immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Verkehrskonzept

  • Test planning for urban space at Winterthur railway station

    Test planning for urban space at Winterthur railway station

    The city of Winterthur and SBB developed the “Winterthur 2045” railway station expansion concept between 2019 and 2021. A new Vogelsang Nord terminus station was identified as the preferred solution to cope with increasing passenger volumes. At the same time, the platforms of the existing seven through tracks are to be widened.

    With these changes, the urban space around the station must also be rethought. Test planning is to analyse the potential and challenges and develop an overall strategy for the area around the station.

    Testplanning as the basis for a new master plan
    The test planning focuses on the areas of Bahnhofplatz and St. Georgenplatz, Rudolfstrasse and the southern railway station subway. The aim is to develop an overall urban development and transport strategy.

    • Quality of stay and climate adaptation in public spaces
    • Reorganisation of bus stops for better traffic routing
    • Optimisation of pedestrian and bicycle traffic
    • Categorisation of other modes of transport

    The area of the future Vogelsang Nord terminus station is excluded from this planning and will be dealt with separately.

    Involvement of the population and interest groups
    In order to ensure broad acceptance and viability of the solutions, the test planning is accompanied by a participatory process. Around 40 neighbourhood organisations, interest groups, political representatives and landowners will be actively involved in the design and discussion of the interim results.

    An electronic participation portal and participatory events are planned for the wider population. An initial echo chamber was held in February 2024 to clarify the planning brief.


    Starting signal for the new planning in 2025
    The City Council has approved a loan of CHF 780,000 to carry out the test planning. The planning will start in 2025 and is expected to last until 2026. It will form the basis for a new masterplan for the railway station urban space.

    The first masterplan has almost been implemented
    The first masterplan for Winterthur’s main railway station was developed back in 2009. Many measures from this were realised, including the redesign of the bus station with a mushroom roof, the northern pedestrian subway, new bicycle stations and the Neuwiesen traffic concept. The final work on the western side of the station should be completed by summer 2025.

    With the new test planning for the station urban space, Winterthur is now setting the course for the coming decades. The aim is to create a modern, sustainable and functional urban space.

  • Overall transport concept for the Zurzibiet region adopted

    Overall transport concept for the Zurzibiet region adopted

    The concept aims to ensure a reliable overall transport system and guarantee the accessibility of settlements and businesses. In addition, transport links to neighbouring areas such as Baden and the surrounding area, Brugg-Windisch and the Hochrhein region in southern Germany are to be ensured. Furthermore, traffic routing to main axes and areas outside the settlement area is planned in order to reduce emissions such as noise and air pollutants and to minimise the separating effect of transport infrastructure.

    Strategic thrusts and approaches to measures
    Strategic thrusts and approaches to measures were discussed in three fields of action.

    In the area of mobility management, settlement development should be concentrated in central locations that are well served by public transport. The promotion of combined mobility is a further objective, as is the upgrading of street spaces in urban centres to increase the quality of life as well as pedestrian and bicycle traffic. Car park management also plays an important role in this field of action.

    Comprehensive traffic management is aimed at ensuring reliable journey times and accessibility. This includes stabilising the public transport timetable as well as measures to calm traffic and increase road safety. The organisation of freight transport and logistics is also a central element of traffic management.

    Transport services are to be significantly improved by expanding public transport services, including cross-border bus connections. There are also plans to expand the cycling infrastructure, both within towns and between municipalities and across borders on corridors with great potential. The optimisation of road infrastructure and the design of railway stations as transport hubs are further important measures, as is the replacement of the Rhine crossing.

    Next steps and expected results
    In the first phase of the GVK Zurzigebiet area, comprehensive transport planning will be carried out, taking into account all modes of transport and the predicted settlement development. The results of this phase are expected by the end of 2024. Specific measures for all modes of transport will then be further developed in the second phase.

    The steering committee of the GVK Zurzibiet region comprises representatives of the Canton of Aargau, the Regional Council of Freiburg, German Customs, the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security, the Zurzibiet Regio regional planning association, the Hochrhein-Bodensee regional association, the district of Waldshut, the town of Waldshut-Tiengen and the municipalities of Koblenz, Full-Reuenthal and Leuggern. The GVK support group consists of representatives from numerous municipalities on both sides of the border, including Böttstein, Döttingen, Ehrendingen, Waldshut-Tiengen and Dogern.