Central station

Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the city centres themselves. As a result, "Central Station" is often, but not always, part of the proper name for a railway station that is the central or primary railway hub for a city.

Development

Emergence and growth

Central stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century during what has been termed the "Railway Age". Initially railway stations were built on the edge of city centres but, subsequently, with urban expansion, they became an integral part of the city centres themselves.
For example, the first centralized railway terminal in Germany was Hanover Hauptbahnhof, built in 1879. This set the precedent for other major German cities. Frankfurt followed in 1888 and Cologne in the 1890s. Classic German central railway station architecture "reached its zenith" with the completion of Hamburg Hauptbahnhof in 1906 and Leipzig Hauptbahnhof in 1915.
In Europe, it was normal for the authorities to exercise greater control over railway development than in Britain and this meant that the central station was often the focal point of town planning. "Indeed, in most large continental cities the station was deliberately fronted by a square to set it off." During the 1880s "world leadership in large station design passed to Germany, where state funding helped secure the building of central stations on a lavish scale." By contrast, British entrepreneurialism led to a great diversity of ownership and rights and a lack of centralised coherence in the construction of major stations.
In time the urban expansion that put many of these stations at the heart of a city, also hemmed them in so that, although they became increasingly central to the town or city, they were further away from airports or, in some cases, other transport hubs such as bus stations leading to a lack of interoperability and interconnectivity between the different modes of transport.
A revival of fortunes for central stations arose during the 1980s, boosted by the advent of high speed rail and light rail services, that saw opportunities being seized for upgrading central stations and their facilities to create large intermodal transport hubs simultaneously serving many modes of transport, while providing a range of modern facilities for the traveller, creating a "city within a city."

Present-day function

Transport nodes

Today, central stations, particularly in Europe, act as termini for a multitude of rail services - suburban, regional, domestic and international - provided by national carriers or private companies, on conventional rail networks, underground railways and tram systems. These services are often divided between several levels. In many cases, central railway stations are collocated with bus stations as well as taxi services.

Industrial and commercial centres

Central railway stations are not just major transportation nodes but may also be "a specific section of the city with a concentration of infrastructure but also with a diversified collection of buildings and open spaces" which makes them "one of the most complex social areas" of the city. This has drawn in railway business - freight and local industry using the marshalling yards - and commercial business - shops, cafes and entertainment facilities.

High speed rail

The reinvigoration of central stations since the 1980s has been, in part, due to the rise of high speed rail services. But countries have taken different approaches. France gave greater weight to 'peripheral stations', stations external to cities and new high speed lines. Germany and Italy went for the modification of existing lines and central stations. Spain opted for a hybrid approach with new high speed railway lines using existing central stations.

"Central Station" as a name

English-speaking countries

"Central Station" is a common proper name for a railway station that is the central or primary railway hub for a city, for example, Manchester Central, which is not to be confused with those stations in which "Central" appears in name not because they were "central" in the sense above but because they were once served by railway companies with "Central" as part of their name. For example, Leicester Central railway station was owned by the Great Central Railway, and Central Station (Chicago) was owned by the Illinois Central Railroad.

Non-English-speaking countries

When translating foreign station names, "Central Station" is commonly used if the literal meaning of the station's name is "central station", "principal station" or "main station". An example of the last is the Danish word hovedbanegård. Travel and rail sources such as Rough Guides, Thomas Cook European Timetable and Deutsche Bahn's passenger information generally use the native name, but tourist, travel and railway operator websites as well as the English publications of some national railway operators often use "Central Station" or "central railway station" instead.
Non-English names for "Central Station" include:Централна гара in Bulgarianstřed or hlavní nádraží in CzechCentraal Station in DutchGare centrale in FrenchHauptbahnhof, historically also Centralbahnhof or Zentralbahnhof, in Germanתחנה מרכזית in HebrewStazione Centrale in Italiansentralstasjon in NorwegianEstação Central in PortugueseEstación Central in Spanishcentralstation in Swedish
Non-English terms that literally mean "principal station" or "main station" are often translated into English as "Central":Glavni kolodvor in Croatianhlavní nádraží in Czechhovedbanegård in DanishHauptbahnhof in GermanDworzec Główny in Polishhlavná stanica in Slovak

Examples of central stations

The following are examples of stations from around the world where "Central Station" is part of their name in English or can be translated as such from their native language.

