Rapperswil
Building of the Rapperswil railway station, bus terminal to the left
General information
LocationUntere Bahnhofstrasse
(Lower Station Road)
Rapperswil
Switzerland
Coordinates47°13′29.6″N 8°49′0.1″E / 47.224889°N 8.816694°E / 47.224889; 8.816694
Elevation408 m (1,339 ft)
Owned bySwiss Federal Railways
Line(s)
Distance
[1]
Platforms6
Tracks7
Train operators
ConnectionsZurich Transport Network (ZVV), Tarifverbund Ostwind
Ship
Ship
Lake Zurich passenger cruises (ZSG)[2]
Bus
Bus
Schneider 622
VZO 885 991 993 994 996
Airport
Airport
With S5 or S7 to/from Zürich Airport in 0:55h with one change
Other information
Fare zone
History
Opened1859 (1859)
Rebuilt1895 and 2008
Passengers
201822,900 per weekday[5]
Services
Preceding station Südostbahn Following station
Pfäffikon SZ
towards Lucerne
 Voralpen Express Uznach
towards St. Gallen
Preceding station Zürich S-Bahn Following station
Jona
towards Zug
 S5 Pfäffikon SZ
Terminus
Kempraten
towards Winterthur
 S7 Terminus
Jona
towards Niederweningen
 S15
Hurden
towards Einsiedeln
 S40
Preceding station St. Gallen S-Bahn Following station
Terminus S4 Uznach
towards Sargans
S6 Blumenau
towards Schwanden or Linthal
S17 Blumenau
towards Sargans
Location
Rapperswil is located in Switzerland
Rapperswil
Rapperswil
Location in Switzerland
Rapperswil is located in Canton of St. Gallen
Rapperswil
Rapperswil
Rapperswil (Canton of St. Gallen)

Rapperswil railway station (German: Bahnhof Rapperswil) is located next to the old town and harbour of Rapperswil in the Swiss canton of St. Gallen. It is the largest of four active railway stations in the municipality of Rapperswil-Jona (the other three being Jona, Kempraten and Blumenau). Rapperswil railway station is situated on the north shore of Lake Zürich at the northern end of the Seedamm, which separates the Obersee (upper Lake Zürich) from the main body of the lake.

Because the Seedamm carries both rail and road connections from the south shore of the lake, and because Rapperswil is the meeting point of three separate line from the northern side of the lake, the station is a major nodal point on the local rail network, notably of the Zurich Transport Network (ZVV). The first railway opened in 1859.

History

Rapperswil harbour, Schloss and Altstadt, the first station buildings to the right (~ 1867)

In early 1859 the first steam train ran from Rapperswil – as a hub of railway lines from Rapperswil to Rüti and from Rapperswil to Schmerikon. Turntables and cranes were used to move cargo to/from the vessels at the harbour situated at nearby Fischmarktplatz.

In 1875, the Lake Zürich left bank line (Linksufige Zürichseebahn) from Zürich Hauptbahnhof to Ziegelbrücke opened along the south shore of the lake. In railway terms, this was linked to Rapperswil in 1878, when the Gotthardbahn established the line across the Seedamm. The Rapperswil shore of Lake Zürich had to wait until 1895 for the opening of the Lake Zürich right bank line (Rechtsufrige Zürichseebahn).

The famous Orient Express stopped in Rapperswil on its way from Varna to Zürich, Basel, Paris and Calais.

Since 1877 Rapperswil has been a major hub of what is now the Südostbahn (SOB), with a large depot. The current station building in Renaissance Revival architecture style was built in 1894/95, planned by architect Karl August Hiller, underlining the growing importance of tourism.

The railway station's infrastructure, including the bus terminal and the station building, were renewed in 2007/8,[6] and the rail tracks and the infrastructure by June/July 2016.[7]

Operation

Railway station area, Schloss Rapperswil and St. John's Church to the right, Seedamm and railway station building in the background (to the left)
Bus of VZO
Schneider Bus crossing the Cityplatz
Boat of ZSG arriving at Rapperswil harbour (railway tracks on Seedamm in the background)

Train

Rapperswil railway station is an important junction station, where the Südostbahn's (SOB) Rapperswil to Pfäffikon railway line across the Seedamm meets with the Lake Zürich right bank line, the Wallisellen to Rapperswil via Uster line and the Rapperswil to Ziegelbrücke line.[1]

Rapperswil is served by services of two S-Bahn-style networks, the Zürich S-Bahn and the St. Gallen S-Bahn. Services S5, S7, S15 and S40 of the Zürich S-Bahn call at this railway station. Connections to or from Zürich HB via either the right bank line (S7) or Uster line (S5/15) are very frequent, and the ride takes only about 36 minutes. The S40 provides a local link to Pfäffikon and Einsiedeln.[8] Rapperswil is also the terminus of the hourly St. Gallen S-Bahn services S4, S6, and S17 that operate south-east to Schwanden/Linthal via Ziegelbrücke. Rapperswil is also a calling point of the Voralpen Express, an InterRegio (IR) train operated by the SOB and providing an hourly direct link between St. Gallen and Lucerne.[9][10] During weekends, there is also a nighttime S-Bahn service (SN5) offered by ZVV.[11]

Summary of railway services:

Rapperswil is also an important depot for the rolling stock of the Zürich S-Bahn. Due to the station's hub status, one of the few SBB-CFF-FFS firefighting and rescue trains (LRZ) is based in Rapperswil.

