Zürich Hauptbahnhof (often shortened to Zürich HB, or just HB; Zürich Main Station or Zürich Central Station) is the largest railway station in Switzerland. Zürich is a major railway hub, with services to and from across Switzerland and neighbouring countries such as Germany, Italy, Austria, and France. The station was originally constructed as the terminus of the Spanisch Brötli Bahn, the first railway built completely within Switzerland. Serving up to 2,915 trains per day, Zürich HB is one of the busiest railway stations in the world. It was ranked as the second best European railway station in 2020.The station can be found at the northern end of the Altstadt, or old town, in central Zürich, near the confluence of the rivers Limmat and Sihl. The station is on several levels, with platforms both at ground and below ground level, and tied together by underground passages and the ShopVille shopping mall. The Sihl passes through the station in a tunnel with railway tracks both above and below. The station's railway yards extend about 4 km (2.5 mi) to the west.
The station is included in the Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National Significance.Besides Zürich HB, there are 21 railway stations in the municipality of Zürich: Affoltern, Altstetten, Binz, Brunau, Enge, Friesenberg, Giesshübel, Hardbrücke, Leimbach, Manegg, Oerlikon, Saalsporthalle, Schweighof, Seebach, Selnau, Stadelhofen, Stettbach, Tiefenbrunnen, Triemli, Wiedikon, Wipkingen and Wollishofen (excluding the five stations of the Forch railway, which uses the tracks of the tram system in Zürich). Another railway station, Letten, is out of service since 1989.