Worms Hauptbahnhof
Encyclopedia
is, along with Worms Brücke station and Worms Pfeddersheim station, one of three operational passenger stations in the Rhenish Hesse city of Worms, Germany
. The station with is its pedestrian underpass is also an essential link between the eastern and the western parts of central Worms. Every day it is used by about 15,000 people.
and Cologne
via Strasbourg
and Mainz
. Two years later, however, the plans of the Grand Duchies of Baden
, Hesse
and the Kingdom of Prussia
were dropped for economic and military reasons. Instead, the Main-Neckar line
was built on the east side of Rhine. Finally, in 1844 some citizens in Mainz and Worms took the initiative to establish a company for building a railway from Mainz to Worms, which was eventually called the Hessian Ludwig Railway
. But several factors such as the lean years of 1846 and 1847, the democratic uprising in 1848-1850
, various competing schemes of private investors, to connect the line with Bavarian Palatinate and thus also to Alsace
and Lorraine
, meant that only on 29 August 1852, could a contract with the Grand Duchy of Hesse and the Kingdom of Bavaria be signed for the extension of the line from Ludwigshafen by the Palatine Ludwig Railway Company
.
After an initial underestimation of freight traffic, extra facilities were built at Worms station in the following years: a loading dock, a goods shed and a marshalling yard. Now there were regular freight trains conveying sugar beet
, grain, coal and much else to the factories, mills and ports in Worms. Following the opening of the railway there was great growth in industry and population in Worms: in 1849 there were only 89 factory workers; in 1858, there were over 2,000 factory workers.
. The arrivals hall had a glazed vestibule and first, second and third class waiting rooms, as well as a royal waiting room. Moreover, there was now sleeping quarters for the station manager, meeting rooms and offices for the railway.
With the construction of new railway lines the Worms station again became inadequate. It had only three platforms, squeezed between Bahnhofstrasse and the goods shed.
to Mainz and Frankfurt am Main.
After about two and a half years of construction, the new station building and platforms was officially inaugurated on 31 March 1904. The approximately 110 metre-long front side of the station building on Bahnhofstrasse was dominated by its entrance hall, which was next to baggage handling facilities and administration offices. On the left side of the entrance hall were the third and fourth-class waiting rooms, in front of a dining room with a bar room; behind it was a corridor, which connected to the first and second class waiting rooms and the stationmaster accommodation. At the left end of the new station building there was also a royal pavilion.
Approximately 35 years later, at the end of the Second World War, great damage had been done to Worms station: as a result of an air raid on 18 March 1945, all tracks and the interlocking
s as well as the operations yard, with its rectangular shed, roundhouse and workshops, and the freight yard were completely destroyed. Furthermore, the station building was badly damaged. Subsequently, it took until mid-1945 before trains ran regularly again. Nevertheless, until the end of 1945, 38 of the 53 km of railway tracks in Worms station were still impassable, so that there was still time no train operations to Mainz. Only after the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1950, did rail operations in Worms return to normal.
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
. The station with is its pedestrian underpass is also an essential link between the eastern and the western parts of central Worms. Every day it is used by about 15,000 people.
Beginnings
The history of the railway began in 1836, when the governments of France and Bavaria were planning to build a railway along the western bank of the Rhine between BaselBasel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
and Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
via Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
and Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
. Two years later, however, the plans of the Grand Duchies of Baden
Grand Duchy of Baden
The Grand Duchy of Baden was a historical state in the southwest of Germany, on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918.-History:...
, Hesse
Grand Duchy of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine , or, between 1806 and 1816, Grand Duchy of Hesse —as it was also known after 1816—was a member state of the German Confederation from 1806, when the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was elevated to a Grand Duchy, until 1918, when all the German...
and the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
were dropped for economic and military reasons. Instead, the Main-Neckar line
Main-Neckar Railway
The Main-Neckar Railway is a main line railway west of the Odenwald in the Upper Rhine Plain of Germany that connects Frankfurt am Main to Heidelberg via Darmstadt, Bensheim and Weinheim...
was built on the east side of Rhine. Finally, in 1844 some citizens in Mainz and Worms took the initiative to establish a company for building a railway from Mainz to Worms, which was eventually called the Hessian Ludwig Railway
Hessian Ludwig Railway
The Hessian Ludwig Railway or HLB with its network of 697 kilometres of railway was one of the largest privately owned railway companies in Germany.- Early history :...
