Zurich ranked second-best European railway station

The only criterion on which Zurich lagged behind was the number of domestic destinations. Keystone / Alessandro Della Bella

Zurich’s central station was bested only by London St Pancras in the first European Railway Station Index. 

The rankings, carried out by the Consumer Choice CenterExternal link, assessed 50 of Europe’s largest railway stations for passenger experience. Criteria used include domestic and international connectivity, crowds, restaurant and shopping facilities, wheelchair access, as well as number of days workers went on strike.  

Zurich main station scored 111 points out of a maximum of 139 (St Pancras scored 116). The Swiss railway hub had the highest number of restaurants (62) and the second-highest number of shops (92) among the 50 stations assessed. The only criterion on which it lagged behind was the number of domestic destinations (29) compared with other leaders like St Pancras (43) or Leipzig Central Station (51).  

The railway station in Swiss capital Bern also did well to clinch 11th place with a score of 93. Both Zurich and Bern were leaders when it came to worker strikes (only one day each per year) compared with all six Paris stations assessed (118 strike days each). 

Half of the stations in the top ten are in Germany. Apart from Zurich and London St Pancras, the only non-German ones that made it to the top ten were Roma Termini, Milano Centrale and Moscow Kazansky.