# Zurich Altstetten railway station

Zürich Altstetten railway station (German: Bahnhof Zürich Altstetten) is a railway station in the Altstetten quarter of the Swiss city of Zürich. The station is located on the Zürich to Olten main line and is the junction for the Zürich to Zug via Affoltern am Albis line.
The station is served by lines S5, S11, S12, S14, S19, and S42 of the Zürich S-Bahn. It is also a calling point for the hourly InterRegio services that link Basel to Zurich Airport via Zürich Hauptbahnhof, and Bern to Zürich via Olten.
The station is well connected to the ZVV network, with bus and tram stops on both sides of the station. Since 2022 the station also serves as the eastern terminus of the Limmattal light rail line.

## History

The first station on the site was built by the Swiss Northern Railway in 1847, as part of their pioneering line from Zürich to Baden, and hence was one of the first railway stations in Switzerland. Over time, this line became today's Zürich to Olten main line and the principal rail route between Zürich and northern and western Switzerland. The Zürich to Zug via Affoltern am Albis line opened in 1864, making Altstetten into a junction station. In 1907, the Swiss Federal Railways, who had taken over both lines, opened a workshop near the station.

## Layout

The station has one side platform and two island platforms, served by five tracks, and has station buildings and entrances on both the north and south sides of the station. The platforms and entrances are connected by a pair of pedestrian subways. The tracks are numbered 2–4 and 6–7.
There are two stations with tram and bus services. Bhf. Altstetten Nord is located north to the railway station, while Bahnhof Altstetten is situated south of the station. Route 4 of the Zürich tram system serves the Bhf. Altstetten Nord station, whilst route 31 of the Zürich trolleybus system passes the south side of the station (Bahnhof Altstetten). Zürich bus routes 35, 78, 80, 83, 89 and 485 also serve the south side of the station, whilst routes 304 and 307 both terminate at Bhf. Altstetten Nord.
Since December 2022, the Limmattal light rail line (route 20) terminates at Bahnhof Altstetten station. The light rail line has its own platforms, across the station plaza from platform two of the S-Bahn services. This service, operated by AVA, runs through the Limmat Valley region and connects to the Zürich tram network at Farbhof, just to the west of Altstetten station.

## Services
### Rail

As of the December 2023 timetable change, the following rail services stop at Zürich Altstetten:
* InterRegio:
** : hourly service between Bern and Chur via Olten.
** : hourly service between Basel SBB and Zurich Airport.
* Zürich S-Bahn:
** S5 / S14: two trains per hour between Affoltern am Albis and Wetzikon and hourly service to Zug and Pfäffikon SZ.
** S11: half-hourly service between Aarau and Winterthur; hourly service to Seuzach or Sennhof-Kyburg; rush-hour service to Wila.
** S12: half-hourly service between Brugg AG and Winterthur; hourly service to Schaffhausen or Wil.
** S19: hourly service to Koblenz via Baden (during peak hours), half-hourly to Effretikon (during peak hours to Pfäffikon ZH) via Zürich HB.
** S42: peak-hour service between Muri AG and Zürich HB.
** SN1: on Friday and Saturday night, hourly service between Aarau and Winterthur.
** SN5: on Friday and Saturday night, hourly service between Knonau and Pfäffikon SZ.

### Local tram and bus services

Summary of tram and bus services:
* Bahnhof Altstetten to the south of the station, via both western and eastern underpass, AVA light rail line 20 , VBZ trolley bus line 31, VBZ bus lines 35, 78, 80, 83, 89, and VBG line 485.
* Bhf. Altstetten Nord to the north, via the eastern underpass, VBZ tram line 4, VBZ bus lines 304 and 307.