Bremerhaven Hauptbahnhof
Encyclopedia
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
. Museal services on the line to Bad Bederkesa also call at the station during weekends in summer.
at Geestemünde (now a borough of Bremerhaven). In 1896, the railway line to Cuxhaven was built, also connecting to the terminus station. Due to an increase in traffic, it was decided to abandon the old station and build a new one, because the old one, connected with single-track, can't be increased, and on July 1, 1914 the new station, then called Geestemünde-Bremerhaven, was opened together with a new, grade-separated line to Lehe and Cuxhaven.
When Geestemünde and Lehe were merged to form Wesermünde in 1924, the station was renamed to Wesermünde-Bremerhaven. The station building survived World War II, but the station hall was pulled down in the early 70's - having survived the railway electrification in 1966. The station name changed again when Wesermünde was renamed to Bremerhaven in 1947, and the station became known as Bremerhaven Hauptbahnhof.
From the mid-1990s to 2000, there used to be a daily InterCityExpress
service to Munich
, leaving Bremerhaven in the morning and arriving in the evening. This service was abandoned, leaving the station without long-distance services ever since. Due to the US Army barracks
in Bremerhaven, there also were regular military train services in the 1970s.
, along with the city government, have laid out plans to renovate the station. Renovation will include remodeling the platforms, raising them to improve accessibility, as well as removing one of the two staircases per platform and replacing them with a lift
. The station subway will also be renovated, as will the entrance hall. Renovation is estimated to be finished by 2009 and first was budgeted at €
8.2 million, of which the state of Bremen was supposed to pay 3.8 million. With this budget, it would not have been possible to fully restore the station hall, however, and lobbyist groups have called for additional funding to allow the removal of the hall's current low ceiling. After negotiations, the Deutsche Bahn
announced to rise its share of the € 8.2 million fund to € 800,000 on the condition that the city of Bremerhaven would pay € 600,000 to allow for the renovation of the entrance hall. The planned shortening of the station platforms to 210 metres is regarded as controversial, as city officials fear this will cut the station off the long-distance network indefinitely. DB, however, has claimed that even with a 210 m platform, a single ICE 2
unit could still call at the station, as these units are 205 metres long.
, EVB
and Nordseebahn call at the station. It is also frequently passed by freight train
s to and from the Bremerhaven seaport, a special through track exists for these trains. There is a RegionalExpress
connection to Osnabrück Hbf
via Bremen Hbf
, served by modern double decker trains. The other connections are local only, either operated by DB using renovated Silberling
carriages or by the private carriers using DMU
s, as the lines to Hamburg and Cuxhaven are not electrified. The next station to the north is Bremerhaven-Lehe
, the next station to the south is Bremerhaven-Wulsdorf
.
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven 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...
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 main railway hub for the city, offering regional connections to Bremen Hbf
Bremen Hauptbahnhof
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...
, Osnabrück Hbf
Osnabrück Hauptbahnhof
Osnabrück Hauptbahnhof or Osnabrück Hbf is a railway station located in Osnabrück, Germany. The station was opened in 1895 and is located on the Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg, Löhne–Rheine, Osnabrück–Bielefeld and the Oldenburg–Osnabrück lines. The train services are operated by Deutsche Bahn, NordWestBahn...
, Cuxhaven
Cuxhaven railway station
Cuxhaven is a railway station in northwestern Germany.The station is a terminal station with passenger services to Bremerhaven and to Hamburg. The Cuxhaven-Bremerhaven service is operated by Nordseebahn, a joint venture of several train operating companies. The Cuxhaven to Hamburg service, which...
, Bremervörde
Bremervörde railway station
Bremervörde is a railway station in northwestern Germany. It is owned and operated by EVB, with regular trains on the line between Bremerhaven and Hamburg-Neugraben. The Moorexpress heritage service also calls at the station on summer weekends....
and Hamburg Hbf
Hamburg Hauptbahnhof
is the Hauptbahnhof for the German city of Hamburg. It was opened in 1906 to replace 4 terminal stations. Hamburg Hauptbahnhof is operated by DB Station&Service...
. Museal services on the line to Bad Bederkesa also call at the station during weekends in summer.
