Hamburg Hauptbahnhof

Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (abbrev. Hamburg Hbf) is the main railway station of the city of Hamburg, Germany and is classed by Deutsche Bahn as a category 1 railway station.[1] Opened in 1906 to replace 4 separate terminal stations, today Hamburg Hauptbahnhof is operated by DB Station&Service AG. With an average of 550,000 passengers a day, it is Germany's busiest railway station and the second-busiest in Europe after the Gare du Nord in Paris.[6]

Hamburg Hauptbahnhof S U
Hbf
Aerial view of Hamburg Hauptbahnhof
Location	Hachmannplatz 16, 20099 Hamburg Germany
Coordinates	53°33′10″N 10°00′23″E
Line(s)	Berlin–Hamburg Railway Hanover–Hamburg railway Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg railway Lower Elbe Railway Lübeck–Hamburg railway Hamburg-Altona link line
Platforms	8 main line 4 S-Bahn 8 U-Bahn (6 in usage)
Other information
Station code	2514
DS100 code	AH
IBNR	8002549
Category	1[1] IATA: ZMB[2]
Fare zone	HVV: A/000[3]
Website	www.bahnhof.de
History
Opened	1906
Electrified	29 January 1908 (1908-01-29), 6.3 kV AC system (overhead; turned off in 1955)[4] 10 April 1941 (1941-04-10), 1.2 kV DC system (3rd rail)[4] 6 April 1965 (1965-04-06), 15 kV AC system (overhead)[4]
Traffic
Passengers	480,000 (daily)[5]
Services
Preceding station   DB Fernverkehr   Following station Hamburg Dammtor towards Hamburg-Altona ICE 11 via Stuttgart - Frankfurt - Erfurt - Leipzig - Berlin Hannover towards Munich ICE 18 via Nürnberg - Erfurt - Halle (Saale) - Berlin Berlin-Spandau towards Munich ICE 20 Hannover towards Basel SBB ICE 22 Hannover towards Stuttgart ICE 25 via Hannover - Fulda - Würzburg - Nürnberg Hamburg-Harburg towards Munich ICE 26 Hamburg-Harburg towards Karlsruhe ICE 28 via Nürnberg - Erfurt - Leipzig - Berlin Ludwigslust towards Munich ICE 31 Hamburg-Harburg towards Frankfurt ICE 91 Hamburg-Harburg towards Vienna Hamburg Dammtor towards Westerland (Sylt) IC/EC 27 Büchen towards Budapest Hamburg Dammtor towards Hamburg-Altona IC/EC 30 Hamburg-Harburg towards Stuttgart IC/EC 31 Hamburg-Harburg towards Frankfurt Lübeck towards Copenhagen Central IC/EC 75 Terminus Hamburg Dammtor towards Aarhus Central IC/EC 76 Terminus Preceding station   FlixTrain   Following station Hamburg-Harburg towards Cologne FLX 20 via Münster Terminus Preceding station   DB Regio Nord   Following station Terminus RE 1 Hamburg-Bergedorf toward Büchen Hamburg Dammtor toward Kiel Hbf or Flensburg RE 7 via Neumünster Terminus Hamburg Dammtor toward Kiel Hbf RE 70 via Neumünster Terminus Terminus RE 8 via Bad Oldesloe Bad Oldesloe toward Lübeck-Travemünde Strand Terminus RE 80 via Ahrensburg - Bad Oldesloe Ahrensburg toward Lübeck Hbf Terminus RE 85 Hamburger Strand-Express via Lübeck Ahrensburg toward Puttgarden Terminus RB 81 Hamburg Hasselbrook toward Bad Oldesloe Preceding station   DB Regio Nordost   Following station Terminus IRE Hamburg-Harburg toward Berlin Hbf Terminus RE 1 Hanse-Express via Schwerin Hamburg-Bergedorf toward Rostock Hbf Preceding station   Metronom   Following station Terminus RE 3 Hamburg-Harburg toward Hannover Hbf Terminus RE 4 Hamburg-Harburg toward Bremen Hbf Terminus RB 31 Hamburg-Harburg toward Lüneburg Terminus RB 41 Hamburg-Harburg toward Bremen Hbf Preceding station   Verkehrsgesellschaft Start Unterelbe   Following station Terminus RE 5 Hamburg-Harburg toward Cuxhaven Preceding station   Hamburg S-Bahn   Following station Jungfernstieg toward Wedel S 1 Berliner Tor toward Poppenbüttel or Hamburg Airport (Flughafen) Dammtor toward Blankenese S 11 Berliner Tor toward Poppenbüttel Jungfernstieg toward Altona S 2 Berliner Tor toward Bergedorf Dammtor toward Elbgaustraße S 21 Berliner Tor toward Aumühle Jungfernstieg toward Pinneberg S 3 Hammerbrook toward Stade Dammtor toward Altona S 31 Hammerbrook toward Neugraben Preceding station   AKN Eisenbahn   Following station Dammtor toward Neumünster A1 Terminus
Location
Hamburg Hauptbanhof Location in Hamburg Show map of Hamburg Hamburg Hauptbanhof Location in Schleswig-Holstein Show map of Schleswig-Holstein Hamburg Hauptbanhof Location in Germany Show map of Germany Hamburg Hauptbanhof Location in Europe Show map of Europe

