covered the two most important traffic axes in the metropolitan regions of (Glatttal and Limmattal) and, according to the traffic concepts, it could be an efficient system on its own. The construction of the Schwammendingen branch line was also given priority, because this rapidly growing district was badly developed.[23] The maximum speed of the underground was set at 80km/h, the minimum radius at 245 m, the maximum inclination of the line at 40‰ and of the stations at 5‰. The standard-gauge section was to be electrified with 1500 V direct current using a third rail. Eight-axle railcars of type Be 8/8 (45.6m length and 2.9m width) were planned as rolling stock. Railcars in groups of three formed a 136.8m long train, with a total capacity for 1302 passengers (including 360 seats).[24]
It has a town bus service with 5 bus lines which run every 15 minutes to every corner of the town. Frauenfeld railway station supports a regional train, part of the Zürich S-Bahn, from Weinfelden to Winterthur (S8 and S30) every 30 minutes, as well in the opposite direction and a fast train (InterCity and InterRegio) that travels to Zürich every 30 minutes, as well in the opposite direction to Weinfelden and further to Constance in Germany or Romanshorn. During busy times in the mornings and evenings these trains are supported by another train (called "S") which stops in the bigger towns (like IR/IC).
The service links Winterthur, in the northeast of the canton of Zürich, and Rapperswil, on the on north shore of Lake Zürich but just over the cantonal boundary in the canton of St. Gallen. From Winterthur, the service runs over the main Zurich–Winterthur railway line to Effretikon, but then takes the secondary route via Kloten to Zürich Oerlikon, from where it proceeds through Zürich via Zürich Hauptbahnhof and Zürich Stadelhofen. From Stadelhofen, trains then run over the Lake Zürich right-bank railway line to Rapperswil. Between Stadelhofen and Meilen trains run non-stop, with a parallel stopping service provided by lines S6 and S16.
How uncontroversial the S-Bahn Zürich had been in 1973 was clearly proven eight years later on 29 November 1981, when the electorate of the canton of Zurich approved a loan of 523 million francs for building the S-Bahn with 73.75% in favour.[8][40]
The Zürich–Affoltern am Albis–Zug railway is a railway connecting the Swiss cities of Zürich and Zug via Affoltern am Albis. It was opened by the Zürich–Zug–Lucerne Railway ("Zürich-Zug-Luzern-Bahn") on 1 June 1864. The Zug–Luzern railway was opened by the same company on the same day. The line officially begins in Zürich Altstetten, which was still an independent municipality at that time. The line's only significant traffic consists of services on Zurich S-Bahn line S5. Long distance trains between Zürich, Zug and Lucerne now run via the Zimmerberg Base Tunnel, the Thalwil–Arth-Goldau railway and the Zug–Lucerne railway.
The Zürich–Zug line connects to the line to Baden opened in 1847 at Zürich Altstetten, which had been rebuilt in preparation as a junction station. Rail services on the line use the line to/from Baden to connect with Zürich Hauptbahnhof.
The line was connected at a triangular junction ("wye") at Kollermühle with the branch to Lucerne, so that until 1970 trains could run from Lucerne to Zurich without reversing. Zug station was a terminal station until the opening of the Thalwil–Arth-Goldau railway. With the introduction of the new line, the station was rebuilt with a station building between the diverging lines. The Zug reversing loop, which made it possible to run from both directions into the station, was also built at that time.
The trains from Zürich always ran around the Zug loop until 5 May 1990, because points were only installed with the opening of double track between Zug and Cham through the Kollermühle operations yard. Although there had been two tracks between the Kollermülle yard and the branch to the Zug loop since the opening of the line, these had been operated as two parallel single tracks.
