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Zürichberg Tunnel

railway tunnel in the city of Zürich, under the Zürichberg hill

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 24, 2026
Entity authorityQ248664 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Zürichberg Tunnel (German: Zürichbergtunnel) is a railway tunnel in the Swiss city of Zürich. The tunnel runs from a junction with the Lake Zürich right bank line at Zürich Stadelhofen station, to Stettbach railway station. It passes under the Zürichberg range of hills that separates Zürich city centre from the Glattal region. The tunnel incorporated a set of underground platforms at Stettbach station, and carries twin standard gauge (1,435 mm or 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) tracks electrified at 15 kV AC 16,7 Hz using overhead line.

The tunnel is principally used by suburban trains of the Zürich S-Bahn, but occasional use is also made by postal trains, freight trains, and long-distance passenger trains.

The tunnel was opened in 1990 as part of a program of major changes to the railway geography of this part of Zürich. Prior to these changes, Zürich Hauptbahnhof was a west-facing terminal station that required through trains to reverse in its platforms. Trains to and from the Lake Zürich right bank line had to traverse a 5 km (3.1 mi) long 270° curve to reach Stadelhofen station, whilst trains to and from the north and east were forced to use a rather indirect route through Zürich Oerlikon station. To improve these routings and allow the introduction of cross-city S-Bahn trains, the Hirschengraben Tunnel was constructed, taking a 2 km (1.2 mi) long direct route from new low-level platforms at Hauptbahnhof to Stadelhofen. At the same time the Zürichberg Tunnel was constructed from Stadelhofen to Stettbach, where a new station was constructed.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Zürichberg Tunnel” as railway tunnel in the city of Zürich, under the Zürichberg hill. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1990—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1990. The account is most persuasive where Zürichberg, Tunnel and railway can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as railway tunnel in the city of Zürich, under the Zürichberg hill. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q248664. Authority coordinates are 47.366, 8.557. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1990.

Critical limits

Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Zürichberg Tunnel”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Zürichberg Tunnel primary sources, Zürichberg Tunnel archive and Zürichberg research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Zürichberg Tunnel”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Zürichberg Tunnel” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.