Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (abbrev. Hamburg Hbf), or Hamburg Central Railway Station in English, is the main railway station of the city of Hamburg, Germany. Opened in 1906 to replace four 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] It is classed by Deutsche Bahn as a category 1 railway station.[1]

Hamburg Hauptbahnhof
Deutsche Bahn
Hbf
Aerial view of Hamburg Hauptbahnhof
General information
Other namesHamburg Central Station (English translation)
LocationHachmannplatz 16, 20099 Hamburg
Germany
Coordinates53°33′10″N 10°00′23″E / 53.55278°N 10.00639°E / 53.55278; 10.00639
Line(s)
Platforms
Construction
Structure typeBelow grade
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station code2514
DS100 codeAH
IBNR8002549
Category1[1]
IATA: ZMB[2]
Fare zoneHVV: A/000[3]
Websitewww.bahnhof.de
History
Opened1906
Electrified 29 January 1908; 116 years ago (1908-01-29), 6.3 kV AC system (overhead; turned off in 1955)[4]
10 April 1941; 83 years ago (1941-04-10), 1.2 kV DC system (3rd rail)[4]
6 April 1965; 59 years ago (1965-04-06), 15 kV AC system (overhead)[4]
Passengers
480,000 (daily)[5]
Services
Preceding station DB Fernverkehr Following station
Hamburg Dammtor
towards Kiel Hbf
ICE 4 Hannover Hbf
Hamburg Dammtor ICE 11 Hamburg-Harburg
towards München Hbf
Berlin-Spandau
towards München Hbf
Terminus ICE 14 Hamburg-Harburg
One-way operation
Hamburg Dammtor ICE 15 Berlin Hbf
One-way operation
Hamburg Dammtor
towards Kiel Hbf
ICE 18 Ludwigslust
towards München Hbf
Hamburg Dammtor ICE 20 Hamburg-Harburg
towards Zürich HB
Hamburg Dammtor
One-way operation
ICE 22 Hamburg-Harburg
Hamburg Dammtor ICE 24 Hamburg-Harburg
IC 24
Königssee/​Nebelhorn
Hamburg-Harburg
Hamburg Dammtor ICE 25 Hamburg-Harburg
towards München Hbf
Hamburg Dammtor ICE 26 Hamburg-Harburg
Schwerin Hbf
Hamburg-Altona
Terminus
ICE 27 Büchen
towards Dresden Hbf
Hamburg-Bergedorf
One-way operation
Hamburg Dammtor IC/EC 27 Büchen
towards Praha or Budapest
Hamburg Dammtor ICE 28 Ludwigslust
towards München Hbf
Hamburg Dammtor ICE 29 Berlin-Spandau
towards München Hbf
Hamburg Dammtor IC 29 Ludwigslust
Hamburg Dammtor ICE 39 Essen Hbf
towards Köln Hbf
Hamburg Dammtor IC 39 Hamburg-Harburg
towards Köln Hbf
Hamburg Dammtor ICE 42 Hamburg-Harburg
towards München Hbf
ICE 43 Hamburg-Harburg
towards Basel SBB
Terminus IC 57 Ludwigslust
Schleswig IC 75 Terminus
Hamburg Dammtor ICE 91 Hamburg-Harburg
towards Wien Hbf
Preceding station ÖBB Following station
Hamburg Dammtor Nightjet Hamburg-Harburg
Hamburg-Harburg
towards Zürich HB
Preceding station Following station
Hamburg-Harburg
towards Köln Hbf
FLX 20 Terminus
Terminus FLX 35 Berlin Hbf
towards Leipzig Hbf
Preceding station DB Regio Nordost Following station
Terminus RE 1 Hamburg-Bergedorf
towards Rostock Hbf
Preceding station Metronom Following station
Terminus RE 3 Hamburg-Harburg
towards Hannover Hbf
RE 4 Hamburg-Harburg
towards Bremen Hbf
RB 31 Hamburg-Harburg
towards Lüneburg
RB 41 Hamburg-Harburg
towards Bremen Hbf
Preceding station Regionalverkehre Start Deutschland Following station
Terminus RE 5 Hamburg-Harburg
towards Cuxhaven
Preceding station DB Regio Nord Following station
Hamburg Dammtor
towards Flensburg or Kiel Hbf
RE 7 Terminus
Terminus RE 8 Bad Oldesloe
towards Hannover Hbf
Hamburg Dammtor
towards Kiel Hbf
RE 70 Terminus
Terminus RE 80 Ahrensburg
towards Lübeck Hbf
RB 81 Hamburg Hasselbrook
towards Bad Oldesloe
Preceding station Following station
Hamburg Dammtor
towards Itzehoe
RB 61 Terminus
Preceding station Hamburg S-Bahn Following station
Jungfernstieg
towards Wedel
S1 Berliner Tor
Hamburg Dammtor S2 Berliner Tor
towards Aumühle
Jungfernstieg
towards Pinneberg
S3 Hammerbrook
Hamburg Dammtor S5 Hammerbrook
towards Stade
Map
Location
Hamburg Hauptbanhof is located in Hamburg
Hamburg Hauptbanhof
Hamburg Hauptbanhof
Location in Hamburg
Hamburg Hauptbanhof is located in Schleswig-Holstein
Hamburg Hauptbanhof
Hamburg Hauptbanhof
Location in Schleswig-Holstein
Hamburg Hauptbanhof is located in Germany
Hamburg Hauptbanhof
Hamburg Hauptbanhof
Location in Germany
Hamburg Hauptbanhof is located in Europe
Hamburg Hauptbanhof
Hamburg Hauptbanhof
Location in 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

