Bellinzona railway station

Bellinzona
The station building.
Location	Viale Stazione 36, 6500 Bellinzona, Canton of Ticino, Switzerland
Coordinates	46°11′43″N 09°01′46″E / 46.19528°N 9.02944°E / 46.19528; 9.02944Coordinates: 46°11′43″N 09°01′46″E / 46.19528°N 9.02944°E / 46.19528; 9.02944
Elevation	241 m (791 ft) AMSL
Owned by	Swiss Federal Railways
Operated by	Swiss Federal Railways (SBB-CFF-FFS) Treni Regionali Ticino Lombardia(TILO) Eurocity (EC)
Line(s)	Gotthard railway
Distance	150.9 km (93.8 mi) from Immensee
Platforms	6
History
Opened	December 6, 1874 (1874-12-06)
Electrified	May 29, 1921 (1921-05-29)
Services
Preceding station   Swiss rail network   Following station Arth-Goldau toward Zürich Hbf EC Lugano toward Milano Centrale Arth-Goldau toward Zürich Hbf SBB-CFF-FFS InterCity Lugano toward  Arth-Goldau toward Basel SBB SBB-CFF-FFS InterCity Lugano toward  Biasca toward Zürich Hbf SBB-CFF-FFS InterRegio Locarno Terminus Biasca toward Basel SBB SBB-CFF-FFS InterRegio Locarno Terminus Castione-Arbedo toward Airolo TILO S10 Giubiasco toward Chiasso Castione-Arbedo Terminus TILO S20 Giubiasco toward Locarno Terminus TILO S30 Giubiasco toward Malpensa Aeroporto
Location
Bellinzona railway station Bellinzona railway station (Switzerland)

Bellinzona railway station (Italian: Stazione di Bellinzona) serves the city of Bellinzona, in the Canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is on the Swiss Federal Railways' Gotthard line. The station is nicknamed Porta del Ticino ("Gate of Ticino") since the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in 2016.

The station was opened in 1874, as part of the opening of the Ticino valley railway, with its Biasca – Bellinzona – Lugano – Chiasso line, and its Bellinzona – Locarno line. In 1882, upon the opening of the Gotthard Rail Tunnel, and the related commencement of services on the line from Airolo to Biasca, Bellinzona was connected with the north, and with German-speaking Switzerland.

In 2008, the SBB Cargo facility at Bellinzona hit the headlines, when its workers went on strike, after SBB Cargo had prescribed rigorous reduction measures for the site.

With the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in 2016, travel times from Lucerne to Bellinzona fell by 45 minutes.

The station has five through platform tracks, served by a side platform and two island platforms, connected by both a pedestrian subway and a footbridge. There are also transit and overtaking tracks for goods trains.