Gothenburg Central Station

Gothenburg Central Station
Gothenburg Central Station, the old part
Location	Gothenburg, Gothenburg Municipality Sweden
Coordinates	57°42′32″N 11°58′24″E / 57.70889°N 11.97333°E / 57.70889; 11.97333Coordinates: 57°42′32″N 11°58′24″E / 57.70889°N 11.97333°E / 57.70889; 11.97333
Elevation	3 m
Owned by	Jernhusen
Operated by	SJ Västtrafik Öresundståg NSB
Line(s)	Western Main Line Bohus Line Norway/Vänern Line West Coast Line Coast-to-Coast Line
Distance	457 km (Stockholm C)
Platforms	16
Construction
Architect	Adolf W. Edelsvärd
History
Opened	1858

Gothenburg Central Station (Swedish: Göteborgs centralstation, Göteborg C) is the main railway station of Gothenburg, Sweden. The station serves 27 million passengers per year, making it the second largest railway station in Sweden after . The station opened on October 4, 1858. The station is situated in the city of Gothenburg, right by Drottningtorget. The Gothenburg Central Station, Centralhuset and Nils Ericson Terminalen are a part of Resecentrum, Göteborg. Gothenburg Central Station is owned and administered by Jernhusen.

Numerous railways were built across Sweden in the 19th century. One of the first distances was the one between Gothenburg and Jonsered. As the railway grew more popular, the need for a station emerged. The Gothenburg Central Station was built between 1856 and 1858. The architect in charge was Adolf Wilhelm Edelsvärd.

The first building was made between 1856 and 1857 by architect Adolf Wilhelm Edelsvärd. First, the building included a big entry hall, two waiting areas and a few restaurants. In 1923 the train station was rebuild and enlarged after Folke Zettervall's plans, who was the official SJ architect by that time. On March 14, 1923, an important fire destroyed large parts of the Central Station. Between 1928 and 1930 the station was enlarged due to the increased volume of traffic. After 1930 some more changes were made, including a new restaurant built in front of Drottningtorget. In 1993, the Central Station was restored and between 2000 and 2003 the Central House, was added as an extension to the existing building. The current interior design is similar to the 1923 model with wood pillars, glass ceiling and a floor made of limestone.

During the 19th and early 20th century about one million Swedish emigrants passed through the station in order to get to the harbour. Their final destination would be America.

In February 2007, a bomb threat was addressed to the Gothenburg police. The bombing was to take place at the Gothenburg Central Station. Later that day, a bag was found in the old parts of the station. The evacuation of the station began at 21:30 local time and two hours later the station was free to open again. The bag was examined and no high explosive was found.

In January 2010, a one square metre (11 Sq Ft) section of the station's glass ceiling collapsed after ice had fallen onto it. One person suffered bruises by falling glass splinters and big parts of the station were closed due to safety reasons.