The station is a through station with island platforms and is one of Germany's major transportation hubs, connecting long-distance Intercity Express routes to the city's U-Bahn and S-Bahn rapid transit networks. It is centrally located in Hamburg in the Hamburg-Mitte borough. The Wandelhalle shopping centre occupies the north side of the station building.

History

Before today's central station was opened, Hamburg had several smaller stations located around the city centre. The first railway line (between Hamburg and Bergedorf) was opened on 5 May 1842, coincidentally the same day that the "great fire" (der große Brand) ruined most of the historic city centre. The stations were as follows (each of them only a few hundred metres away from the others):

• Berliner Bahnhof (1846), on the site of today's Deichtorhallen, on the right bank of the Elbe river; terminus of the line to Berlin
• Lübecker Bahnhof (1865), terminus of the line to Lübeck
• Klosterthor Bahnhof (1866), eastern terminus of the Hamburg-Altona link line
• Venloer Bahnhof (1872), since 1892 named "Hannoverscher Bahnhof", on the line across the river Elbe. (The line splits in Harburg into the lines to Venlo and to Hanover).

Temporary railway lines connecting the stations were built partly on squares and streets. When it was decided to build a common station for all lines, a competition was arranged in 1900. Built between 1902-1906, the Hamburg Hauptbahnhof was designed by the architects Heinrich Reinhardt and Georg Süßenguth, modeled after the Galerie des machines of the World's Fair of 1889 in Paris, by Louis Béroud.[7] The German emperor William II declared the first draft to be "simply horrible", but the second draft was eventually constructed. The emperor personally changed the Art Nouveau style elements to Neo-Renaissance, giving the station a fortification-like character.[8] The station was opened for visitors on 4 December 1906, the first train arrived the next day, and scheduled trains started on 6 December 1906.[7]

On 9 November 1941, during the Second World War, the station was badly damaged by Allied bombing. Several areas needed to be rebuilt completely, including the baggage check and the eastern ticket counters. One of the clock towers was destroyed in 1943.[7]

Between 1985 and 1991 the station was renovated.[7]

Facilities

Hamburg Hauptbahnhof is 206 m (676 ft) long, 135 m (443 ft) wide, and 37 m (121 ft) high. It has 8,200-square-metre (88,000 sq ft) rentable area and 27,810 m² (299,300 sq ft) in total. The clock towers are 45 m (148 ft), and the clocks have a diameter of 2.2 m (7 ft 3 in). The track shed is constructed of iron and glass and spans the main line platforms and two S-Bahn tracks. The platforms are reached from two bridges at street level, one at each end of the track shed; from the northern bridge by stairs and by lifts, and from the southern bridge by escalators. Two other S-Bahn tracks and the subway tracks are in a connected tunnel system.

