Genève-Cornavin railway station
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.
Geneva Genève | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 The main (south) entrance to the station building in 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Geneva Switzerland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 46°12′36.781″N 6°8′32.809″E | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elevation | 392 m (1,286 ft) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Swiss Federal Railways | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line(s) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 60.3 km (37.5 mi) from Lausanne[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Train operators | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Connections |
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| Construction | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Architect | Julien Flegenheimer (1931) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fare zone | 10 (unireso)[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1858 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt |
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| Previous names | Geneva Cornavain | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Passengers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 156,000 per working day[4] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Location | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  Geneva Location within Switzerland  Geneva Geneva (Canton of Geneva) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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
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
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.
In popular culture
The station entrance and a platform is seen in The Adventures of Tintin comic The Calculus Affair (1956).
Planned extension of the railway station
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
As of the December 2022 timetable change, the following services stop at Geneva:[9]
- TGV Lyria:
- service every two hours to Paris-Lyon.
- three trains per day to Lausanne.
- one daily round-trip to Marseille-Saint-Charles in the summer.
- EuroCity: four trains per day to Milano Centrale, with one train continuing from Milano Centrale to Venezia Santa Lucia.
- InterCity: half-hourly service between Geneva Airport and St. Gallen via Zürich Hauptbahnhof, with every other train continuing to Rorschach.
- InterRegio: half-hourly service to Geneva Airport and Brig and hourly service to Lucerne.
- TER: service to Valence-Ville, Lyon-Part-Dieu, Bellegarde, and Chambéry-Challes-les-Eaux.
- RegioExpress: half-hourly service (hourly on weekends) between Annemasse and Vevey, and hourly service from Vevey to St-Maurice. On weekends, hourly service to Geneva Airport.
- Léman Express:
PRODES EA 2035
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
The following services will stop from 2035 at Geneva:
- TGV Lyria:
- Service every two hours to Paris-Lyon.
- Three trains per day starting at Lausanne.
- One daily round-trip to Marseille-Saint-Charles in the summer.
- Service every two hours to Paris-Lyon.
- EuroCity: Eight trains per day to Milano Centrale, with two trains continuing from Milano Centrale to Venezia Santa Lucia.
- InterCity:
- IC1: Hourly service between Geneva Airport and Romanshorn
- IC11 (Sister Line): Hourly Service between Geneva Airport and Lucerne
- IC5: Half-hourly service between Geneva Airport and St. Gallen, with every other train continuing to St. Margrethen.
- IC51 (Sister Line): Hourly service between Geneva Airport and Basel SBB
- IC9: Half-hourly service between Geneva Airport and Brig
- IC1: Hourly service between Geneva Airport and Romanshorn
- InterRegio:
- IR18: Hourly service between Annemasse and Bern
- IR95: Half-Hourly between Geneva Airport and St-Maurice
- IR98: Hourly service between Annemasse and Aigle
- TER: Service to Valence-Ville, Lyon-Part-Dieu, Bellegarde, and Chambéry-Challes-les-Eaux.
- Léman Express:
Gallery
Tracks 6 and 7
Notes
References
- Eisenbahnatlas Schweiz. Cologne: Schweers + Wall. 2012. p. 68. ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.
- "Plan tpg multimodal" (PDF) (in French). Geneva Public Transport. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- "Plan tarifaire" (in French). unireso. 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- "Passagierfrequenz (2022)". Berne, Switzerland: SBB CFF FFS. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- "Gares".
- "Extension de Cornavin: Genève veut des chiffres". Tribune de Genève – via www.tdg.ch.
- "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.
- "Une initiative est lancée pour agrandir Cornavin en souterrain". Tribune de Genève – via www.tdg.ch.
- "Départ: Gare de Genéve" (PDF). Swiss Federal Railways (in French). 11 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
External links
