Gothenburg Central Station
Gothenburg Central Station | |
|---|---|
 Gothenburg Central Station, the old part | |
| Location |
Gothenburg, Gothenburg Municipality Sweden |
| Coordinates | 57°42′32″N 11°58′24″E / 57.70889°N 11.97333°ECoordinates: 57°42′32″N 11°58′24″E / 57.70889°N 11.97333°E |
| Elevation | 3 m |
| Owned by | Jernhusen |
| Operated by |
SJ Västtrafik Öresundståg NSB |
| Line(s) |
Western Main Line Bohus Line Norway/Vänern Line West Coast Line Coast-to-Coast Line |
| Distance | 457 km (Stockholm C) |
| Platforms | 16 |
| Construction | |
| Architect | Adolf W. Edelsvärd |
| History | |
| Opened | 1858 |
Gothenburg Central Station (Swedish: Göteborgs centralstation, Göteborg C) is the main railway station of Gothenburg, Sweden. The station serves 27 million passengers per year,[1] making it the second largest railway station in Sweden after Stockholm Central Station. The station opened on October 4, 1858. The station is situated in the city of Gothenburg, right by Drottningtorget. The Gothenburg Central Station, Centralhuset and Nils Ericson Terminalen are a part of Resecentrum, Göteborg.[2] Gothenburg Central Station is owned and administered by Jernhusen.[3]
History
Numerous railways were built across Sweden in the 19th century. One of the first distances was the one between Gothenburg and Jonsered. As the railway grew more popular, the need for a station emerged. The Gothenburg Central Station was built between 1856 and 1858. The architect in charge was Adolf Wilhelm Edelsvärd.
The first building was made between 1856 and 1857 by architect Adolf Wilhelm Edelsvärd. First, the building included a big entry hall, two waiting areas and a few restaurants. In 1923 the train station was rebuild and enlarged after Folke Zettervall's plans, who was the official SJ architect by that time. On the 14th of March 1923, an important fire destroyed large parts of the Central Station. Between 1928 and 1930 the station was enlarged due to the increased volume of traffic. After 1930 some more changes were made, including a new restaurant built in front of Drottningtorget. In 1993, the Central Station was restored and between 2000 and 2003 the Central House, was added as an extension to the existing building. The current interior design is similar to the 1923 model with wood pillars, glass ceiling and a floor made of limestone.
During the 19th and early 20th century about one million Swedish emigrants passed through the station in order to get to the harbour. Their final destination would be America.[3]
In February 2007, a bomb threat was addressed to the Gothenburg police. The bombing was to take place at the Gothenburg Central Station. Later that day, a bag was found in the old parts of the station. The evacuation of the station began at 21:30 local time and two hours later the station was free to open again. The bag was examined and no high explosive was found.[4]
In January 2010, a one square metre (11 Sq Ft) section of the station's glass ceiling collapsed after ice had fallen onto it. One person suffered bruises by falling glass splinters and big parts of the station were closed due to safety reasons.[5][6]
Tracks and other connections
There are 16 platform tracks at the station. Trains depart and arrive from five different railway lines:
- To the north on the Bohus Line, towards Stenungsund, Uddevalla and Strömstad.
- To the north on the Norway/Vänern Line, towards Älvängen, Vänersborg, Karlstad and Oslo.
- To the east on the Western Main Line, towards Alingsås, Skövde, Stockholm and Luleå.
- To the south on the West Coast Line, towards Kungsbacka, Malmö and Copenhagen.
- To the southeast on Coast-to-Coast Line, towards Borås and Kalmar.
The choice of track depends mainly on which railway the train will use. This is because there is a wish to avoid crossing train paths, which would create delays. Trains to the Bohus Line and Norway/Vänern Line generally use tracks 7-11. Trains to the Western Main Line generally use tracks 1-7. Trains to the West Coast Line and Coast-to-Coast Line generally use tracks 11-16.
