Altstetten station

At Zurich-Altstetten, the four main tracks from Dietikon are joined by the suburban (S-Bahn) line S9 from Zug. Central platforms serve:

• on the south platform, suburban trains and

• on the north platform, some scheduled express trains, such as the "flight train" (Flugzug) that runs most hours between Basel's main station and Zurich airport.

Between the platforms is another track, mostly for freight.

To the south, a fifth platform track runs just in front of the station building and is used by some passenger trains whose role - in terms of number of stops and length of run - is somewhere between the suburban and express trains. It is also used by freight trains on the line to Thalwil and the south.

Still another track - the most southerly of all - is embedded in the platform just in front of the station building and sees occasional switching moves. Announcements are made to warn waiting passengers of these unusual train movements, which run over (as opposed to next to) the spot where passengers may be waiting for their train.

Here is the Zurich dispatcher's view of Altstetten station (north is roughly up):

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

And here is the operator's view at the Altstetten control center of the trackage outside his window. (Here, the view is inverted, and north is roughly down.)

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