# Rapperswil railway station

Rapperswil railway station (German: Bahnhof Rapperswil) is located next to the old town and harbour of Rapperswil in the Swiss canton of St. Gallen. It is the largest of four active railway stations in the municipality of Rapperswil-Jona (the other three being Jona, Kempraten and Blumenau). Rapperswil railway station is situated on the north shore of Lake Zürich at the northern end of the Seedamm, which separates the Obersee (upper Lake Zürich) from the main body of the lake.
Because the Seedamm carries both rail and road connections from the south shore of the lake, and because Rapperswil is the meeting point of three separate line from the northern side of the lake, the station is a major nodal point on the local rail network, notably of the Zurich Transport Network (ZVV). The first railway opened in 1859.

## History

In early 1859 the first steam train ran from Rapperswil – as a hub of railway lines from Rapperswil to Rüti and from Rapperswil to Schmerikon. Turntables and cranes were used to move cargo to/from the vessels at the harbour situated at nearby Fischmarktplatz.
In 1875, the Lake Zürich left bank line (Linksufige Zürichseebahn) from Zürich Hauptbahnhof to Ziegelbrücke opened along the south shore of the lake. In railway terms, this was linked to Rapperswil in 1878, when the Gotthardbahn established the line across the Seedamm. The Rapperswil shore of Lake Zürich had to wait until 1895 for the opening of the Lake Zürich right bank line (Rechtsufrige Zürichseebahn).
The famous Orient Express stopped in Rapperswil on its way from Varna to Zürich, Basel, Paris and Calais.
Since 1877 Rapperswil has been a major hub of what is now the Südostbahn (SOB), with a large depot. The current station building in Renaissance Revival architecture style was built in 1894/95, planned by architect Karl August Hiller, underlining the growing importance of tourism.
The railway station's infrastructure, including the bus terminal and the station building, were renewed in 2007/8, and the rail tracks and the infrastructure by June/July 2016.

## Operation
### Train

Rapperswil railway station is an important junction station, where the Südostbahn's (SOB) Rapperswil to Pfäffikon railway line across the Seedamm meets with the Lake Zürich right bank line, the Wallisellen to Rapperswil via Uster line and the Rapperswil to Ziegelbrücke line.
Rapperswil is served by services of two S-Bahn-style networks, the Zürich S-Bahn and the St. Gallen S-Bahn. Services S5, S7, S15 and S40 of the Zürich S-Bahn call at this railway station. Connections to or from Zürich HB via either the right bank line (S7) or Uster line (S5/15) are very frequent, and the ride takes only about 36 minutes. The S40 provides a local link to Pfäffikon and Einsiedeln. Rapperswil is also the terminus of the hourly St. Gallen S-Bahn services S4, S6, and S17 that operate south-east to Schwanden/Linthal via Ziegelbrücke. Rapperswil is also a calling point of the Voralpen Express, an InterRegio (IR) train operated by the SOB and providing an hourly direct link between St. Gallen and Lucerne. During weekends, there is also a nighttime S-Bahn service (SN5) offered by ZVV.
Summary of railway services:
* IR Voralpen-Express: hourly service to Luzern via Arth-Goldau, and to St. Gallen via Wattwil.
* St. Gallen S-Bahn:
** S4: hourly service to Sargans via St. Gallen.
** S6 / S17: half-hourly service to Ziegelbrücke and hourly service to Schwanden / Linthal or Sargans.
* Zürich S-Bahn:
** S5: half-hourly service to Zug via Jona and Zürich HB, and to Pfäffikon SZ.
** S7: half-hourly service to Winterthur via Kempraten, Meilen, Zürich HB and Balsberg (Zürich Airport).
** S15: half-hourly service to Niederweningen via Jona and Zürich HB.
** S40: half-hourly service to Einsiedeln via Pfäffikon SZ and Biberbrugg.
** Nighttime S-Bahn (only during weekends):
*** SN5: hourly service between Knonau and Pfäffikon SZ (via Zürich HB).
Rapperswil is also an important depot for the rolling stock of the Zürich S-Bahn. Due to the station's hub status, one of the few SBB-CFF-FFS firefighting and rescue trains (LRZ) is based in Rapperswil.

### Bus

Buses provided by Verkehrsbetriebe Zürichsee und Oberland (VZO) (Lake Zurich and Oberland transport services) link the station to the upper northern shore of Lake Zürich and the Zürcher Oberland, and also operate the city's own Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona. One bus service, provided by Schneider, links the railway station with Eschenbach and Wattwil. Most bus services depart from the forecourt of the railway station, except lines 991 and 996 (the latter operates only during peak-hours), which depart south of the railway station (Rapperswil Bahnhof Süd). As of the December 2023 timetable change, the lines are as follows:
| Line | Route | Operator |
| 622 | Rapperswil Bahnhof – Cityplatz – Sonnenhof – Kreuz (Jona railway station) – Jona Center – St. Dyonis – Wagen – Eschenbach – St. Gallenkappel (– Ricken – Wattwil) | Schneider |
| 885 | Rapperswil Bahnhof – Cityplatz – Sonnenhof – Kempraten, Bahnhof – Schönau – Rüti ZH, Bahnhof – Wald ZH, Bahnhof – Goldingen – Atzmännig, Schutt | (VZO) |
| 991 | Rapperswil Bahnhof Süd – Kinderzoo – Grünfeld – Geberit (Blumenau railway station) – Jona, Bahnhof | Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona (VZO) |
| 993 | Rapperswil Bahnhof – Cityplatz – Sonnenhof – Altersheim Meienberg – Vogelau (Jona railway station) – Tägernau | Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona (VZO) |
| 994 | Rapperswil Bahnhof – Cityplatz – Sonnenhof – Kempraten, Bahnhof – Wohnheim Balm – Schönau – Jona, Bahnhof | Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona (VZO) |
| 996 | Rapperswil Bahnhof Süd – Kinderzoo – Grünfeld – Geberit (Blumenau railway station) – Schachen/Feldlistrasse – Jona, Bahnhof | Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona (VZO) |

#### History

Until the timetable change on 10 December 2023, bus line 621 (operated by Schneider) operated between Rapperswil railway station and Jona, Buechstrasse Ost. This line stopped operations due to the increase in frequency of line 622, which mostly uses the same route. Line 995 operated between Rapperswil railway station and Hummelberg, but its leg between Kreuz (Jona railway station) and Rapperswil railway station was truncated in December 2023 for the same reason. Line 995 now also serves the leg from Jona Center to Jona, Buechstrasse Ost formerly operated by line 621.

### Boat

Rapperswil harbour is adjacent to the railway station, and lake shipping services of the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (ZSG) connect with trains and buses, providing alternative, if rather slower, routes to Zürich and other lakeside towns on Lake Zürich. Most boats dock Ufenau island near Rapperswil harbour.
During summer, there is also a ferry across Obersee. The ferry connects a pier adjacent to the University of Applied Sciences Rapperswil (now part of OST), situated south of the railways station, with Lachen and Altendorf in the canton of Schwyz.