Drottningtorget is a junction for trams and lies right by the Gothenburg Central Station. Nordstan also has a large tram stop and a shopping mall connected to the station by an underground pedestrian tunnel.[7]
The Station Lounge
The Station Lounge is located by track 9 at the station. There is an access fee of 149 SEK[8] which includes restaurant food, newspapers and WLAN internet. There is also a bar. The conference section is supplied with modern equipment and admits 4-50 persons.
Art pieces
Weeping Girl no. 5
Artist: Laura Ford[9]
Material: Bronze
Measurement: about 1 m height
Cardiff, Wales-born artist Laura Ford has created a set of highly dramatic sculptures that are both strikingly sad and very eery. They consist of five girls set in a Scotland sculpture park called Jupiter Artland, that are asking to be discovered. Called Weeping Girls, they were commissioned and sculptured in 2008 specifically for the Jupiter Artland site. With their long hair covering their faces and with some even slumped over on trees, the girls appear to be distressed, overcome with emotion. The sculpture is owned by Jernhusen since 2009.
Facilities
The stores located in the Gothenburg Central Station are various and perfect for the pauses in between the trips.[10]
You can find gift shops, bank, cafes, restaurants, pharmacy and other facilities like: 7-Eleven, Apoteket, Body Shop, Burger King, Caffè Ritazza, Designtorget, Espresso House(2), Forex Bank, Frankfurter Cabanossy & Grill, Franks gatukök, Honeycomb, La Belle Parfymeri, Le Croissant, Life, Lilla London, Lindex, NFC Fried Chicken, O'learys, Patcy's blommor, Pralinhuset, Pressbyrån(5), Pølsemannen, Repairstore, Salt & Sill Deli, Sidewalk Express, SJ Resebutik, Smarteyes,Starbucks, Steinbrenner & Nyberg, Subway, Sun Sushi, Teknikmagasinet, Telenor, Togogo, Upper Crust, Väskaffären, Västtrafiks kundservice, X-Change.
The opening hours for Kompasshallen: Monday to Friday 04.30-00.30, Saturdays: 05.00-00.30, Sundays: 06.30-00.30
The opening hours for Centralhuset: Monday to Friday 04.00-01.00, Saturdays: 05.00-01.00, Sundays: 06.30-01.00
The opening hours for Nils Ericson Terminalen: Monday to Thursday: 04.10-01.00, Friday to Saturday: 04.10-04.10, Sundays: 04.10-01.00
Floor-plans
Maintenance
The old parts of the station are included in the city council's Bevarningsprogram (English: Preserving Program) 1975 and 1987.[11]
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Göteborgs centralstation. |
- ↑ "Starbucks öppnar på två av Sveriges största tågstationer i samarbete med SSP" (in Swedish). Cision. August 29, 2011. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
- ↑ "Göteborgs Centralstation" (in Swedish).
- 1 2 http://www.jernhusen.se/templates/Page.aspx?id=982 Archived August 17, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Sandberg, Peter (February 23, 2004). "Avspärrning av Göteborgs centralstation släppt". DN.se (in Swedish).
- ↑ Mattson, Anna (February 22, 2010). "Takras på Göteborgs centralstation". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved January 16, 2011.
- ↑ Seinegård, Marieanne (February 23, 2010). "Delar av Centralen utrymdes". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved January 16, 2011.
- ↑ "Göteborg Centralstation". Stationsinfo.
- ↑ http://www.jernhusen.se/templates/Page.aspx?id=2056 Archived August 17, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Laura Ford". www.lauraford.net. Retrieved 2016-02-26.
- ↑ "Mat & butiker | Göteborg". www.dinstation.se. Retrieved 2016-02-26.
- ↑ Lönnroth, Gudrun (1999). Kulturhistoriskt värdefull bebyggelse i Göteborg: Ett program för bevarande, del I. Göteborgs Stadsbyggnadskontor. p. 51. ISBN 91-89088-04-2.