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Former Stations of Hamburg and new Central station
 
1870s: passenger train on the communication line to Venloer Bahnhof in the street in front of the Hamburg Berliner Bahnhof

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):

Temporary railway lines connecting the stations were built partly on squares and streets. When it was decided to erect a common station for all lines, a competition was arranged in 1900. Built between 1902 and 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",[citation needed] 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]

In 2021, the City of Hamburg announced a competition to design an expansion of the station as well as the redevelopment of the surrounding area.[9] In December 2022, it was announced that the expansion is expected to start in 2028.[10]

Facilities

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Station hall of Hamburg Hauptbahnhof

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.[11]

Since 2009, the station has switched all its toilets to water-saving 3.5-litre (0.92 US gal) 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.[12]

Train services

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The following lines connect to the station:

In 2008, 720 regional and long-distance trains, and 982 S-Bahn trains served the station per day. There were 8 platforms for the main lines.[citation needed][needs update]

The station is served by the following services:[13]

Long distance trains

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Hamburg Hauptbahnhof is one of the largest stations in northern Germany and connects Northern Europe's railway system, through Denmark, with Central Europe, as well as offering connections to Western Europe and Southern 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.[14] There are also several InterCity- and EuroCity- passenger train connections.[15] The station is a hub for international travel, and most passengers to or from Scandinavia must change in Hamburg.

Line Route Interval Operator
ICE 4 Kiel – Hamburg – Frankfurt – Frankfurt Flughafen – Mannheim – Stuttgart ( –Ulm –Augsburg –München) Some trains DB Fernverkehr
ICE 11 Hamburg-AltonaHamburgBerlinLeipzigErfurtFrankfurtStuttgartMunich
ICE 11 HamburgHannover – Frankfurt – Stuttgart – Frankfurt – Munich Some trains at night
ICE 14 Hamburg – Bremen – Münster – Essen – Cologne – Aachen Some trains
ICE 15 Hamburg-AltonaHamburg – Berlin – Berlin-Südkreuz
ICE 18 Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg – Berlin – Halle – Erfurt – NurembergIngolstadt – Munich Every two hours
ICE 20 (Kiel –) Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Frankfurt – MannheimKarlsruheFreiburgBasel - Zürich (- Chur)
ICE 22 (Kiel –) Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Frankfurt – Frankfurt Airport – Mannheim – (Heidelberg –) Stuttgart
IC 24 Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg – Hannover – KasselWürzburgAugsburg (train split) – BuchloeKempten – Immenstadt – Oberstdorf Some trains
MunichRosenheimFreilassingBerchtesgaden
ICE 24 Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg – Hannover – KasselWürzburg – Augsburg – Munich – Schwarzach-St. Veit
Innsbruck
ICE 25 (Lübeck –) Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – FuldaWürzburgNurembergIngolstadtMunich Every two hours
ICE 26 (Binz / Greifswald –) StralsundRostockSchwerinHamburg – Hannover – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Gießen – Frankfurt – Heidelberg – Karlsruhe
ICE 27 / IC 27 (Westerland /Flensburg –) Hamburg – Berlin (– Dresden) Some trains
EC 27 Hamburg – Berlin – Dresden – Prague (– BrnoBudapest) Every two hours ÖBB/DB
ICE 28 Hamburg – Berlin – Leipzig – Erfurt – Nuremberg – Munich DB Fernverkehr
ICE 29 Hamburg-Altona – HamburgBerlinErfurt – Nürnberg – Munich Some trains
IC 29 Westerland – NiebüllItzehoeHamburgLudwigslustBerlin-Gesundbrunnen
Dagebüll Mole –
ICE 39 Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg – Bremen – Münster – Essen – Cologne
IC 39 Westerland – NiebüllItzehoeHamburg – Bremen – Münster – Dortmund – Cologne
Dagebüll Mole –
ICE 42 Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg HbfBremenMünsterDortmundCologneStuttgart – Munich Every two hours
ICE 43 Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg Hbf – Bremen – Münster – Dortmund – Cologne – Frankfurt Airport – Mannheim – Basel
ICE 43 Binz – Stralsund – Hamburg Hbf – Bremen – Münster – Essen – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Frankfurt Airport – Mannheim – Basel One train pair
IC 57 HamburgLudwigslustWittenbergeStendalMagdeburg Some trains
IC 75 Hamburg – Lübeck – Puttgarden – Copenhagen
ICE 91 Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Fulda – Würzburg – Nuremberg – RegensburgPlattlingPassauLinzSt. Pölten Vienna One train pair
FLX 20 HamburgHamburg-HarburgOsnabrückMünsterGelsenkirchenEssen - DuisburgDüsseldorfCologne 2–3 train pairs FlixTrain
FLX 35 (Kiel –) Hamburg (– Salzwedel – Stendal) – Berlin (– Leipzig) 1–4 train pairs
Nightjet Hamburg – Nuremberg (train split) – Munich – Innsbruck One train pair ÖBB
Linz – Vienna
Hamburg – Bremen – Karlsruhe – Basel – Zurich
EuroNight Berlin – HamburgCopenhagen AirportMalmöLinköpingStockholm SJ
Snälltåget Berlin – Hamburg – Copenhagen – Malmö – Linköping – Stockholm One train pair seasonally Snälltåget

