Fribourg/Freiburg railway station

Fribourg/Freiburg railway station (French: Gare de Fribourg; German: Bahnhof Freiburg im Üechtland) serves the municipality of Fribourg, capital of the canton of Fribourg, Switzerland. Opened in 1862, it is owned and operated by SBB-CFF-FFS.

Fribourg/Freiburg
Wide four-story building in city setting
Fribourg railway station, 2013
General information
LocationAvenue de la Gare
Fribourg
Switzerland
Coordinates46°48′11.77″N 7°9′3.71″E / 46.8032694°N 7.1510306°E / 46.8032694; 7.1510306
Elevation629 m (2,064 ft)
Owned bySwiss Federal Railways
Line(s)
Platforms
Tracks5
Train operators
Connections[1]
Construction
Parking35
Bicycle facilities225
Other information
Station code8504100 (FRI)
Fare zone10 (frimobil [de])[2]
History
Opened20 August 1862 (1862-08-20)
Rebuilt1872–1873, 1928
Previous namesFribourg (until 2012)
Passengers
202333'400 per weekday [3] (BLS, RegionAlps, SBB, TPF)
Services
Preceding station Swiss Federal RailwaysFollowing station
LausanneIC 1Bern
towards St. Gallen
Romont FRIR 15Bern
towards Lucerne
Romont FR
towards Le Châble
VosAlpes ExpressTerminus
Preceding station RER FribourgFollowing station
Romont FRRE2Düdingen
towards Bern
RE3Düdingen
Terminus
TerminusS20Givisiez
towards Neuchâtel
Villars-sur-Glâne
towards Romont FR
S20
Weekdays only
S21Givisiez
towards Ins
TerminusS30Givisiez
Preceding station Bern S-BahnFollowing station
TerminusS1Fribourg/Freiburg Poya
towards Thun
Location
Map

The station forms part of the Lausanne–Bern railway, which is the original portion of the Olten–Lausanne railway line (French: Ligne du Plateau suisse; German: Mittellandlinie). It is also the junction for the Yverdon-les-Bains–Payerne–Fribourg railway, and the Fribourg–Ins railway.[4]

Location

Fribourg railway station is right in the heart of the city centre, which has shifted from the Old City to the railway station quarter since the station's construction.

History

The station was opened on 20 August 1862 by the Western Swiss Railways (French: Société des chemins de Fer Ouest-Suisse), upon completion of the Fribourg–Bern section of the Lausanne–Bern railway.[5]

Completion of that section had been delayed for two years, due to the need to construct the 352 m (1,155 ft) long Grandfey Viaduct over the Saane/Sarine river, just to the north of the station. On 2 September 1862, the remaining section of the line was opened between Lausanne and Fribourg.[5]

The first station building at Fribourg was a simple wooden hut. Between 1872 and 1873, a more substantial replacement building was constructed adjacent to the hut. The new building's design had been entrusted to the architect Adolphe Fraisse.

Initially, the army had not wanted the Lausanne–Bern railway to pass through Fribourg. The military had believed that the line would be too "vulnerable" in case of conflict. The government and the city had to fight for the route and the station. By 1905, the authorities wanted a new station building, which was completed in 1928.

On 7 September 2007, the 1872 station building became a cultural centre, incorporating a café, an entertainment hall and two festival theatres, for $4.5 million Swiss francs.[6] A Swiss heritage site of regional significance (class B),[7] the building houses the Nouveau Monde and its theatre, the International Film Festival of Fribourg and Belluard Bollwerk International.

Services

As of the December 2023 timetable change, the following services stop at Fribourg:[8]

Interchange

Seven urban bus lines operated by the Transports publics fribourgeois call at the station, including TPF trolleybus lines.

See also

References