Starý Smokovec railway station explained

Starý Smokovec
Address:Stary Smokovec 5/30
06201 Starý Smokovec
Vysoké Tatry
Poprad District
Country: Slovakia
Coordinates:49.1392°N 20.2225°W
Distance:19.4km (12.1miles) from Poprad-Tatry
Elevation:1355m (4,446feet)
Line: Poprad-Tatry–Štrbské Pleso
Starý Smokovec–Tatranská Lomnica
(Tatra Electric Railway (TEŽ))
Owned:Železnice Slovenskej republiky (ŽSR)
Operator:Železnice Slovenskej republiky
Map Type:Slovakia
Map Size:300
Map State:expanded

Starý Smokovec railway station (Slovak: Železničná stanica Starý Smokovec) is a junction station in the High Tatras. It serves the ski, tourist and health resort of Starý Smokovec, in the Prešov Region, northeastern Slovakia.

Opened in 1908, the station is the focal point of the metre gauge Tatra Electric Railway (TEŽ). It forms the junction between the TEŽ's Poprad-Tatry–Štrbské Pleso main line and its only other line, the Starý Smokovec–Tatranská Lomnica branch.

The station is currently owned by Železnice Slovenskej republiky (ŽSR); train services are operated by Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko (ZSSK).

Location

Starý Smokovec railway station is right in the heart of Starý Smokovec, which forms part of the town of Vysoké Tatry, a conglomerate of separate and different settlements (originally separate villages). The only common feature of the Vysoké Tatry settlements is that they are the main tourist resorts in the Slovak High Tatras, connected through a common railway network, the TEŽ. After the country's capital, Vysoké Tatry is Slovakia's major tourist destination.

History

The station was opened on, together with the rest of the TEŽ's 19.4km (12.1miles) first stage, between Poprad-Tatry and Starý Smokovec.[1]

On 16 December 1911, Starý Smokovec became a temporary switchback station, with the opening of the 6km (04miles) branch between Starý Smokovec and Tatranská Lomnica.

The station was finally transformed into a junction station on 13 August 1912, when the rest of the TEŽ's main line was completed between Starý Smokovec and Štrbské Pleso.

Facilities

The station building is an attractive three-storey building of half timbered design. It houses information and ticketing facilities, and a restaurant.

Train services

Starý Smokovec railway station is the junction of the following High Tatras railway lines:

Interchange

The station offers interchange with local buses.

See also

References

Books

External links

Notes and References

  1. Catchpole, page 41