The Wandelhalle (Promenade Hall) is a small shopping centre with extended opening hours. It was built in 1991 during the renewal of the beam construction. It is located on the northern bridge and includes restaurants, flower shops, kiosks, a pharmacy, service centres and more. The upper floor also has a gallery surrounding the hall.[7]

Since 2008, in an effort to disperse drug dealers and users from the area, Deutsche Bahn has been playing classical music (e.g. Vivaldi's Four Seasons). According to the German newspaper Hamburger Abendblatt this is a success.[9]

Since 2009 the station has switched all its toilets to water-saving 3.5-litre toilets. In 2012 they started producing Terra Preta in the basement by filtering the excrement and mixing it with charcoal and microbes. The fluids are cleaned and nutrients are extracted. Even pharmaceuticals can be filtered out.[10]

Former Stations of Hamburg and new Central station

1870s: passenger train on the communication line to Venloer Bahnhof in the street in front of Berliner Bahnhof

Train services

The following lines connect to the station:

• Berlin–Hamburg railway
• Hanover–Hamburg railway
• Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg railway (to Bremen and the Ruhr)
• Lower Elbe Railway
• Lübeck–Hamburg railway
• Hamburg-Altona link line (connecting to Hamburg-Altona–Kiel railway)

In 2008, 720 regional and long distance trains, and 982 S-Bahn trains served the station per day. There were 6 platforms for the main lines.

The station is served by the following services:[11]

Long distance trains

Hamburg Hauptbahnhof is one of the largest stations in northern Germany and connects Denmark with central Europe. There are permanent InterCityExpress lines to Berlin, Frankfurt (Main), continuing to Stuttgart and Munich, and Bremen, continuing to the Ruhr Area and Cologne. To the north ICE trains connect Hamburg with Aarhus and Copenhagen in Denmark and Kiel in Schleswig-Holstein.[12] There are also several InterCity- and EuroCity- passenger train connections.[13] The station is a hub for international travel, and most passengers to or from Scandinavia must change in Hamburg.

Line	Route	Interval	Operator
ICE 11	Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg – Berlin – Leipzig – Erfurt – Frankfurt – Stuttgart – Munich	Individual services	DB Fernverkehr
ICE 11	Hamburg – Hannover – Frankfurt – Stuttgart – Frankfurt – Munich	Individual services at night	DB Fernverkehr
ICE 18	Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg – Berlin – Halle – Erfurt – Nuremberg – Ingolstadt/Augsburg – Munich	Every two hours	DB Fernverkehr
ICE 20	(Kiel –) Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Frankfurt – Mannheim – Karlsruhe – Freiburg – Basel - Zürich (-  Chur)	Every two hours	DB Fernverkehr
ICE 22	(Kiel –) Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Frankfurt – Frankfurt Airport – Mannheim – (Heidelberg –) Stuttgart	Every two hours	DB Fernverkehr
ICE 25	(Lübeck –) Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Fulda – Würzburg – Nuremberg – Ingolstadt – Munich (– Garmisch-Partenkirchen)	Hourly	DB Fernverkehr
ICE 26	(Binz –) Stralsund – Rostock – Schwerin – Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Gießen – Frankfurt – Heidelberg – Karlsruhe	Every two hours	DB Fernverkehr
EC 27	(Westerland –) Hamburg – Berlin – Dresden – Prague – Brno — Budapest	Two train pairs	ÖBB/DB
ICE 28	Hamburg – Berlin – Leipzig – Erfurt – Nuremberg – Munich	Hourly	DB Fernverkehr
EC 30	Hamburg-Altona - Hamburg - Bremen - Osnabrück - Münster - Dortmund - Bochum - Essen - Duisburg - Düsseldorf -Cologne - Bonn - Koblenz - Mainz - Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Baden-Baden - Freiburg - Basel - Zürich - / Interlaken Ost	4 train pairs	DB Fernverkehr/SBB
IC 30	Hamburg-Altona - Hamburg – Bremen – Osnabrück – Münster – Dortmund – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Stuttgart (or Karlsruhe – Freiburg – Basel – Zürich – Chur)	Every two hours	DB Fernverkehr
ICE 30	Hamburg-Altona - Hamburg - Bremen - Diepholz - Osnabrück - Münster - Dortmund - Bochum - Essen - Duisburg - Düsseldorf - Cologne	One train	DB Fernverkehr
ICE 31	Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg – Bremen – Osnabrück – Münster – Dortmund – Hagen – Wuppertal – Solingen – Cologne – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – Frankfurt Airport – Frankfurt	Individual services	DB Fernverkehr
IC 31	(Kiel –) Hamburg – Bremen – Osnabrück – Münster – Dortmund – Wuppertal – Cologne – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – Frankfurt (– Würzburg – Nürnberg – Regensburg – Straubing – Passau)	Every two hours	DB Fernverkehr
ICE 42	Hamburg-Altona - Hamburg - Bremen - Münster - Dortmund - Cologne - /Köln Messe/Deutz - Stuttgart - Munich -	One train pair	DB Fernverkehr
IC/EC 75	Hamburg – Lübeck – Puttgarden – Copenhagen	Individual services	DB Fernverkehr
IC 76	Aarhus – Flensburg – Neumünster – Hamburg	Individual services	DB Fernverkehr
ICE 91	Hamburg-Altona  – Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Fulda – Würzburg – Nürnberg – Regensburg – Plattling – Passau – Linz – St. Pölten – Vienna	One train pair	DB Fernverkehr
FLX 20	Hamburg – Hamburg-Harburg – Osnabrück – Münster – Gelsenkirchen – Essen - Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Cologne	1–3 train pairs	Bahntouristikexpress