Europe

Austria

Belarus

Brest Central Station

Belgium

Three stations in Belgium are named "-Central".

Antwerp Central Station
Brussels Central Station - not to be confused with the city's main international station, Brussels Midi.
Verviers-Central railway station

Bulgaria

There are three stations with "central" in their names:

Czech Republic

The following stations are named "hlavní nádraží" :

Hlavní nádraží – the corresponding metro station in Prague

The following stations are named "střed" or "centrum", indicating their central location between other stations serving the town:

In addition to the above, Praha Masarykovo nádraží was named "Praha střed" from 1953 until 1990.

Denmark

Two Danish stations, as follows, have names often translated as "Central".

Aarhus Central Station – the busiest Danish station outside the Copenhagen area
Copenhagen Central Station – the largest station in Denmark

Both stations bear the title of Hovedbanegård in Danish, which literally translated means main-way-yard, but which actually refers to the infrastructure complexity, size and importance. A station of lesser importance is calld a banegård. However a city can have several banegårde as well as a hovedbanegård, and several cities and towns that have a banegård such as Aalborg do not have a hovedbanegård. Thus, Copenhagen Central Station is not the most central in Copenhagen, nor is it the most central that serves a broad range of routes, that would be Nørreport Station, which has been translated into English as Nørreport Metro Station. Copenhagen Central Station is however the most important, with its many more platforms and historic facilities, and despite serving almost the same amount of regional and intercity trains as Nørreport, it allows for longer stops and with much more room for passengers to traverse the station along serving international trains.

Finland

Two Finnish stations can be translated to central:

France

Germany

The German word for "central station" is Hauptbahnhof ; historically Centralbahnhof and Zentralbahnhof were also used. Geographically central stations may be named Mitte or Stadtmitte, e.g. Koblenz Stadtmitte station. In most German cities with more than one passenger station, the principal station is usually the Hauptbahnhof; some German sources translate this as "central station" although stations named Hauptbahnhof may not be centrally located.
While using Hauptbahnhof in its journey planner and passenger information, in English-language publications Deutsche Bahn uses variously Hauptbahnhof, Main and Central.
The following stations historically bore the name Centralbahnhof or Zentralbahnhof as part of their proper name :

Chemnitz Hauptbahnhof
Köln Hauptbahnhof
Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof
Hamburg Dammtor station: documents from around the time of the opening of the station refer to Centralbahnhof. or Zentral-Bahnhof.
Ingolstadt Hauptbahnhof
Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof
Mainz Hauptbahnhof
München Hauptbahnhof until 1 May 1904.
Oldenburg Hauptbahnhof
Osnabrück Hauptbahnhof
Stuttgart Zentralbahnhof was a centrally located station on the Zentralbahn.

Italy

Netherlands

In the Netherlands, a centraal station, in its original sense, was a railway station served by several railway companies; so it had the same meaning as a union station in the USA. Since the various private railways were merged in the early 20th century into a national railway, the term came to mean, in everyday language, the main railway station of a city.
Since the 2000s, the rule is that a city's principal station may be called "Centraal" if it has more than a certain number of passengers per day. This meant that Almere Centraal had to be demoted to "Almere Centrum"; however, Leiden was renamed "Leiden Centraal". Additionally, stations with international high-speed trains may be given the name Centraal; this applies to Arnhem. Breda was intended to receive the epithet after renovation in 2016, but since high speed services do not yet call there, it is still called Breda.
Non-railway signage, such as on buses or roads, sometimes indicates Centraal or CS even when a city's main railway station is not actually so named.
Eight stations have the word Centraal:

There are also stations with the word Centrum, which indicates the station is in the city centre:

Norway

Poland

The designation "main station" is used in many Polish cities to indicate the most important passenger or goods station, for instance Szczecin Główny. However, there is an exception:
Warszawa Centralna railway station is the principal station in Warsaw, but Warszawa Główna railway station is the terminus for several train services.
The following stations are named "main station" :
The adjective "main" is thus not used only for stations in a few capitals of voivodeships, including: Białystok, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Katowice and Łódź.

