Genève-Cornavin railway station

Geneva

Genève
Three-story neoclassical ediface
The main (south) entrance to the station building in 2019
General information
LocationGeneva
Switzerland
Coordinates46°12′36.781″N 6°8′32.809″E / 46.21021694°N 6.14244694°E / 46.21021694; 6.14244694
Elevation392 m (1,286 ft)
Owned bySwiss Federal Railways
Line(s)
Distance60.3 km (37.5 mi) from Lausanne[1]
Platforms
Tracks8
Train operators
Connectionstpg[2]
Tram
Tram
Tram lines
Trolleybus
Trolleybus
trolleybus lines
Bus
Bus
bus lines
Construction
ParkingYes
Bicycle facilities480
AccessiblePlatforms 1 to 6
ArchitectJulien Flegenheimer [fr] (1931)
Other information
Station code8501009 (GE)
IATA codeZHT
Fare zone10 (unireso)[3]
History
Opened1858 (1858)
Rebuilt
  • 1931 (1931)
  • 2010-2014 (2010-2014) (reconstruction)
Previous namesGeneva Cornavain
Passengers
202388'500 per weekday[4] (SBB)
Rank8 out of 1'159
Services
Preceding station Swiss Federal Railways Following station
Terminus EuroCity Lausanne
Geneva Airport
Terminus
IC 1 Lausanne
towards St. Gallen
IC 5
Morges
towards Rorschach
IR 15 Nyon
towards Lucerne
IR 90 Nyon
towards Brig
Lancy-Pont-Rouge
towards Annemasse
RE33 Coppet
towards St-Maurice
Geneva Airport
Terminus
Preceding station TGV Lyria Following station
Bellegarde
towards Paris-Lyon
Paris to Geneva Terminus
Paris to Lausanne Lausanne
Terminus
Bellegarde Marseille to Lausanne
Preceding station TER Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Following station
Bellegarde
towards Valence
2 Terminus
Bellegarde 3
Bellegarde
towards Chambéry
51
Preceding station Logo Léman Express - LEX Léman Express Following station
Lancy-Pont-Rouge L1 Genève-Sécheron
towards Coppet
Lancy-Pont-Rouge
towards Annecy
L2
Lancy-Pont-Rouge L3
Lancy-Pont-Rouge
towards Annemasse
L4
Vernier
towards La Plaine
L5 Terminus
Vernier
towards Bellegarde
L6
Location
Map

Geneva railway station (French: Gare de Genève), also known as Geneva Cornavin railway station, is Geneva's main train station, located in the centre of the city. The immediate area surrounding it is known as Cornavin; both names can be used interchangeably.

The third largest train station in Switzerland by passenger numbers behind Zürich HB and Bern, with 156,000 users on average per working day in 2022,[5] it sees over 720 train departures every day from its eight through-platforms. Platforms 7 and 8 have French and Swiss border controls. Long distance and regional express trains leave for France without making any stops in Switzerland. Another reason to separate the tracks is the different electrical standards of the relevant railway system on either side. The French system uses 25 kV at 50 Hz AC, but the Swiss system uses 15 kV AC at 16.7 Hz.

The station connects to one Swiss mainline, the Lausanne–Geneva line, which links the city with the rest of Switzerland, to the east. Many long-distance trains from this line continue to and terminate at the airport, 6 minutes away. There is also significant traffic to France westwards along the Lyon-Geneva line, which, for the first few kilometres, runs as a single track line alongside the double-track line to the airport. Traffic to France includes long-distance TGVs to Paris and southern France and regional trains to Lyon via Bellegarde. Cornavin is also the hub of the Léman Express network, with six routes in service. Many of these routes travel over the newly opened CEVA, which leads to Annemasse.[1]

Facilities

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The facilities at the station include a police station, a pharmacy, several supermarkets, coffee shops, bakeries, food stands, clothing shops and multiple other establishments.

Nearby area features

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Located directly outside the station are bus and tram stops for Transports Publics Genevois services to all over Geneva city, its canton and nearby French locales, a taxi rank, banks, cash machines, post offices, hotels, cinemas, jewellers, book shops, money exchange services, restaurants, bars, and fast food restaurants.

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The station entrance and a platform is seen in The Adventures of Tintin comic The Calculus Affair (1956).

Planned extension of the railway station

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The Swiss Federal Railways announced they would extend the railway station by constructing two new railway tracks. The station needs extending due to the planned increase in traffic over the coming years. The initial project cost 800 million Swiss francs and involved the demolition of 350 dwellings next to the station. A second project supported by residents of the neighborhood plans to build the two new tracks under the station with a total cost around 1.7 billion Swiss francs.[6]

The Swiss Federal Rail plans for the new extension to be completed by 2025.[7]

In April 2013, an initiative was launched to claim the extension under the station by the "Collectif 500", a neighborhood association.[8]

Services

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As of the December 2023 timetable change, the following services stop at Geneva:[9]

PRODES EA 2035

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As part of the strategic development program for rail infrastructure (PRODES), the Confederation and SBB are focusing on customer orientation and economical management of resources.

By 2040, nearly two million people will travel by rail every day, 50% more than today. In rail freight, the Confederation also expects traffic to increase by around 45%. The Swiss rail network will have to continue to meet customer needs: interesting connections, punctual trains, affordable tickets. SBB is committed to the sustainable development of public transport and takes on this responsibility vis-à-vis Switzerland.

Predicted Services

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The following services will stop from 2035 at Geneva:

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See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ a b Eisenbahnatlas Schweiz. Cologne: Schweers + Wall. 2012. p. 68. ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.
  2. ^ "Plan de réseau TG" (PDF) (in French). Geneva Public Transport. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  3. ^ "Plan tarifaire" (in French). unireso. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Passagierfrequenz (2023)". Geneva, Switzerland: SBB CFF FFS. 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2024 – via data.sbb.ch – SBB DATA PORTAL.
  5. ^ "Gares".
  6. ^ "Extension de Cornavin: Genève veut des chiffres". Tribune de Genève – via www.tdg.ch.
  7. ^ "La gare de Cornavin agrandie sera mise en service en 2025" (in French). Archived from the original on 2014-06-09. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  8. ^ "Une initiative est lancée pour agrandir Cornavin en souterrain". Tribune de Genève – via www.tdg.ch.
  9. ^ "Départ: Gare de Genève" (PDF) (in French). Swiss Federal Railways. 17 June 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
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