. But several factors such as the lean years of 1846 and 1847, the democratic uprising in 1848-1850
Revolutions of 1848 in the German states
The Revolutions of 1848 in the German states, also called the March Revolution – part of the Revolutions of 1848 that broke out in many countries of Europe – were a series of loosely coordinated protests and rebellions in the states of the German Confederation, including the Austrian Empire...
, various competing schemes of private investors, to connect the line with Bavarian Palatinate and thus also to Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
and Lorraine
Lorraine (région)
Lorraine is one of the 27 régions of France. The administrative region has two cities of equal importance, Metz and Nancy. Metz is considered to be the official capital since that is where the regional parliament is situated...
, meant that only on 29 August 1852, could a contract with the Grand Duchy of Hesse and the Kingdom of Bavaria be signed for the extension of the line from Ludwigshafen by the Palatine Ludwig Railway Company
Palatine Ludwig Railway Company
The Palatine Ludwigsbahn Company was a German railway concern that was founded to operate the Palatine Ludwig Railway in the Palatinate, a region of southwest Germany that was once part of the Kingdom of Bavaria within the German Empire.On 1 January 1870, the Palatine Ludwigsbahn Company, the...
.
The first station
There were discussions for six years in Worms on the location of the new station. The Worms council pressed for a central location near the Rhine port, near the present Rheintorplatz, but on 21 September 1852 the Hessian Ludwig Railway chose a site at the old Cemetery, now Albert-Schulte Park. On 24 August 1853 the line was opened from Mainz to Worms and three months later, on 15 November, the line was extended to Ludwigshafen.After an initial underestimation of freight traffic, extra facilities were built at Worms station in the following years: a loading dock, a goods shed and a marshalling yard. Now there were regular freight trains conveying sugar beet
Sugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...
, grain, coal and much else to the factories, mills and ports in Worms. Following the opening of the railway there was great growth in industry and population in Worms: in 1849 there were only 89 factory workers; in 1858, there were over 2,000 factory workers.
The second station
With the growth of passenger traffic, the old station buildings were inadequate. In 1871 the old station building was extended significantly. The new station building was built in the then fashionable neo-classical styleNeoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
. The arrivals hall had a glazed vestibule and first, second and third class waiting rooms, as well as a royal waiting room. Moreover, there was now sleeping quarters for the station manager, meeting rooms and offices for the railway.
With the construction of new railway lines the Worms station again became inadequate. It had only three platforms, squeezed between Bahnhofstrasse and the goods shed.
The third station
In 1890 the Worms town council called for the station’s reconstruction or a new station complex. Following considerable discussion on a new site for the station it was decided, however, to build a new station building on the site of the old station building. The new station now had ten tracks, half of them through tracks from Ludwigshafen and KaiserslauternKaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate forest . The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, and from Luxembourg.Kaiserslautern is home to 99,469 people...
to Mainz and Frankfurt am Main.
After about two and a half years of construction, the new station building and platforms was officially inaugurated on 31 March 1904. The approximately 110 metre-long front side of the station building on Bahnhofstrasse was dominated by its entrance hall, which was next to baggage handling facilities and administration offices. On the left side of the entrance hall were the third and fourth-class waiting rooms, in front of a dining room with a bar room; behind it was a corridor, which connected to the first and second class waiting rooms and the stationmaster accommodation. At the left end of the new station building there was also a royal pavilion.