Bus

Buses provided by Verkehrsbetriebe Zürichsee und Oberland (VZO) (Lake Zurich and Oberland transport services) link the station to the upper northern shore of Lake Zürich and the Zürcher Oberland, and also operate the city's own Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona.[13] One bus service, provided by Schneider, links the railway station with Eschenbach and Wattwil. Most bus services depart from the forecourt of the railway station, except lines 991 and 996 (the latter operates only during peak-hours), which depart south of the railway station (Rapperswil Bahnhof Süd). As of the December 2023 timetable change, the lines are as follows:

Line Route Operator
622 Rapperswil Bahnhof – Cityplatz – Sonnenhof – Kreuz (Jona railway station) – Jona Center – St. Dyonis – Wagen – Eschenbach – St. Gallenkappel (– Ricken – Wattwil) Schneider
885 Rapperswil Bahnhof – Cityplatz – Sonnenhof – Kempraten, Bahnhof – Schönau – Rüti ZH, Bahnhof – Wald ZH, Bahnhof – Goldingen – Atzmännig, Schutt (VZO)
991 Rapperswil Bahnhof Süd – Kinderzoo – Grünfeld – Geberit (Blumenau railway station) – Jona, Bahnhof Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona (VZO)
993 Rapperswil Bahnhof – Cityplatz – Sonnenhof – Altersheim Meienberg – Vogelau (Jona railway station) – Tägernau Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona (VZO)
994 Rapperswil Bahnhof – Cityplatz – Sonnenhof – Kempraten, Bahnhof – Wohnheim Balm – Schönau – Jona, Bahnhof Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona (VZO)
996 Rapperswil Bahnhof Süd – Kinderzoo – Grünfeld – Geberit (Blumenau railway station) – Schachen/Feldlistrasse – Jona, Bahnhof Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona (VZO)

History

Until the timetable change on 10 December 2023, bus line 621 (operated by Schneider) operated between Rapperswil railway station and Jona, Buechstrasse Ost. This line stopped operations due to the increase in frequency of line 622, which mostly uses the same route. Line 995 operated between Rapperswil railway station and Hummelberg, but its leg between Kreuz (Jona railway station) and Rapperswil railway station was truncated in December 2023 for the same reason. Line 995 now also serves the leg from Jona Center to Jona, Buechstrasse Ost formerly operated by line 621.

Boat

Rapperswil harbour is adjacent to the railway station, and lake shipping services of the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (ZSG) connect with trains and buses, providing alternative, if rather slower, routes to Zürich and other lakeside towns on Lake Zürich. Most boats dock Ufenau island near Rapperswil harbour.

During summer, there is also a ferry across Obersee.[14] The ferry connects a pier adjacent to the University of Applied Sciences Rapperswil (now part of OST), situated south of the railways station, with Lachen and Altendorf in the canton of Schwyz.

References

  1. 1 2 Eisenbahnatlas Schweiz. Cologne: Schweers + Wall. 2012. p. 23. ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.
  2. ↑ "Boat trips on Lake Zurich". Lake Zurich passenger cruises (ZSG).
  3. ↑ "Fare zone" (PDF). Zurich Transport Network (ZVV) (in German). 13 December 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  4. ↑ "OSTWIND-Zonenplan" (in German). Ostwind fare network. 13 December 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  5. ↑ "Passagierfrequenz". Swiss Federal Railways. September 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  6. ↑ "Rapperswil railway station on bahnonline.ch". Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  7. ↑ Kristina Ivancic; Pascal Büsser (26 June 2016). "Bahnhof Rapperswil: Die Bauarbeiter leisten Knochenarbeit am Gleis" (in German). Limmattaler Zeitung. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  8. ↑ "S-Bahn trains, buses and boats" (PDF). Zurich Transport Network (ZVV). 9 December 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  9. ↑ "Rapperswil - Ziegelbrücke" (PDF). Bundesamt für Verkehr. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  10. ↑ "Regionalverkehr Ostschweiz" (PDF). Swiss Federal Railways. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  11. ↑ "Night timetable and route network". Zurich Transport Network (ZVV).
  12. ↑ "Night network" (PDF). Zurich Transport Network (ZVV). Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  13. ↑ "Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona". Verkehrsbetriebe Zürichsee und Oberland.
  14. ↑ "Oberseefähre" [Obersee ferry]. Rapperswil-Zuerichsee.ch (in German).

Further reading

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