Sweden

In Sweden the term "central station" is used to indicate the primary station in towns and cities with more than one railway station. Many are termini for one or more lines. However, the term can also occur in a broader sense, even being used for the only railway station in a town. In some cases, this is because other stations have closed; but in others the station is called "central" even though there has only ever been one. In these cases, the term "central" was used to highlight the level of service provided, due to the station's importance in the network, particularly at important railway junctions.

Switzerland

Basel SBB railway station was originally known as the Centralbahnhof or, in English, Basle Central Station and is still sometimes referred to today as the Centralbahnhof or Basel/Basle Central Station. The name of Zürich Hauptbahnhof, often shortened to Zürich HB or just HB, literally translated into English, is Zurich Main Station, but, as indicated in the Germany section above, some German sources translate Hauptbahnhof as "central station".

Turkey

United Kingdom

Many railway stations in Britain that use 'Central' are not principal stations, and are called Central to distinguish them from other stations with different names, or for prestige. In some cases, a station originally owned by the Great Central Railway in locations served by more than one station was called Central. Town also appears: for example distinguishes it from station.
One of the few principal stations in Britain that is called 'Central' and truly is in the centre of the city it serves is Glasgow Central. Though Glasgow was once served by four principal terminus stations, all within the city centre, only one was called 'Central'. With a few exceptions such as the Argyle line, Glasgow Central serves all stations south of the city while Glasgow Queen Street is the principal station for all services north of the city. Likewise, Cardiff Central is located in the city centre and is the mainline hub of the South Wales rail network, which includes 19 other stations in Cardiff itself, including another principal city centre station, Cardiff Queen Street.
Not all the stations in the following list still exist.

Central America

Cuba

Central Railway Station, Havana, commuter and national rail station in Havana

North America

Canada

Central station (Edmonton), in Edmonton
Montreal Central Station, in Montreal
Guelph Central Station, an intermodal station in Guelph

United States

In the United States, several "Central" stations were built by railways called "Central", the best known example being Grand Central Station in New York City, which is so named because it was built by the New York Central Railroad.
This contrasts with a union station, which, in the past, served more than one railway company. The government-funded Amtrak took over the operation of all intercity passenger rail in the 1970s and 1980s.

Buffalo Central Terminal, in Buffalo, New York
Central Station, Chicago
Grand Central Station, Chicago
Central (CTA Green Line), Chicago, Illinois
Central (CTA Purple Line), Evanston, Illinois
Central Station (JTA Skyway), Jacksonville, Florida
Central Station (Memphis), Memphis, Tennessee
MiamiCentral, Miami, Florida
Grand Central Terminal, New York City
Great Central Station, Chicago

South America

Argentina

Estación Central in Buenos Aires, Argentina operated from 1872 to 1897.

Brazil

In Brazil, "Central Station" is called as "Estação Central" and can be a place that integrates bus or train.

Central do Brasil, in Rio de Janeiro
Estação da Luz, in São Paulo

Chile

Estación Alameda in Santiago, Chile is known unofficially as Estación Central

Asia

Azerbaijan

Israel

Japan

Kagoshima-Chūō Station in Kagoshima, formerly Nishi-Kagoshima Station

Malaysia

Sentral is the Malay spelling for the English word central.

Kuala Lumpur Sentral station, in Kuala Lumpur

South Korea

In South Korea, major railway stations of the city don't usually have additional names besides the name of the respective city, like these examples below.

Seoul Station in Seoul
Busan Station in Busan

However, some stations do have a term 중앙 in their names to differentiate the original station. These stations are usually located in closer locations to the city centre.

Also, there are Jungang metro stations which are named after the neighborhood name, Jungang-dong.

Taiwan

Thailand

Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal, also known as Bang Sue Grand Station, is the current central station of Bangkok, Thailand
* Hua Lamphong railway station is the former central station of Bangkok until 19 January 2023
Hat Yai Junction railway station is the central station of Hat Yai
Chachoengsao Junction railway station is the central station of Chachoengsao

Africa

South Africa

Oceania

Australia

Central railway station, Brisbane
Melbourne Central railway station, named after Melbourne Central Shopping Centre, Melbourne
Central railway station, Sydney, also known as Sydney Terminal, Sydney
Gawler Central railway station, Adelaide
Wynnum Central railway station, Brisbane
Cockburn Central railway station, Perth