Keilbahnhof
Introduction ''Keilbahnhof'' in Figeac, France'''''Keilbahnhof''''' (plural: ''Keilbahnhöfe'', literally: "wedge railway station") is the German name for a railway station () in which the station is located between branching railway tracks. It is a junction station that is part of the railway junction itself, with its platforms converging in one direction and diverging in the other. There appears to be no direct English equivalent for this term.
Definition Diagram of a ''Keilbahnhof'' (red: station building, gray: platforms)A ''keilbahnhof'' is a type of junction station whose tracks usually diverge shortly before passing the platforms, and the station building being located between the tracks. The through tracks thus pass by on either side of the station building without rejoining one another again. This is in contrast to an "island station" (, e.g. Olten railway station), in which the tracks merge again after passing either side of the station building (i.e. the building sits on a wide island platform). Rarely, there are ''keilbahnhof'' stations whose through tracks diverge in the area of the platforms, but never after them. In a ''keilbahnhof'', there are at least two platforms, one on each side of the station building (e.g. Lichtensteig railway station), but additional platforms (or sidings) may be present on one or both sides.The Y-shaped design of a ''keilbahnhof'' is not suited for splitting trains into separate rakes with different destinations (portion working). Often, the station is the terminus of the line(s) operating on the subordinate branch, while for the service(s) operating on the main branches it is a through station, although it can also be a through station on all services.The station building can be located either between the diverging tracks or on the side of the tracks before they diverge (e.g. Monza railway station).
Examples in Germany Elsterwerda-Biehla station* on the Herbertingen–Aulendorf and Altshausen–Schwackenreute lines* on the Halle–Hann. Münden line*Döbeln Hauptbahnhof on the Riesa–Chemnitz and Borsdorf–Coswig lines* on the Węgliniec–Roßlau and Elsterwerda–Elsterwerda-Biehla lines* on the Halle–Bebra and Friedrichroda lines* on the Berlin-Hamburg and Hagenow Land–Schwerin lines* on the Hanoverian Southern and Lehrte–Nordstemmen lines* on the Hanoverian Southern, South Harz and Solling line* on the Hanoverian Southern, Altenbeken–Kreiensen and Brunswick Southern lines* on the Berlin–Hamburg, Magdeburg-Wittenberge and Wittenberge–Buchholz lines* on the Dresden–Werdau and Schwarzenberg–Zwickau lines
Examples elsewhere === Australia ===*Werris Creek on the Main North, Mungindi and Binnaway lines*Brighton Beach on the Sandringham Line in Melbourne.=== Austria ===* on the Laaer Ostbahn and Marchegger Ostbahn lines=== Belgium ===Pepinster railway station, Belgium*Ottignies on the Belgian railway lines 139, 140 and the 161*Pepinster on the Belgian railway lines 37 and 44=== France ===* on the Haut-Bugey and Lyon–Geneva lines* on the Paris–Marseille, Moret–Lyon and Lyon–Geneva lines* on the Figeac–Arvant and Brive-la-Gaillarde–Toulouse (via Capdenac) lines*Tarascon on the Tarascon–Sète line and two connectors to the Paris–Marseille lines=== Italy ===Monza railway station, Italy* on the Milan–Chiasso, Lecco–Milan and Monza–Molteno lines* on the Genoa–Pisa and Pisa–Lucca lines=== New Zealand ===*Hamilton on the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) and East Coast Main Trunk (ECMT) lines=== Switzerland ===Keilbahnhof stations in Switzerland (by location of geocoded photos on Wikimedia Commons)* on the Bière–Apples–Morges line and branch line to L'Isle-Mont-la-Ville* on the Thalwil–Arth-Goldau, Pfäffikon–Arth-Goldau and Gotthard lines* on the Bern–Thun, Biel/Bienne–Bern and Olten–Bern lines* on the Winterthur–Koblenz and Oerlikon–Bülach lines* on the Orbe–Chavornay and Jura Foot lines* on the Vallorbe–Le Brassus and Simplon lines (until 2022)* on the Wil–Ebnat-Kappel and Bodensee–Toggenburg lines* on the Langenthal–Oensingen, Oensingen–Balsthal and Jura Foot lines* on the Chur–Rorschach and Ziegelbrücke–Sargans lines* on the Martigny–Orsières line and branch line to Le Châble* on the Solothurn–Worblaufen, Worb Dorf–Worblaufen and Zollikofen–Bern lines* on the Thalwil–Arth-Goldau, Zug–Lucerne and Zürich–Zug lines* on the Zürich–Winterthur and Oerlikon–Bülach lines=== The Netherlands ===* on the Amsterdam–Arnhem and Amsterdam–Zutphen lines=== United Kingdom ===* on the Cross-City and Birmingham to Worcester via Bromsgrove lines* on the Chester–Manchester and Hooton–Helsby lines* on the Stafford–Manchester and Crewe–Derby lines* on the East Coastway lines* on the North Kent and Mid-Kent lines; The latter is also used as a loop off the South Eastern Main Line* on the London, Tilbury and Southend line and the Docklands Light Railway (DLR)* on the Portsmouth and the Epsom Downs lines=== United States ===* on the Providence/Stoughton Line (Northeast Corridor and Stoughton Branch)* on the UP North and UP Northwest lines* on the Morristown and Montclair–Boonton lines* on the Baltimore–Ohio and Old Main lines
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