At Zürich HB, trains of the S25 service usually depart from ground-level tracks (Gleis) 3–18.
History
Between 1918 and 2004, there was no direct connection from the canton of Glarus to the city of Zürich. In 2004, the through Glarner Sprinter train was introduced, but financial and technical limitations meant this train only ran every two hours on weekdays, and twice a day on weekends and holidays. It also only reached Linthal, the terminus of the line in Glarus, on weekends and holidays. In July 2014, these limitations were finally overcome, and the Glarner Sprinter was replaced by the hourly S25 service to Linthal.[4]
Trains run hourly, covering the distance from Zürich Hauptbahnhof to Ziegelbrücke in 43 minutes, to Glarus in 60 minutes, and to Linthal in 94 minutes. Despite being classified as an S-Bahn train, the S25 actually covers the distance between Zürich Hauptbahnhof and Ziegelbrücke in a shorter time than the parallel InterRegio service to Chur. This mirrors the performance of its predecessor, the Glarner Sprinter named train, which was itself classified as a RegioExpress service.[6][7]
For its journey along the Lake Zürich left-bank line, the S25 is paralleled by other Zürich S-Bahn lines that provide more frequent, but slower, service. Principally amongst these, the S2 runs every 30 minutes as far as Ziegelbrücke, whilst the S8 runs every 30 minutes as far as Pfäffikon SZ. Between Ziegelbrücke and Schwanden, the S25 is paralleled by the hourly St. Gallen S-Bahn service S6, thus providing a half-hourly service.[5][6][7]
