It is a terminal station serving domestic and international traffic on several rail lines, and is situated in a city centre and waterfront location on the south side of Lake Lucerne.

[6][1] The first station was opened on edge of Lake Lucerne in 1856 at the end of the Schweizerische Centralbahn main line from Olten and Basel where it connected with the French and German railways.

The terminal station led directly to the pier for boat services on the lake and to the gates of the city of Lucerne.

[citation needed] A new station, designed by Hans Wilhelm Auer was opened in 1896 with a large new building with a distinctive cupola.

It was turned at almost 90° to the original station with its end to the north towards the bridge to central Lucerne, requiring a significantly changed approach line.

[7] The building burnt fiercely, and within an hour the cupola had collapsed, destroying the station frontage and concourse.

This is said to be the "heart of the new station, ... a multi-storey, generous sized public space that links the various functions of the city center with the railway".

The tunnel replaces a less direct surface alignment, allowing the removal of several congested level crossings and the provision of double track, but terminal platforms used by Brünig line trains remain unchanged.

The landing stages used by the passenger ships of the Schifffahrtsgesellschaft des Vierwaldstättersees (SGV) at Luzern Bahnhofquai occupy the lakeside of Bahnhofplatz, providing interchange between rail and water transport.