Union station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other meanings, see Union Station. See list of Union Stations for a specific station with the name.
A union station or union terminal is a train station where tracks and facilities are shared by two or more railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently between them. Often the station is used by all passenger trains serving the city, but this is not necessarily true; specifically, commuter trains in Chicago, Illinois, for example, still use four different terminals.
In North American practice a union station is usually owned by a separate corporation whose shares are owned by the different railways which use it, so that the costs and benefits of its operations are shared proportionately among them. This contrasts with the system of trackage rights or running rights, where one railway company owns a line or facility, but allows another to company to share it under a contractual agreement. However, the company that owns the union station and associated trackage does assign trackage rights to the railroads that use it.
In the United Kingdom the term used is joint station.
In Germany, the term Hauptbahnhof differs from the English term Union Station. Instead it means the most important and usually most frequently used station of a city. In Germany and Austria the word is abbreviated to "Hbf" in timetables, while the equivalent abbreviation in Switzerland is "HB", e.g. Berlin Hbf, Innsbruck Hbf, Zürich HB.
Outside the United States, railroads have usually been owned and operated by state enterprises. With only one railway company, there has been no need for a "joint station".
