Wien Westbahnhof (Vienna West station) is a major Austrian railway station, the original starting point of the West railway (Westbahn) and a former terminus of international rail services. In 2015, its role changed with the opening of Vienna's new main station and Westbahnhof is now mainly a commuter station and the terminus of private rail operator WESTbahn's intercity service from Salzburg. Locally, Wien Westbahnhof is served by S-Bahn line S50 and U-Bahn lines U3 and U6. Six tram lines converge on Europaplatz in front of the station, although none go into the city centre. There are also buses to the airport.
Location
Westbahnhof is in Vienna's 15th District (Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus) on the Gürtel (inner-city ring road). Mariahilfer Strasse to the immediate south-east provides a direct route into the center of the city.
Significance
Westbahnhof is one of the busiest stations in Vienna and used to be one of the several termini for international trains in the city. With the 2015 opening of Wien Hauptbahnhof, all long-distance services of the state-owned Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) were transferred to that station, although private operator WESTbahn maintains its intercity service from Salzburg. At the same time, the frequency of fast regional service along the West Railway was increased.
The station is also the departure point for all regional rail lines into the west of Vienna that are included in the Eastern Regional Traffic Authority and belong in part to the Viennese S-Bahn.
As some facilities of the station are no longer needed after its demotion, a reduction in the station's size is to be expected, and concepts for the utilisation of the surplus space are already being considered.
History
1858 to 1949
Built for the western railway (originally called the k.k. privilegierte Kaiserin-Elisabeth-Bahn), the station was designed by the architect Moritz Löhr and opened in 1858. The facility was made up of four sections built in a historical style.
The main hall was originally 104 metres long and 27.2 metres wide. It was covered by a beamed iron awning and provided space for four tracks. Intervening peninsular platforms were not yet available. The exit from the hall was flanked by two towers. On the east, a two-story administration building separated the trackage from the Gürtel.
The side wings included provisions for arrivals and departures. The southerly departure side consisted of an ornamented portal with steps and three large arches supported by columns, that were crowned with statues. Access passages to the left and right of these led to the two two-storey office buildings. Through this portal, one enters the ticket hall and the departure platform. On slightly elevated terrain, the departure side offered the most impressive view of the station from the southeast. This motif was repeated in the northerly arrival side; however because of the grade, the building's foundation was lower and the portal was not built up as high, as arcades offered passengers who were waiting for carriages or carts protection from the elements.
In order to deal with the increased number of passengers, the two towers that flanked the departure gate were moved further apart in a modification that lasted from 1910 to 1912. The roof construction was also changed and space for a fifth track was attained. In addition, further covered platforms and departure tracks were provided in the foreground of the tracks in the terminal proper.
In April 1945, the station was hit by bombs and burned down in the course of battles at the end of World War II; the roof of the gallery collapsed. After the end of the war, the buildings were by necessity adapted for the needs of rail travel, but a complete reconstruction was decided upon, so the station was torn down in 1949.
A statue of namesake of the original railway Empress Elisabeth from the original facade of the station still recalls the old station in the lower hall of the new Westbahnhof.
Since 1949
The rebuilt Westbahnhof was designed by Architects Hartiger & Wöhnhart and opened in 1952. Because only narrow administration wings were built on the sides, space was available for eleven tracks in all, accessed from covered peninsular platforms.