Public transport is extremely popular in Zürich, and its inhabitants use public transport in large numbers. About 70% of the visitors to the city use the tram or bus, and about half of the journeys within the municipality take place on public transport. Within Zürich and throughout the canton of Zürich, the ZVV network of public transport has traffic density ratings among the highest worldwide. When adding frequency, which in Zürich can be as often as seven minutes, it does become the densest across all dimensions. Three means of mass-transit exist: the S-Bahn (local trains), trams, and buses (both diesel and electric, also called trolley buses). In addition, the public transport network includes boats on the lake and river, funicular railways and even the Luftseilbahn Adliswil-Felsenegg (LAF), a cable car between Adliswil and Felsenegg. Tickets purchased for a trip are valid on all means of public transportation (train, tram, bus, boat). The Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (commonly abbreviated to ZSG) operates passenger vessels on the Limmat and the Lake Zürich, connecting surrounding towns between Zürich and Rapperswil.
Zürich is a mixed hub for railways, roads, and air traffic. Zürich Hauptbahnhof ("Zürich HB") is the largest and busiest station in Switzerland and is an important railway hub in Europe. There are between 350,000 and 500,000 commuters daily making use of this central network node – a significant figure in comparison to Zürich's population. With regard to the number of trains daily entering and leaving a single railway station, Zürich HB is the world's most frequently served railway station, with 2915 trains every day. Among the 16 railway stations (and 10 additional train stops) within Zürich's city borders, there are five other major passenger railway stations. Three of them belong to the ten most frequented railway stations in Switzerland: Stadelhofen, Oerlikon, Altstetten, Hardbrücke, and Enge. The railway network is mainly operated by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS), but Zürich is also served by major EuroCity trains from the neighbouring countries and is a destination for both French/Swiss (TGV Lyria) and German (ICE) high-speed trains, as well as by Austrian RailJet.
On 28 March 1949, a private "initiative committee for an Underground Railway in Zürich", led by construction engineer Adolf Weber,[5] submitted an application for a constructing and operating concession to the Federal Post and Railway Department. The plan was to build a widespread underground network which would cover 158 stations and have a length of 107km – including lines from Zürich to Küsnacht, Witikon, Dübendorf, Kloten, Weiningen, Dietikon, Sellenbüren, Adliswil and Thalwil. After revision, the overall length was reduced to 90km. The required capital investment of approximately two billion Swiss francs was to be supplied from private investors, at an interest rate partly guaranteed by the state. Considering the horrendous costs, an acceptance of the application by the Federal Assembly seemed to be unfeasible. Thus, the proposal was withdrawn.[6]
In 1933 the Metropolitan Railway was taken into public ownership to become the Metropolitan line of the London Passenger Transport Board's London Underground, including Quainton Road. The LPTB aimed to move away from freight operations, and saw no way in which the rural parts of the MR could be made into viable passenger routes. In 1935 the Brill Tramway was closed. From 1936 Underground trains were withdrawn north of Aylesbury, leaving the London and North Eastern Railway (successor to the GCR) as the only operator using the station, although Underground services were restored for a short period in the 1940s. In 1963 stopping passenger services were withdrawn but fast passenger trains continued to pass through. In 1966 the line was closed to passenger traffic and local goods trains ceased using the station. The line through the station was singled and used by occasional freight trains only.
To relieve the burden on the railway node Zurich, the Altstetten–Zürich–Oerlikon cross-city railway was built from 2007 to 2015. The formed with the Weinberg Tunnel a third connection between the Hauptbahnhof and Zürich Oerlikon. Trains on this route stop at the Hauptbahnhof at a new underground section of the station called "Löwenstrasse", which is designed as a though station in contrast to the above ground terminus. Löwenstrasse station and the Weinberg tunnel were commissioned for S-Bahn traffic in mid-2014. The bridges between Zurich HB and the "Vorbahnhof" (a shunting yard) at Zurich Altstetten only went into operation at the end of 2015.
Zürich Hauptbahnhof (often shortened to Zürich HB) ("Zürich Main Station" or "Zürich Central Station") is the largest railway station in Switzerland. Zürich is a major railway hub, with services to and from across Switzerland and neighbouring European countries such as Germany, Italy, Austria and France. The station was originally constructed as the terminus of the Spanisch Brötli Bahn, the first railway built completely within Switzerland. Serving up to 2,915 trains per day, Zürich HB is one of the busiest railway stations in the world.
