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Renovated Geneva train station central hall opens

Malcolm Curtis
Malcolm Curtis - [email protected]
Renovated Geneva train station central hall opens
Geneva's main train station. Photo: CFF

Passengers are able to traverse the central hall of Geneva’s main train station for the first time in more than four years after renovations begun in 2010.

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The rejuvenated hall opened on Thursday offering space for 12 new commercial outlets, including a Payot book store, and a large glass facade overlooking platform 1.

The hall links the east and west wings of the Cornavin station with its art deco facade, which was spruced up earlier.

A “Business Point” and Swiss Federal Railways (CFF) lounge are set to open on May 14th above an enlarged ticket centre and travel agency in the centre of the station hall, CFF said in a news release.

A new baggage service is located across from the ticket centre along with luggage lockers and a currency exchange outlet.

As part of the upgrading, budgeted by CFF at more than 110 million francs, a new “Infopoint” is designed to provide visitors with information about Geneva and general information about station services.

CFF said the the improvement of pedestrian flow was a major goal of the renovation project, which involved transforming the interior of the station’s eastern wing.

In addition to restoring the station’s historic facade, mural paintings were conserved and brought back to their original condition, in accordance with the requirements of heritage protection services, the rail operator said.

The Cornavin station dates from 1858 although it was rebuilt in 1931 when the current facade was erected.

An official opening of the renovated station is scheduled for September 18th, with a party to celebrate the occasion the following day, CFF said.

The station currently accommodates 115,000 travellers daily.

But users of the station may not have long to wait before the next round of renovations rolls out.

The CFF said that it wants to expand the station with its eight platforms to add two new sets of tracks by 2025.

The project has been estimated at between 800 million and 1.7 billion francs, depending on the design chosen.

To get a better idea of the work undertaken at the Cornavin station, check out the video attached to this CFF link.

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