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Central station is a common name for a railway station. As well as being used for centrally located stations, such as Melbourne Central, "Central" also appears in names of stations that were once served by railway companies which used 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.
Contents
- Europe
- Austria
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Denmark
- Bulgaria
- Czech Republic
- Finland
- Germany
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Canada
- Cuba
- South America
- Brazil
- India
- Israel
- Japan
- South Korea
- Taiwan
- Hong Kong
- Malaysia
- South Africa
- Australia
- References
When translating foreign station names, "Central Station" is commonly used where the literal meaning of the station's name is central station or main station. An example of the latter 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; whilst some websites and English publications of some national railway operators use "central station" or "central railway station" instead.
Europe
Non-English language names for Central station include:
Non-English language terms that literally mean main station are sometimes translated into English as Central:
Austria
- Wien Hauptbahnhof
- Graz Hauptbahnhof
- Linz Hauptbahnhof
- Salzburg Hauptbahnhof
- Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof
- St. Pölten Hauptbahnhof
- Wels Hauptbahnhof
- Wörgl Hauptbahnhof
- Leoben Hauptbahnhof
Belarus
- Brest Central Station (Brest-Centralny, Брест-Центральный)
Belgium
Three stations in Belgium are named "-Central" (Dutch Centraal).
- Antwerp Central Station (Antwerpen-Centraal)
- Brussels Central Station (Bruxelles-Central / Brussel-Centraal) - not to be confused with the city's main international station, Brussels Midi (meaning "Brussels south"; the French word "Midi" is generally used as the station's name in English).
- Verviers Central Station (Verviers-Central)
Denmark
Two Danish stations have names sometimes translated to central:
- Aarhus Central Station - the busiest Danish station outside the Copenhagen area
- Copenhagen Central Station - the largest station in Denmark
Bulgaria
There are three stations with "central" in their names:
- Central Railway Station, Sofia (Централна гара София)
- Central Railway Station, Plovdiv (Централна гара Пловдив)
- Ruse Central railway station (Централна гара Русе)
Czech Republic
Finland
Two Finnish stations can be translated to central:
- Helsinki Central railway station (Helsingin päärautatieasema)
- Turku Central railway station (Turun päärautatieasema)
Germany
The German words for "central station" are Centralbahnhof and Zentralbahnhof. Geographically central stations may be named Mitte or Stadtmitte ("city centre"), e.g. Koblenz Stadtmitte station. In most German cities with more than one passenger station, the principal station is called Hauptbahnhof meaning "main railway station"; 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.
In Germany, Hauptbahnhof is abbreviated to Hbf.
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 (called Centralbahnhof Oldenburg from 1879 to 1911)
- Osnabruck Hauptbahnhof
- Stuttgart Zentralbahnhof (or Centralbahnhof) was a centrally located station on the Zentralbahn (replaced by Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof, which opened on a new site east of the centre in 1922).
Italy
- Agrigento Centrale railway station
- Bari Centrale railway station
- Barletta Centrale railway station (FNB)
- Bologna Centrale railway station
- Catania Centrale railway station
- Gorizia Centrale railway station
- La Spezia Centrale railway station
- Lamezia Terme Centrale railway station
- Livorno Centrale railway station
- Messina Centrale railway station
- Milano Centrale railway station
- Napoli Centrale railway station
- Palermo Centrale railway station
- Pescara Centrale railway station
- Pisa Centrale railway station
- Prato Centrale railway station
- Reggio Calabria Centrale railway station
- Tarvisio Centrale railway station - now closed
- Torre Annunziata Centrale railway station
- Trieste Centrale railway station
- Treviglio railway station, also known as Treviglio Centrale
- Treviso Centrale railway station
- Trieste Centrale railway station
Netherlands
In the Netherlands, a central station (in its original sense) was a railway station that was served by several railway companies and thus was the most important station of the city. 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.
Seven stations have the word Centraal:
- Amsterdam Centraal
- Den Haag Centraal
- Leiden Centraal
- Rotterdam Centraal
- Utrecht Centraal
- Arnhem Centraal
- Breda Centraal (after renovation)
There are also stations with the word Centrum, which indicates the station is in the city centre:
- Almere Centrum
- Barneveld Centrum
- Ede Centrum
- Kerkrade Centrum
- Lelystad Centrum
- Schiedam Centrum
- Veenendaal Centrum
- Vlaardingen Centrum
Norway
- Oslo Central Station (Oslo Sentralstasjon)
- Trondheim Central Station (Trondheim Sentralstasjon)
Poland
The designation "main station" (Dworzec główny, abbreviated to " Gł") 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 the capital Warsaw, the Warszawa Główna railway stations having closed.
Sweden
In Sweden the term "central station" (Centralstation, abbreviated to Central or C) 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 required due to the station's importance in the network, particularly at important railway junctions.
- Arlanda Central Station (Stockholm Arlanda Airport)
- Gothenburg Central Station
- Halmstad Central Station
- Hässleholm Central Station
- Jönköping Central Station
- Malmö Central Station
- Norrköping Central Station
- Nässjö Central Station
- Stockholm Central Station
- Uppsala Central Station
- Västerås Central Station
- Lund Central Station
- Kalmar Central Station
- Karlskrona Central Station
- Kristianstad Central Station
- Linköping Central Station
- Helsingborg Central Station
- Södertälje Central Station
- Örebro Central Station
Switzerland
Similar to principal stations in Germany, the most important station in Zürich is called Hauptbahnhof (Main Railway Station), which in some sources is translated to central station in English.
Additionally, 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.
In Switzerland, Hauptbahnhof is abbreviated to HB.
Turkey
- Adana Central railway station
- Ankara Central railway station
- Eskişehir Central railway station
- Gaziantep Central railway station
- İstanbul Sirkeci railway station
- İzmir Alsancak railway station
- Kars Central railway station
- Kayseri Central railway station
- Mersin Central railway station
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 Edenbridge Town distinguishes it from Edenbridge station.
One of the few 'principal' stations in the UK that is called 'Central' and truly is in the centre of the city it serves is Glasgow Central station. 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, Central serves all stations south of the city while Glasgow Queen Street serves as 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, one of which is another principal city centre station, Cardiff Queen Street.
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, is so named because it was built by the New York Central Railroad. Others, however, are not. For example, the new Miami Central Station is being built for Amtrak as the principal and intermodal station to serve rapid transit, commuter rail, intercity rail, and intercity bus services in Miami.
This contrasts with a union station, which, in the past, served more than one railway company (the equivalent term in Europe is a joint station). This is no longer the case, as the government-funded Amtrak took over the operation of all intercity passenger rail in the 1970s and 1980s.
Canada
Cuba
South America
Brazil
India
Israel
Japan
South Korea
Taiwan
Hong Kong
Malaysia
Sentral is the Malay spelling for the English word central.