Valby station is a main line and S-train railway station serving the district of Valby in Copenhagen, Denmark.[1] The station is located in the central part of the district where one of its main arteries Toftegårds Allé crosses the railway line. It is located in a highly populated area, close to the location of the historic village of Valby.
Valby station is one of the most used stations in Copenhagen, and hence regional trains and some intercity trains also stop here.[1] It's an important railway junction, where the Tåstrup and Frederikssund radials of the S-train network diverge, and is served by trains on or from either radial.[3] Several express buses to Jutland also terminate and depart from this station.
History
The first railway station in Valby opened on 26 June 1847 as an intermediate station on the new Copenhagen–Roskilde railway line, the first railway line in the Kingdom of Denmark[a].[7] The station was located slightly east of the current station, and was originally meant to serve mostly leisure trips to nearby Frederiksberg; it had a booming traffic in the railway's first years, which however dwindled as the novelty wore off. The station was closed in 1864 when the second main station in Copenhagen opened and the railway line out of Copenhagen was displaced through Frederiksberg station instead of Valby station.
In 1911 the current (third) central station was inaugurated almost at the site of the first one, and the railway moved back to its original alignment through Valby. The current station was built, this time as a junction between the railways to Roskilde and Frederikssund. Over the years the city had grown towards Valby, so the station now had a sizeable native passenger base.
First generation S-train at Valby station in 1975.
On 1 November 1934, S-trains began running from central Copenhagen to a temporary platform at Valby east of Toftegårds Allé. When the inner part of Frederikssundbanen until Vanløse was electrified on 23 September 1941 the temporary platform closed and the S-trains now stopped at Valby station proper on their way to Vanløse.
In 1950–1953, the station was rebuilt once again with a grade-separated junction west of the platforms to join the S-train line towards Vanløse with the new line along Vestbanen, which was inaugurated on 17 June 1953.
Layout
The S-train platforms at Valby station, seen from the Toftegårds Allé bridge
The station has two island platforms plus one track extra, for the S-trains towards Ballerup and (further out) Frederikssund. S-trains in direction to Copenhagen City Centre from Høje Taastrup and Ballerup/Frederikssund use one track each. And regional trains (and a few other trains) uses the other platform, with its two tracks.
All tracks are electrified, however some regional trains and Inter City trains, do still in 2017 use diesel.
Jensen, Niels (1972). Danske Jernbaner 1847–1972 [Danish railways 1847–1972] (in Danish). Copenhagen: J. Fr. Clausens Forlag. ISBN87-11-01765-1.
Poulsen, John (1997). Byens Baner: Jernbanen i København gennem 150 år (in Danish). Roskilde: Bane Bøger. ISBN87-88632-67-9.
Poulsen, John; Christensen, Jens Ole; Thomassen, Peer; Zeeberg, Nils Kristian (1984). Københavns S-bane 1934-1984 (in Danish). Roskilde: Bane Bøger. ISBN87-88632-01-6.