The railway was opened on 1 June 1864 by the Zürich–Zug–Lucerne Railway.
The opening of the Thalwil–Arth-Goldau line had, with the exception of the reconstruction in the area of Zug station, no great impact for the line itself, but trains running between Zürich and Lucerne continued to use the Zug–Lucerne section. Only the operation of passenger trains running towards the Gotthard fell away between Kollermühle and Rotkreuz. Most freight trains from Zürich to Rotkreuz continued to run via the rail triangle. When it was decided to transfer the former shunting yard on the approach to Zürich Hauptbahnhof to Zürich Mülligen (only fast goods and postal traffic) and to Limmattal marshalling yard, it was clear that this traffic would be eliminated. For this reason, on 19 November 1970, the side of the rail triangle that connected Steinhausen with Cham was closed and dismantled. Freight trains now run via the Aargau Southern Railway to Rotkreuz.
The introductions of two S-Bahn systems had some impact on the line. The introduction of the Zürich S-Bahn in 1990, when the Zug loop was closed, had less impact.
By contrast, the introduction of the 2004 Zug Stadtbahn in 2004 had a massive impact on the Zug–Luzern line, which underwent a major refurbishment so that services could be introduced between Zug and Baar at quarter-hourly intervals. In addition, five additional stations were established.
Zürich Selnau, ( or "Bahnhof Selnau"), is an underground railway station on the Zürich S-Bahn system in Selnau in the centre of the Swiss city of Zürich. The station is on a section of tunnel common to the Uetliberg line and the Sihltal line, both of which are operated by the Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn (SZU).
The Hirschengraben Tunnel is a railway tunnel in the Swiss city of Zürich. The tunnel runs from the western approaches to Zürich Hauptbahnhof railway station, east under the station, the river Limmat and city centre before turning south and surfacing at Zürich Stadelhofen station. It includes a set of underground platforms at Zürich Hauptbahnhof, and carries twin standard gauge () tracks electrified at 15 kV AC 16,7 Hz using overhead catenary.
The council answered in March 2016 that an underground in the city of Zürich was neither necessary nor feasible, and would, in addition, cost far too much money.[48]
Railways in standard gauge run through all major valleys in the canton. The centre for transport is Zürich, where a great number of local railways connect to national and international rail links. The railway station of the city of Zürich, Zürich Hauptbahnhof, is one of the busiest in Europe, counting the number of arriving and departing trains. Zürich is well connected to other European cities using rail links. The major trains ICE, TGV and Cisalpino connect to Zürich.
The Zürich Underground Railway, or Zürich U-Bahn, was a project started in the 1970s to build a rapid transit network in the Swiss city of Zürich and several bordering municipalities. This project was itself preceded by several earlier plans dating from between 1864 and 1959. In April 1962, the "Tiefbahn" (rapid transit) project was proposed, which would have included placing the Zürich trams underground in the city centre by building 21.15km of underground lines, but this was rejected in a referendum before any construction had been undertaken.
The area was, and still is, served by the Zürich S-Bahn, which provides frequent and fast connections between its stations. There are also fast train connections from Zürich Airport to central Zürich, some calling in Oerlikon. However the stations of the S-Bahn are widely spaced and, prior to the development of the Stadtbahn Glattal, onward distribution from the railway stations depended on bus services.
The Weinberg Tunnel () is a railway tunnel in the Swiss city of Zürich. The tunnel runs from the western approaches to Zürich Hauptbahnhof railway station, east under the station and city centre before turning north and surfacing on the southern approach to Zürich Oerlikon railway station, and allows trains running between east and west to pass through Zürich without reversal. It includes a new set of underground platforms at Zürich Hauptbahnhof, and carries twin standard gauge () tracks electrified at 15 kV AC 16 2/3 Hz using overhead catenary.
The line from Altstetten to Zug was electrified at 15 kV 16 ⅔ Hz AC on 15 October 1932.
