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After nearly three years of construction, SBB will open the widened main underpass at Altstetten station on Thursday. The walkway in the east closes on Friday.
One of four: the elevator now takes you to the Altstetten station tracks.
Photo: SBB
Commuters traveling via Altstetten train station can wait Thursday morning – then the underpass to the tracks will be available again. Almost three years a long time they had to Take the detour for the walkway in the east. That will end as of November 5 at 9 a.m. M.
The converted underpass not only shortens the path to the platforms, but also provides more space for passengers. The passage is now 12.5 meters wide instead of 4. This takes into account the fact that Altstetten station is one of the top 20 in Switzerland in terms of number of travelers: in 2019, SBB recorded around 46,500 people going up and down there every day. They anticipate an increase to 64,000 by 2050.
Stepless access
Now you can also reach the passage without having to climb steps. Four elevators go down and up the tracks. SBB has also renovated the platforms and adapted them to the requirements of the Equal Opportunities for People with Disabilities Act (Behig): they have been increased to 55 centimeters, which means that access to the trains is without steps.
This means that another train station has adapted to the needs of passengers with reduced mobility, who can get on and off autonomously. SBB wrote in a press release that older people and people with strollers or luggage also benefited from the structural changes.
Stairs remain, but no steps either: access to the new main underpass, which has been extended from 4 to 12.5 meters.
Photo: SBB
There are new shelters on platforms 3 and 4 as well as 6 and 7, the lighting has been changed throughout and the speaker systems have been renewed. SBB has expanded access to platform 2 to provide more space for additional ticket vending machines and information displays.
Track 1 has had its day and has since been dismantled. The temporary walkway to the platforms is only open until Friday at 12 noon. It will then be dismantled so that SBB can use it elsewhere if necessary.
The final theses are still in progress
However, construction work at the Zurich-Altstetten station is not yet complete with the opening of the pedestrian underpass: final works are due in early summer 2021, which according to SBB should not have any impact on tourist traffic. The costs for the entire project amount to about 64 million francs and are funded through SBB’s service agreement with the federal government.
Dingy and narrow: the old underpass was no longer up to date.
Photo: SBB
