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With the way station, Lucerne will have two additional station spaces
Two more train station spaces and bus stations, as well as new connections above and below the tracks – these are the first findings from the city of Lucerne’s test planning for the way station.
With the planned way station, the Lucerne region will have faster train connections throughout Switzerland and a more efficient S-Bahn network. However, this also almost doubles the number of people in the Bahnhof area. One thing is clear: with today’s infrastructure, this cannot be managed. Especially since the bus system with the many lines that start and end at the train station is already at its limit. This is why the city of Lucerne has carried out a test planning with three interdisciplinary teams: Güller Gülller, Van de Wetering and Yellow Z. The results are now available, as announced by the city of Lucerne this Monday morning.
“This is not a winning project, but recommendations and the resulting principles of the advisory committee,” said construction director Manuela Jost (GLP) at the press conference. These are important for a later discussion, for example with the population.
These are the seven principles:
- Intervention. The way station can fully develop its effect in the region if it is optimally integrated into the long-distance transport network and an expanded regional train and bus system.
- Hub for all modes of transport. Bus, bicycle and pedestrian traffic must have the space they need for attractive transportation and transfers. However, the aim is also to ensure that the train station, cultural and tourist facilities remain accessible to car traffic at all times.
- Two new spaces in the train station. They will be built in the east (Bürgenstrasse and west (Zentral- / Habsburgstrasse) of the station, relieve the current Bahnhofplatz Nord and further develop the bus system. To cope with the additional crossing, the now narrow southern pedestrian underpass will be widened.
- Bahnhofplatz north. It should be strengthened in its business card role. The western part will function as a bus station as it does today, while the eastern part towards the KKL will be turned into an attractive lounge.
- Most attractive Tribschen district. The Bürgenstrasse will become the central access axis for the entire left bank of the lake to and from Bahnhofsplatz Ost and will allow further development of the Tribschen district.
- Additional pedestrian and bicycle connections. The aim is to reduce the separation effect of the track areas and to network the Tribschen and Hirschmatt neighborhoods.
- Start deployment soon. Measures taken in advance, such as an adapted bus system, should ensure that the station continues to function as a mobility hub during the ten-year construction period of the way station.
This is how the Güller Güller team imagines Bahnhofplatz West:
In addition to the city of Lucerne, the advisory committee included the Federal Office of Transport (FOT), the SBB, the cantons of Lucerne, Obwalden and Nidwalden, the Lucerne Transport Association and Zentralbahn; in addition, various specialists, such as architects, traffic engineers and sociologists. Deborah Arnold, Lucerne co-director of urban planning, was also on the committee. He also emphasized that there is still a lot open at the moment: “It will hardly turn out like in the visualizations, but the ideas are promising.”
Four examples of possible future solutions:
- The bus station. Instead of just one in the north of the train station, as is the case today, in the future there will also be a stop in the east and another in the west. Bürgenstrasse and Zentralstrasse served as corridors and bus stops. Both would likely be exempt from car traffic for this. With three bus stations around the train station, wouldn’t there be much longer transfer times for travelers in the future? “Not necessarily,” Arnold said. “In the future, mainly diameter lines are planned. So it would not stop at just one station, but at several. Then travelers choose the cheapest one to transfer to another bus or train. ”
- Veloverkehr. The bicycle network around the station will be expanded to a high level. Three crossings (Bahnhofplatz Nord, southern pedestrian underpass and Langensandbrücke). Velo stations to the east and west of the train station.
- South pedestrian underpass. According to Arnold, this should be attractive to use in the future. In other words: much more generous. It is still open if there will also be space for shops and restaurants. “We are sure not to force a second mall at the train station,” Arnold said. There would be a separate underpass for bicycles.
This is how Van de Wetering’s team conceives the future station square in the direction of Pilatusstrasse:
The existing station square at the Monopol Hotel with more space for travelers?
Next is the turn of the population. You can join the discussion (digitally) until April. The results are then summarized in a participation report. The council will only define its position once the comments from the public discussion phase have been received. Everything together flows into a development concept that shows how to proceed. It will be presented to the Grand City Council in the spring of 2022.
Renowned office is also planning the way station
Planning for the royal way station (DBL) is progressing: Before Christmas, planning services were finally awarded, as DBL’s program director general Massimo Guglielmetti said on Monday. Independent planning teams were hired for each of the three sections, the Dreilinden tunnel, the underground station and the Neustadt tunnel. “There are sections with different requirements and we always want the right people,” Guglielmetti said. As an example, he cited the commitment of Ramboll’s renowned Danish office. With the 18 kilometer long Fehmarnbelt tunnel between Denmark and Germany, it is currently building the world’s longest underwater connection for cars and trains. But the planning teams also include several offices in central Switzerland. They all start working on the blueprint in March. The federal parliament will probably not decide until 2026 on a further expansion of the Swiss railway system and, therefore, on the final realization of the way station. Guglielmetti emphasized again on Monday that the DBL is not just a rail infrastructure project, “it is about the entire city of Lucerne.”
From February to April 2021, the results of the test planning can be discussed in a participatory process. For this, public events and workshops are held with organized interest groups. Everyone also has the opportunity to express themselves digitally. The results are summarized in a participation report and, together with the attitude of the city council, lead to a development concept that shows how to proceed. It will be presented to the Grand City Council in the spring of 2022.
Note: The exhibition on the results of the test planning at the Lucerne train station (exhibition area in front of the Coop in the basement) is expected to take place from March. More information and digital participation at www.dbl.stadtluzern.ch