History
First plans to build a railway link between Bremerhaven and Bremen were laid out as early as the 1850s. From 1859 to 1862, a line was built with a terminal stationTerminal Station
Terminal Station is a 1953 film by Italian director Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of the love affair between an Italian man and an American woman. The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.-Production:...
at Geestemünde (now a borough of Bremerhaven). In 1896, the railway line to Cuxhaven was built, also connecting to the terminus station. Due to an increase in traffic, it was decided to abandon the old station and build a new one, because the old one, connected with single-track, can't be increased, and on July 1, 1914 the new station, then called Geestemünde-Bremerhaven, was opened together with a new, grade-separated line to Lehe and Cuxhaven.
When Geestemünde and Lehe were merged to form Wesermünde in 1924, the station was renamed to Wesermünde-Bremerhaven. The station building survived World War II, but the station hall was pulled down in the early 70's - having survived the railway electrification in 1966. The station name changed again when Wesermünde was renamed to Bremerhaven in 1947, and the station became known as Bremerhaven Hauptbahnhof.
From the mid-1990s to 2000, there used to be a daily 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...
service to Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, leaving Bremerhaven in the morning and arriving in the evening. This service was abandoned, leaving the station without long-distance services ever since. Due to the US Army barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
in Bremerhaven, there also were regular military train services in the 1970s.
Renovation plans
Deutsche BahnDeutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
, along with the city government, have laid out plans to renovate the station. Renovation will include remodeling the platforms, raising them to improve accessibility, as well as removing one of the two staircases per platform and replacing them with a lift
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
. The station subway will also be renovated, as will the entrance hall. Renovation is estimated to be finished by 2009 and first was budgeted at €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
8.2 million, of which the state of Bremen was supposed to pay 3.8 million. With this budget, it would not have been possible to fully restore the station hall, however, and lobbyist groups have called for additional funding to allow the removal of the hall's current low ceiling. After negotiations, the Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
announced to rise its share of the € 8.2 million fund to € 800,000 on the condition that the city of Bremerhaven would pay € 600,000 to allow for the renovation of the entrance hall. The planned shortening of the station platforms to 210 metres is regarded as controversial, as city officials fear this will cut the station off the long-distance network indefinitely. DB, however, has claimed that even with a 210 m platform, a single ICE 2
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...
unit could still call at the station, as these units are 205 metres long.
Operational usage
Services operated by DB RegioDB Regio
DB Regio AG is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates short and medium distance passenger train services in Germany, and operates light and heavy rail infrastructure in the United Kingdom.-Germany:...
, EVB
Eisenbahnen und Verkehrsbetriebe Elbe-Weser
EVB Eisenbahnen und Verkehrsbetriebe Elbe-Weser GmbH is a German railway and bus company offering passenger and freight services that is headquartered in Zeven and Bremervörde...
and Nordseebahn call at the station. It is also frequently passed by freight train
Freight train
A freight train or goods train is a group of freight cars or goods wagons hauled by one or more locomotives on a railway, ultimately transporting cargo between two points as part of the logistics chain...
s to and from the Bremerhaven seaport, a special through track exists for these trains. There is a RegionalExpress
RegionalExpress
The term Regional-Express denotes a type of regional train in Germany and Austria .It is best compared to a semi-fast train, as it calls at fewer stations than Regionalbahn or S-Bahn trains, but stops more often than InterCity services...
connection to Osnabrück Hbf
Osnabrück Hauptbahnhof
Osnabrück Hauptbahnhof or Osnabrück Hbf is a railway station located in Osnabrück, Germany. The station was opened in 1895 and is located on the Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg, Löhne–Rheine, Osnabrück–Bielefeld and the Oldenburg–Osnabrück lines. The train services are operated by Deutsche Bahn, NordWestBahn...
via Bremen Hbf
Bremen Hauptbahnhof
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...
, served by modern double decker trains. The other connections are local only, either operated by DB using renovated Silberling
Silberling
Silberling is the colloquial name for the n-coaches of the Deutsche Bundesbahn, a type of regional passenger coach of which more than 7,000 units were built from 1958 to 1981...
carriages or by the private carriers using DMU
Diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...
s, as the lines to Hamburg and Cuxhaven are not electrified. The next station to the north is Bremerhaven-Lehe
Bremerhaven-Lehe railway station
Bremerhaven-Lehe is a railway station in the Lehe district of the city of Bremerhaven, Germany.-History:The station was opened in 1863 as an extension of the Bremen-Geestemünde line. In 1896, the line to Cuxhaven was opened...
, the next station to the south is Bremerhaven-Wulsdorf
Bremerhaven-Wulsdorf railway station
Bremerhaven-Wulsdorf is a railway station on the Bremen–Bremerhaven line in the Wulsdorf district of the city of Bremerhaven, Germany.-Operational usage:...
.