Regional trains

There are numerous RegionalExpress and RegionalBahn services to Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Bremen.

Line	Route
RE 1	Hamburg Hbf – Schwerin – Rostock
RE 3	Hamburg Hbf – Lüneburg – Uelzen
RE 4	Bremen – Rotenburg – Buchholz – Hamburg Hbf
RE 5	Cuxhaven – Stade – Buxtehude – Hamburg Hbf
RE 7	Hamburg Hbf – Neumünster – Flensburg
RE 8	Hamburg Hbf – Bad Oldesloe – Lübeck – Travemünde
RE 70	Hamburg Hbf – Pinneberg – Neumünster – Kiel
RE 80	Hamburg Hbf – Ahrensburg – Lübeck
RB 31	Hamburg Hbf – Lüneburg – Uelzen
RB 41	Bremen – Rotenburg – Buchholz – Hamburg Hbf
RB 61	Hamburg Hbf – Pinneberg – Glückstadt – Itzehoe
RB 81	Hamburg Hbf – Ahrensburg – Bad Oldesloe
IRE	Hamburg Hbf – Lüneburg – Berlin

Rapid transit

Hauptbahnhof Süd
Location	Hamburg, Germany
Operated by	Hamburger Hochbahn AG
Line(s)	U 1 U 3
Platforms	2 island platforms
Tracks	4
Construction
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	HVV: A/000[14]
History
Opened	15 February 1912 (1912-02-15)
Previous names	1912-1968 Hauptbahnhof

Hauptbahnhof Nord
Location	Hamburg, Germany
Operated by	Hamburger Hochbahn AG
Line(s)	U 2 U 4
Platforms	2 island platforms
Tracks	2
Construction
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	HVV: A/000[15]
History
Opened	29 September 1968 (1968-09-29)

Beside the inter-urban rail services, the Hauptbahnhof is also the central intersection for two of the three rapid transport systems in the city: the Hamburg S-Bahn (suburban railway) and the Hamburg U-Bahn (underground network).[16]

The S-Bahn platforms are located inside the station itself (platforms 3 and 4, going eastwards to Barmbek, Harburg and Bergedorf) and in a separate tunnel, adjacent to the station building (platforms 1 and 2, going westwards to Altona, Wedel and Eidelstedt).

The U-Bahn is split in two stations: Hauptbahnhof Süd (south) and serving the lines U1 and U3. This part of the station had been included in the 1900 planning for the new station (the construction for the subway started in 1906, the "ring" was opened in four stages between February and June 1912. Until 28 September 1968, this station was simply called Hauptbahnhof without any suffix. There were two lines: the original Ring (opened in 1912) and the southeastern branch line (opened on 27 July 1915) leading to Rothenburgsort, the tracks and stations of which have been destroyed in the Operation Gomorra on 28 July 1943 and never been rebuilt.

