Olten, SO, Switzerland
Posted by: 
fi67
N 47° 21.121 E 007° 54.446
32T E 417484 N 5244862
Olten is a major hub in the Swiss railway network.
Waymark Code: WME8ED
Location: Solothurn, Switzerland
Date Posted: 04/18/2012
Views: 20
Olten is known as the railway city. It is located in the geographical center between four of the five largest cities in the German speaking part of Switzerland. Olten has only 18,000 inhabitants, but over 80,000 people use the station on an average day. Even more just drive through, 1100 trains stop here daily, making Olten the second busiest station in Switzerland.
The station was built in 1856 at the line Aarau-Luzern. 1857 it was connected to the line that was extended to Bern later. In 1858 the old Hauenstein line opened a connection to Basel and Olten-Aarau was extended to Zürich. In 1876 Gäubahn to Solothurn and Biel - and then Lausanne, Geneva - was added. 1916 a faster new Hauenstein line with a long tunnel improved the connection to Basel (and Germany), and finally, in 1981 the line to Bern was extended with an additional high speed line.
The Station is located at the east bank of the river Aare, just opposite the medieval town center. It has ten tracks, the main building sits in the middle of them. The station has a large area with shops and restaurants under the tracks.
Just north of the stations is a huge zone with Switzerland's largest locomotive and wagon workshop.
Is the station/depot currently used for railroad purposes?: Yes
Is the station/depot open to the public?: Yes
If the station/depot is not being used for railroad purposes, what is it currently used for?:
Still used as a train station.
What rail lines does/did the station/depot serve?: SBB
Station/Depot Web Site: [Web Link]
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