Approximately 35 years later, at the end of the Second World War, great damage had been done to Worms station: as a result of an air raid on 18 March 1945, all tracks and the interlocking
Interlocking
In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junctions or crossings. The signalling appliances and tracks are sometimes collectively referred to as an interlocking plant...
s as well as the operations yard, with its rectangular shed, roundhouse and workshops, and the freight yard were completely destroyed. Furthermore, the station building was badly damaged. Subsequently, it took until mid-1945 before trains ran regularly again. Nevertheless, until the end of 1945, 38 of the 53 km of railway tracks in Worms station were still impassable, so that there was still time no train operations to Mainz. Only after the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1950, did rail operations in Worms return to normal.
Operations
Long distance
The major services are:| Line | Route | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Wiesbaden – Mainz – Worms – Mannheim – Stuttgart – München | One train per day | |
| Dortmund – Köln – Koblenz – Mainz – Worms – Stuttgart – München – Klagenfurt | Two trains | |
| Norddeich – Münster – Düsseldorf – Köln – Mainz – Worms – Baden-Baden – Konstanz | Two trains |
Regional
The following regional services run:| (R 44) | Mainz Mainz Hauptbahnhof is the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Mainz in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is used by about 80,000 travellers and visitors each day and is therefore one of the busiest 21 stations in Germany... – Worms – Frankenthal – Ludwigshafen Ludwigshafen am Rhein Ludwigshafen am Rhein is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Ludwigshafen is located on the Rhine opposite Mannheim. Together with Mannheim, Heidelberg and the surrounding region, it forms the Rhine Neckar Area.... – Speyer Speyer Speyer is a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities... – Germersheim Germersheim Germersheim is a town in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, of around 20,000 inhabitants. It is also the seat of the Germersheim district. The neighboring towns and cities are Speyer, Landau, Philippsburg, Karlsruhe and Wörth.-Coat of arms:... – Karlsruhe Karlsruhe The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states... |
Regional-Express, two hourly |
| (R 35) | Bingen Bingen am Rhein Bingen am Rhein is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.The settlement’s original name was Bingium, a Celtic word that may have meant “hole in the rock”, a description of the shoal behind the Mäuseturm, known as the Binger Loch. Bingen was the starting point for the... – Alzey Alzey Alzey is a Verband-free town – one belonging to no Verbandsgemeinde – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the fourth-largest town in Rhenish Hesse, after Mainz, Worms, and Bingen.... – Monsheim Monsheim Monsheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :... – Worms (Rheinhessen Railway) |
Regionalbahn RegionalBahn The Regionalbahn is a type of local passenger train in Germany.-Service:Regionalbahn trains usually call at all stations on a given line, with the exception of RB trains within S-Bahn networks, these may only call at selected stations... , hourly |
| (R 44) | Mainz Mainz Hauptbahnhof is the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Mainz in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is used by about 80,000 travellers and visitors each day and is therefore one of the busiest 21 stations in Germany... – Worms – Frankenthal – Ludwigshafen Ludwigshafen am Rhein Ludwigshafen am Rhein is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Ludwigshafen is located on the Rhine opposite Mannheim. Together with Mannheim, Heidelberg and the surrounding region, it forms the Rhine Neckar Area.... – Mannheim Mannheim Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart.... |
Regionalbahn, half hourly |
| (R 62) | Worms – Biblis Biblis Biblis is a community in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany.- Location :The community lies in the Rhine rift west of the Odenwald between Darmstadt to the north and Mannheim to the south; it also lies north of Bürstadt... (Ried Railway) (with connection to RE 70 to Frankfurt Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof is the central station for Frankfurt am Main. In terms of railway traffic, it is the busiest railway station in Germany. With about 350,000 passengers per day the station is the second most frequented railway station in Germany and one of the most frequented in Europe.- Proto-history :In the late... ) |
Regionalbahn, hourly |
| (R 63) | Worms – Bürstadt Bürstadt Bürstadt is a town in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany, 7 km east of Worms, and 17 km north of Mannheim.-Location:Bürstadt lies in the Rhine rift between the Rhine and the Odenwald, and thereby in the Hessisches Ried.... – Bensheim Bensheim Bensheim is a town in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany. Bensheim lies on the Bergstraße and at the edge of the Odenwald mountains while at the same time having an open view over the Rhine plain... (Nibelung Railway) |
Regionalbahn, hourly |