Birkerød railway station

Birkerød
S-train station
Birkerød station in 2010
General information
LocationStationsvej 5
3460 Birkerød[1]
Rudersdal Municipality
Denmark
Coordinates55°50′25″N 12°25′26″E / 55.84028°N 12.42389°E / 55.84028; 12.42389
Elevation52.2 metres (171 ft)[2]
Owned byBanedanmark and DSB
Line(s)North Line[3]
Platforms1 side platform
1 island platform
Tracks3
Train operatorsDSB[3]
ConnectionsBus
Construction
ArchitectVilhelm Carl Heinrich Wolf[4]
Other information
Station codeBi[5]
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata
History
Opened1864[2]
Rebuilt26 May 1968 (S-train)[6]
Electrified26 May 1968[6]
Services
Preceding station S-train Following station
Holte A Høvelte
towards Hillerød
Location
Birkerød station is located in Greater Copenhagen
Birkerød station
Birkerød station
Location within Greater Copenhagen
Birkerød station is located in Denmark
Birkerød station
Birkerød station
Birkerød station (Denmark)
Map

Birkerød station is an S-train railway station serving the satellite town of Birkerød north of Copenhagen, Denmark.[1] The station is located in the centre of the town, a short distance from Birkerød Church and Birkerød Lake.

Birkerød station is located on the Hillerød radial of Copenhagen's S-train network, a hybrid suburban rail and rapid transit system serving Greater Copenhagen.[3] It is served regularly by trains on the A-line which have a journey time to central Copenhagen of around 20 minutes.[1]

The station opened in 1864 with the opening of the North Line between Copenhagen and Helsingør via Hillerød, and has been served by the S-train network since 1968.[2][6] The original station building from 1864 was built to designs by the Danish architect Vilhelm Carl Heinrich Wolf (1833–1893).[4]

History

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2nd generation S-train at Birkerød in 1975.

Birkerød station opened on 8 June 1864 as the privately owned Det Sjællandske Jernbaneselskab (the Zealand Railway Company) opened the second section of the North Line which connected Copenhagen with Helsingør via Hillerød.[7] On 1 January 1880, the railway station was taken over by the Danish state along with the Zealand Railway Company.[8] And on 1 October 1885, it became part of the new national railway company, the Danish State Railways.[9]

When built, the railroad station was situated a bit outside the old village of Birkerød. The reason for this was that it had to be situated on a hill to make it easier to get the trains started again after stopping. However, the opening of the station led to economic growth in the area and several brickyards opened in the area in the second half of the 19th century, and construction of new residential neighbourhoods accelerated in the 1940s which, in time, made the old village of Birkerød merge with the villages of Bistrup to the south, Kajerød to the west and Ravnsnæs to the east, so today the station is located in the centre of the town.[10]

The railway line proved a great success, and in the 1930s the originally single-track railway line was expanded to double-track. As part of the doubling, an island platform with an associated platform tunnel and a short platform roof was built at the station.

On 26 May 1968, the station at Birkerød became integrated into the S-train network as the S-train line that serves the North Line was extended from Holte to Hillerød.[6]

Architecture

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Detail of the station building in 2007.

Like the other station buildings on the North and Klampenborg Lines, Birkerød station's original and still existing station building from 1864 was built to designs by the Danish architect Vilhelm Carl Heinrich Wolf (1833–1893).[4]

The station infrastructure was modernized in 2016 with a new bicycle parking station allowing direct access to the platforms, new platform roofs, and renovated stairs and underpass.[11][12]

Facilities

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Adjacent to the station is the Birkerød bus station. The station forecourt has a taxi stand, and the station also has a bicycle parking station as well as a car park with approximately 174 parking spaces.[1]

Operations

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4th generation S-train to Hillerød calling at Birkerød station in 2007.

Birekrød station is served regularly by trains on the A-line of Copenhagen's S-train network which run between Hillerød and Hundige / Køge via central Copenhagen.[3] Trains have a journey time to central Copenhagen of around 20 minutes and to Hillerød of around 10 minutes.[1]

Map of Birkerød showing the central location of the railway station.

Cultural references

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In 1984, the local art association arranged for the controversial Danish artist, film director and musician Jens Jørgen Thorsen to decorate an empty concrete wall at the station. He chose to paint the crucified Jesus with an erect penis, which some Christians found blasphemous.[13] After being approached by the Christian People's Party, the then Minister of Transport Arne Melchior ordered the Danish State Railways to have the art work painted over.[14] The affair led to a public debate about both blasphemy and freedom of expression.

Number of travellers

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According to the Østtællingen in 2008:[15]

År Antal År Antal År Antal År Antal
1957 1974 3.716 1991 4.413 2001 4.316
1960 1975 3.756 1992 4.312 2002 3.993
1962 1977 3.631 1993 4.523 2003 4.497
1964 1979 4.563 1995 4.662 2004 4.480
1966 1981 5.189 1996 4.444 2005 4.001
1968 3.036 1984 4.731 1997 4.462 2006 4.158
1970 3.509 1987 4.537 1998 4.446 2007 4.154
1972 3.818 1990 4.411 2000 4.431 2008 4.402
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See also

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Birkerød Station". DSB. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Birkerød Station (Bi)". danskejernbaner.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d "S-tog" (in Danish). DSB. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Thomas Kappel. "V.C.H. Wolf". Kunstindeks Danmark & Weilbach Kunstnerleksikon. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  5. ^ "Stationsforkortelser" (in Danish). DSB. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d "1960–1970 – S-togets historie" (in Danish). DSB. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  7. ^ Jensen 1972, p. 20.
  8. ^ Jensen 1972, p. 74.
  9. ^ Jensen 1972, p. 88.
  10. ^ "Birkerød" (in Danish). Rudersdal Kommune. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  11. ^ "Birkerød Station får et løft" (in Danish). DSB Ejendomme. 2016.
  12. ^ "Birkerød station" (in Danish). Gottlieb Paludan Architects. 2018.
  13. ^ Nielsen, Jacob (31 March 2010). "Erigeret Jesus vender tilbage til Birkerød" [Jesus returned to Birkerød Station]. Lokalavisen (in Danish). Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  14. ^ Nielsen, Karen (29 March 2010). "Jesus vendte tilbage til Birkerød Station" [Erect Jesus returns to Birkerød]. DR (in Danish). Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  15. ^ "Østtælling 2008 DSB og DSB S-tog". 2008-11-13. p. 17. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023.

Bibliography

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  • Jensen, Niels (1972). Danske Jernbaner 1847–1972 [Danish railways 1847–1972] (in Danish). Copenhagen: J. Fr. Clausens Forlag. ISBN 87-11-01765-1.
  • Poulsen, John; Christensen, Jens Ole; Thomassen, Peer; Zeeberg, Nils Kristian (1984). Københavns S-bane 1934-1984 (in Danish). Roskilde: Bane Bøger. ISBN 87-88632-01-6.
  • Poulsen, John; Larsen, Morten Flindt (2009). S-banen 1934-2009 (in Danish). Roskilde: Bane Bøger. ISBN 978-87-91434-20-4.
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