Preceding station		Hamburg U-Bahn		Following station
Steinstraße toward Norderstedt Mitte		U 1		Lohmühlenstraße toward Großhansdorf or Ohlstedt
Mönckebergstraße toward Barmbek		U 3		Berliner Tor toward Wandsbek-Gartenstadt

The station Hauptbahnhof Nord (north), opened on 29 September 1968, serves the line U2, but only using the two middle tunnels (out of four). The two outer tunnels were built in advance for a future line U4 (which has never been constructed) and are currently used for a visual arts installation.

Preceding station		Hamburg U-Bahn		Following station
Jungfernstieg toward Niendorf Nord		U 2		Berliner Tor toward Mümmelmannsberg
Jungfernstieg toward Elbbrücken		U 4		Berliner Tor toward Billstedt

Neighbourhood

The station is located on the Wallring in Hamburg's city centre, between the districts Altstadt and St. Georg. Directly nearby are the Deutsches Schauspielhaus theatre in the St. Georg quarter, one of Hamburg's a state theatres, the Kunsthalle, an art gallery, and the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg,[17] a museum for applied arts. The Hamburg Rathaus is down Mönckebergstraße, centre of a busy shopping district.

See also

• Hamburger Verkehrsverbund Public transport association in Hamburg
• Hamburger Hochbahn Operator of the Hamburg U-Bahn (Underground)
• S-Bahn Hamburg Operator of the Hamburg S-Bahn (Suburban Train)

References

Notes

1. "Stationspreisliste 2020" [Station price list 2020] (PDF) (in German). DB Station&Service. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
2. Airport information for Hamburg Hauptbahnhof at Transport Search website.
3. "Tarifplan" (PDF). Hamburger Verkehrsverbund. 9 December 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
4. Cf. „Streckenelektrifizierungen“, on: Königlich preußische Eisenbahndirection zu Altona, retrieved on 19 January 2018.
5. "Bindeglied zwischen Süd- und Osteuropa (Link to Southern and Eastern Europe)" (in German). Deutsche Bahn. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
6. Riefenstahl, Jörg (2018-08-06). "Chaos im Hauptbahnhof: SPD kündigt Konsequenzen für HVV an". www.abendblatt.de (in German). Retrieved 2018-12-14.
7. "100 Jahre Hamburger Hauptbahnhof" (PDF) (in German). DB Station&Service. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 2009-09-07.
8. Todt, Hartwig (2005). "Hauptbahnhof". Hamburg Lexikon (in German) (3 ed.). Ellert&Richter. p. 232. ISBN 3-8319-0179-1.
9. Erlanger, Steven (23 January 2002). "Hamburg Journal; 'Judge Merciless' Thinks All Germany Needs Him". New York Times. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
10. http://www.abendblatt.de/ratgeber/wissen/article108828425/Humus-vom-Hamburger-Hauptbahnhofs-WC.html
11. "Elektronisches Kursbuch" [Timetables for Hamburg Hbf station]. Deutsche Bahn (in German).
12. ICE Netz 2008, DB Netz AG, Zentrale, Frankfurt am Main
13. IC Netz 2008, DB Netz AG, Zentrale, Frankfurt am Main
14. "Tarifplan" (PDF). Hamburger Verkehrsverbund. 9 December 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
15. "Tarifplan" (PDF). Hamburger Verkehrsverbund. 9 December 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
16. "Network plan" (PDF). HVV. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2009.
17. "WELCOME TO: MUSEUM FÜR KUNST UND GEWERBE HAMBURG". Archived from the original on 4 September 2009. Retrieved 13 September 2009.

Further reading

• Hoyer, Hermann; Lawrenz, Dierk; Wiesmüller, Benno (2006). Hamburg Hauptbahnhof: 1906–2006 – 100 Jahre Zentrum der Stadt [Hamburg Hauptbahnhof: 1906–2006 – 100 Years Centre of the City] (in German). Freiburg i.B.: EK-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-88255-721-3.

External links

• "Current departure time in Hamburg Hbf". Deutsche Bahn. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
• Hamburg Central Station at Structurae
• (in German) DB station information
• (in German) Picture of the Hamburg Hauptbahnhof
• (in German) shopping center Wandelhalle Hamburg Hauptbahnhof