Bremen Hauptbahnhof
Encyclopedia
is the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Bremen
in northwestern Germany
. It is the most important rail station for both the city and the state of Bremen
; InterCityExpress
, Intercity
, EuroCity
, CityNightLine
and DB NachtZug
services call at the station, which is situated to the Northeast of the city centre.
(then Wesermünde, Bremen–Bremerhaven line), Oldenburg
and Uelzen
(Uelzen–Langwedel railway
) were connected to the station. In 1870, the Köln-Mindener Eisenbahn, opening its Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg line
(Rollbahn), built another station some hundred metres north of the old station, since the old station could not cope with the additional Rollbahn traffic. Eventually, it was decided that a single station would be better, and so today's station was built from 1886 to 1891 after plans by Hubert Stier, with sculptures by Diedrich Samuel Kropp and Carl Dopmeyer. In 1907, additional tracks were added. Whilst the station hall has been remodeled several times due to war damage and modernisation, its basic outline still resembles the original 1880s building.
The station hall was thoroughly renovated in the late 1990s and early 2000s, merging the two formerly separated passenger tunnels into a single concourse. The station's platforms, however, were only partially renovated, but are expected to be refurbished from 2008 on for € 12.6 million.
The station features nine platform
tracks, of which seven are in the station hall. In the hall, two tracks serve as through tracks for freight traffic. The station is electrified since 1964 and has been thoroughly modernised during the late 1990s. Both the passenger and mail subways, which used to be separate, were joined together and the station's subway now features a rich selection of shops and food halls, akin to a shopping mall
. The platforms have been partly modernised as well (most notably platforms 5 and 6, which carry most of the southbound long distance traffic), and lifts have been put in.
Trains usually depart from:
The station is connected to the Bremen tram
way network operated by BSAG
by a large, six-track tram station in front of the main hall.
The sculptures on the façade, among other railway-related symbolisms, depict the coats of arms of the cities of Bremen and Hamburg, the original destinations of the line.
There is a large mural
inside the station's main hall, dating back to the 1950s and showing scenes from the city port. It went into oblivion when it was drywalled off and station announcement boards were put over it in the 1970s, but has been carefully renovated at the station's most recent interior overhaul and is now viewable to the public again.
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
in northwestern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is the most important rail station for both the city and the state of Bremen
Bremen (state)
The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen is the smallest of Germany's 16 states. A more informal name, but used in some official contexts, is Land Bremen .-Geography:...
; InterCityExpress
InterCityExpress
The Intercity-Express or ICE is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany and neighbouring countries. It is the highest service category offered by DB Fernverkehr and is the flagship of Deutsche Bahn...
, Intercity
Intercity (Deutsche Bahn)
Intercity is the second-highest train classification in Germany, after the ICE. Intercity services are loco-hauled express services, usually over long-distances. There are Intercity routes throughout Germany, and routes generally operate with a two-hour frequency, with multiple routes giving a more...
, EuroCity
EuroCity
EuroCity, abbreviated EC, denotes an international train service within the European inter-city rail network. In contrast to trains with the "IC" label, "EC" trains are international trains that meet certain criteria. The EuroCity label replaces the older Trans Europ Express name for...
, CityNightLine
CityNightLine
CityNightLine AG was a Swiss night train service. CNL had right of passage grants in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and Denmark. It served stations in Belgium, France, Italy and the Czech Republic...
and DB NachtZug
DB NachtZug
City Night Line is a category of night trains in Europe. They were originally operated by the former railway company CityNightLine AG...
services call at the station, which is situated to the Northeast of the city centre.
History
Bremen's first station was opened in 1847 on the site of today's Hauptbahnhof, on the line to Hanover. Later, lines leading to Vegesack (Bremen-Vegesack–Bremen line), BremerhavenBremerhaven Hauptbahnhof
is the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Bremerhaven in Northwestern Germany. It is the main railway hub for the city, offering regional connections to Bremen Hbf, Osnabrück Hbf, Cuxhaven, Bremervörde and Hamburg Hbf...
(then Wesermünde, Bremen–Bremerhaven line), Oldenburg
Oldenburg
Oldenburg is an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the western part of the state between the cities of Bremen and Groningen, Netherlands, at the Hunte river. It has a population of 160,279 which makes it the fourth biggest city in Lower Saxony after Hanover, Braunschweig...
and Uelzen
Uelzen
Uelzen is a town in northeast Lower Saxony, Germany, and capital of the county of Uelzen. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, a Hanseatic town and an independent municipality....
(Uelzen–Langwedel railway
Uelzen–Langwedel railway
The Uelzen–Langwedel railway runs through the Lüneburg Heath in north Germany in an east-west direction.- Imperial era :The Bremen State Railway, as it was first called, was originally built by the Bremen Senate and opened in 1873. It runs from Lower Saxon Langwedel eastwards through the Lüneburg...
) were connected to the station. In 1870, the Köln-Mindener Eisenbahn, opening its Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg line
Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg railway
The Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg railway is the shortest railway link between the Ruhr and the Hamburg Metropolitan Region and hence one of the most important railway lines in northwest Germany...
