Schlieren station

Schlieren station lies on the four-track main line between Dietikon (and the east end of the Limmattal classification yard) and Altstetten. Between Schlieren and Altstetten, the smaller Mülligen freight yard lies to the south of the main line.

Schlieren station also has several passing sidings that allow freight trains to momentarily get out of the way of passenger traffic. These sidings can also let one express train pass another, disabled one. For example, on March 30, 2001, the author was in the 15:57 departure from Zurich for Basel when it used one of the freight sidings at Schlieren to run around another express.

Central platforms serve all four main tracks, but usually only the two southernmost tracks are served by suburban (S-Bahn) trains.

Here's how Schlieren looks to the Zurich dispatcher (north is roughly up):

(Click on image for a larger
version and more details.)

And here's how Schlieren looks to the operator at the Altstetten traffic control center (here, the view is inverted, and north is roughly down):

(Click on image for a larger
version and more details.)