Regional trains

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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 – Hanover
RE 4 Hamburg Hbf – Buchholz – Rotenburg – Bremen
RE 5 Hamburg Hbf – Buxtehude – Stade – Cuxhaven
RE 7 Hamburg Hbf – Neumünster – Flensburg/Kiel
RE 8 Hamburg Hbf – Bad Oldesloe – Lübeck
RE 70 Hamburg Hbf – Pinneberg – Neumünster – Kiel
RE 80 Hamburg Hbf – Bad Oldesloe – Lübeck
RB 31 Hamburg – Winsen – Lüneburg
RB 41 Hamburg Hbf – Rotenburg – Bremen
RB 61 Hamburg Hbf – Pinneberg – Glückstadt – Itzehoe
RB 81 Hamburg Hbf – Ahrensburg – Bad Oldesloe

Rapid transit

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Hauptbahnhof Süd
 
General information
LocationHamburg, Germany
Operated byHamburger Hochbahn AG
Line(s)   
Platforms2 island platforms
Tracks4
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
AccessibleYes
Other information
Fare zoneHVV: A/000[16]
History
Opened15 February 1912; 112 years ago (1912-02-15)
Previous names1912-1968 Hauptbahnhof
Services
Preceding station Hamburg U-Bahn Following station
Steinstraße U1 Lohmühlenstraße
Mönckebergstraße
towards Barmbek
U3 Berliner Tor
Hauptbahnhof Nord
 
General information
LocationHamburg, Germany
Operated byHamburger Hochbahn AG
Line(s)   
Platforms2 island platforms
Tracks2
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
AccessibleYes
Other information
Fare zoneHVV: A/000[17]
History
Opened29 September 1968; 56 years ago (1968-09-29)
Services
Preceding station Hamburg U-Bahn Following station
Jungfernstieg U2 Berliner Tor
Jungfernstieg
towards Elbbrücken
U4 Berliner Tor
towards Billstedt

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).[18]

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.

The station Hauptbahnhof Nord (north), opened on 29 September 1968, serves the lines U2 and U4.

Neighbourhood

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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,[19] a museum for applied arts. The Hamburg Rathaus is down Mönckebergstraße, centre of a busy shopping district.

See also

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b "Stationspreisliste 2024" [Station price list 2024] (PDF) (in German). DB Station&Service. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  2. ^ Airport information for Hamburg Hauptbahnhof at Transport Search website.
  3. ^ "Tarifplan" (PDF). Hamburger Verkehrsverbund. 9 December 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  4. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c d e "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. ^ "Städtebaulicher Wettbewerb zur Erweiterung des Hauptbahnhofs gestartet".
  10. ^ "Erweiterung des Hamburger Hauptbahnhofs kostet mehrere Milliarden Euro". spiegel.de (in German).
  11. ^ Erlanger, Steven (23 January 2002). "Hamburg Journal; 'Judge Merciless' Thinks All Germany Needs Him". New York Times. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
  12. ^ "Humus vom Hamburger Hauptbahnhofs-WC". 28 August 2012.
  13. ^ "Elektronisches Kursbuch" [Timetables for Hamburg Hbf station]. Deutsche Bahn (in German).
  14. ^ ICE Netz 2008, DB Netz AG, Zentrale, Frankfurt am Main
  15. ^ IC Netz 2008, DB Netz AG, Zentrale, Frankfurt am Main
  16. ^ "Tarifplan" (PDF). Hamburger Verkehrsverbund. 9 December 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  17. ^ "Tarifplan" (PDF). Hamburger Verkehrsverbund. 9 December 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  18. ^ "Network plan" (PDF). HVV. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2009.
  19. ^ "WELCOME TO: MUSEUM FÜR KUNST UND GEWERBE HAMBURG". Archived from the original on 4 September 2009. Retrieved 13 September 2009.

Further reading

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  • 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.
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