(Rollbahn), built another station some hundred metres north of the old station, since the old station could not cope with the additional Rollbahn traffic. Eventually, it was decided that a single station would be better, and so today's station was built from 1886 to 1891 after plans by Hubert Stier, with sculptures by Diedrich Samuel Kropp and Carl Dopmeyer. In 1907, additional tracks were added. Whilst the station hall has been remodeled several times due to war damage and modernisation, its basic outline still resembles the original 1880s building.
The station hall was thoroughly renovated in the late 1990s and early 2000s, merging the two formerly separated passenger tunnels into a single concourse. The station's platforms, however, were only partially renovated, but are expected to be refurbished from 2008 on for € 12.6 million.
Operational usage
The station sees 100 long-distance and 410 regional trains per day. About 100,000 passengers per day use the station.The station features nine platform
Railway platform
A railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. Almost all stations for rail transport have some form of platforms, with larger stations having multiple platforms...
tracks, of which seven are in the station hall. In the hall, two tracks serve as through tracks for freight traffic. The station is electrified since 1964 and has been thoroughly modernised during the late 1990s. Both the passenger and mail subways, which used to be separate, were joined together and the station's subway now features a rich selection of shops and food halls, akin to a shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
. The platforms have been partly modernised as well (most notably platforms 5 and 6, which carry most of the southbound long distance traffic), and lifts have been put in.
Trains usually depart from:
- Track 1 - OsnabrückOsnabrückOsnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest...
(Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg lineWanne-Eickel–Hamburg railwayThe Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg railway is the shortest railway link between the Ruhr and the Hamburg Metropolitan Region and hence one of the most important railway lines in northwest Germany...
) - Track 2 - OldenburgOldenburgOldenburg is an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the western part of the state between the cities of Bremen and Groningen, Netherlands, at the Hunte river. It has a population of 160,279 which makes it the fourth biggest city in Lower Saxony after Hanover, Braunschweig...
(Oldenburg–Bremen line), NordenhamNordenhamNordenham is a town in the Wesermarsch district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located at the mouth of the Weser river on the Butjadingen peninsula on the coast of the North Sea. The seaport city of Bremerhaven is located on the other side of the river...
(Hude–Blexen line) - Track 5 - Verden, HanoverHanoverHanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
(Bremen–Hanover line) - Track 6 - BremerhavenBremerhavenBremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
(Bremen–Bremerhaven line) - Track 7 - OsnabrückOsnabrückOsnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest...
(IntercityIntercity (Deutsche Bahn)Intercity is the second-highest train classification in Germany, after the ICE. Intercity services are loco-hauled express services, usually over long-distances. There are Intercity routes throughout Germany, and routes generally operate with a two-hour frequency, with multiple routes giving a more...
), DiepholzDiepholzDiepholz is a town and capital of the district of Diepholz, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Hunte, approximately 45 km northeast of Osnabrück, and 60 km southwest of Bremen....
(Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg lineWanne-Eickel–Hamburg railwayThe Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg railway is the shortest railway link between the Ruhr and the Hamburg Metropolitan Region and hence one of the most important railway lines in northwest Germany...
) - Track 8 - HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
(Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg lineWanne-Eickel–Hamburg railwayThe Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg railway is the shortest railway link between the Ruhr and the Hamburg Metropolitan Region and hence one of the most important railway lines in northwest Germany...
), UelzenUelzenUelzen is a town in northeast Lower Saxony, Germany, and capital of the county of Uelzen. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, a Hanseatic town and an independent municipality....
(Uelzen–Langwedel lineUelzen–Langwedel railwayThe Uelzen–Langwedel railway runs through the Lüneburg Heath in north Germany in an east-west direction.- Imperial era :The Bremen State Railway, as it was first called, was originally built by the Bremen Senate and opened in 1873. It runs from Lower Saxon Langwedel eastwards through the Lüneburg...
) - Track 9 - HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
(Metronom, Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg lineWanne-Eickel–Hamburg railwayThe Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg railway is the shortest railway link between the Ruhr and the Hamburg Metropolitan Region and hence one of the most important railway lines in northwest Germany...
) - Track 10 - RotenburgRotenburgRotenburg is the name of the following three towns in Germany:*Rotenburg an der Wümme, near Verden in Lower Saxony*Rotenburg an der Fulda, near Kassel in Hesse*Rothenburg ob der Tauber, in the Franconia region of Bavaria...
(Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg lineWanne-Eickel–Hamburg railwayThe Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg railway is the shortest railway link between the Ruhr and the Hamburg Metropolitan Region and hence one of the most important railway lines in northwest Germany...
)
The station is connected to the Bremen tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
way network operated by BSAG
Bremer Straßenbahn AG
Bremer Straßenbahn AG , often abbreviated BSAG, is the public transport provider for Bremen, Germany, offering tramway and bus services.- Horse tramway :...
by a large, six-track tram station in front of the main hall.
Trivia
There is a large mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
inside the station's main hall, dating back to the 1950s and showing scenes from the city port. It went into oblivion when it was drywalled off and station announcement boards were put over it in the 1970s, but has been carefully renovated at the station's most recent interior overhaul and is now viewable to the public again.