When it was decided to transfer shunting from the former marshalling yard on the approach to Zürich Hauptbahnhof to Zürich Mülligen (only fast goods and postal traffic) and to Limmattal marshalling yard, it was clear that this traffic would be eliminated. For this reason, on 19 November 1970, the side of the rail triangle that connected Steinhausen with Cham was closed and dismantled. Freight trains now run via the Aargau Southern Railway to Rotkreuz.
At the main station, the underground stop was to be located underneath Bahnhofplatz (station square) adjoining to the south. Later, a second tunnel stop was to be built for line 3. After passing under the Sihl and the still unbuilt motorway approach road to the A3, Stauffacher would be reached, where an interchange to line 2 was planned. Near the crossing with the Lake Zürich left-bank railway line, the above-ground Kalkbreite station was to be located. Following Badenerstrasse, the line would have been underground again, with the exception of Letzigraben station which would have been located in a short cutting. The sections between Albisriederplatz and Letzigraben was to provide an additional headshunt for turning trains. At the western periphery of Altstetten a viaduct was to cross the Zürich–Zug line, the Mülligen marshalling yard, and the Zurich-Bern/Basel line. Through Schlieren, the underground would have continued north of the railway line. A short tunnel near Poststrasse in Dietikon would have taken the line to the south side of the railway. The underground finally would have reached Dietikon railway station on a viaduct. The terminus was to be located on the first floor of the station building.[29] Envisaged, but not planned concretely was a possible extension from Deitikon to Spreitenbach in the canton of Aargau.[30]
Postal Telegraph and Telephone (Switzerland) () opened the Post-U-Bahn (underground railway) in Zürich in 1938. It ran between Zürich Hauptbahnhof and the Sihlpost (), Zürich's main post office. The track gauge was 60 cm, and the small electric railcar, which could carry 250 kg of mail, collected power from wires between the tracks. Operations ceased on 11 October 1980 when a rubber-tired system replaced the train.
The municipality of Rapperswil-Jona is served by four railway stations, of which the main one is Rapperswil railway station. This is served by lines S5, S7, S15 and S40 of the Zürich S-Bahn, the first three of which provide frequent (6 trains per hour) and fast (36 minute journey time) links to the city of Zürich. It is also a calling point of the "Voralpen Express", running hourly between Lucerne and St. Gallen, and the terminus of an hourly regional train that operates south-east to Linthal via Ziegelbrücke.
Winterthur is Switzerland's fifth busiest station, and is a major node between Switzerland's largest railway nucleus in Zürich and places in Eastern Switzerland (such as St. Gallen and Schaffhausen), as well as Germany (Munich), and Austria (Vorarlberg). The station is served by trains on Zürich's suburban S-Bahn network, as well as by regional and intercity trains, with most through passenger trains making a stop. It is also connected with Zürich's airport railway station Zürich Flughafen, which can be reached in about 15 minutes about every 8 minutes. Zürich Hauptbahnhof can be reached with up to 16 direct connections per hour and the fastest connection takes only 22 minutes (S12). The station has 9 standard gauge platforms (numbered 1-9).
The Lenzburg railway station is served by fast trains Zürich-Aarau-Basel, and by local trains of the Zürich S-Bahn, Aargau S-Bahn and Lucerne S-Bahn. Zurich International Airport is within close reach (around 1 hour by train).
In the run-up to the decisive referendum there had been demands to vote separately on the construction of the underground and suburban train systems. In fact, the suburban train was widely undisputed while a heated sociopolitical debate concerning the Underground broke out.[38] In particular, members of the Social Democratic Party were against the "project of megalomania" (as they called it). They feared that the construction of the underground railway would lead to rising land prices, higher rents, and housing close to the city centre would be in danger of being converted into offices. This would lead to a displacement of the city's population to the suburbs, resulting in longer journeys to work. Moreover, opponents considered the costs for the underground "astronomically high". Supporters argued that the underground was a project of environment protection and asserted that many accompanying measures had been prepared in order to maintain and promote housing in the city. Their argument that without an underground there would be a "total gridlock" was deemed irrelevant, because the economy had started to slow down and the city's population decreased slightly.[36][37]