Contents

Hamburg Hauptbahnhof

Aerial view of Hamburg Hauptbahnhof

Hamburg Central Station (English translation)

Hachmannplatz 16, 20099 Hamburg
Germany

53°33′10″N 10°00′23″E / 53.55278°N 10.00639°E / 53.55278; 10.00639

Below grade

2514

AH

8002549

1^[1]
IATA: ZMB^[2]

HVV: A/000^[3]

www.bahnhof.de

1906

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]

ICE 4

ICE 11

ICE 14

ICE 15

ICE 18

ICE 20

ICE 22

ICE 24

ICE 25

ICE 26

ICE 27

IC/EC 27

ICE 28

ICE 29

IC 29

ICE 39

IC 39

ICE 42

ICE 43

EC 43

IC 57

IC 75

Terminus

ICE 91

ÖBB

Following station

Nightjet

Following station

FLX 20

Terminus

FLX 35

DB Regio Nordost

Following station

RE 1

Metronom

Following station

RE 3

RE 4

RB 31

RB 41

Regionalverkehre Start Deutschland

Following station

RE 5

DB Regio Nord

Following station

RE 7

Terminus

RE 8

RE 70

Terminus

RE 80

RB 81

Following station

RB 61

Terminus

Hamburg S-Bahn

Following station

S1

S2

S3

S5

Location

Hamburg Hauptbanhof

Location in Hamburg

Show map of Hamburg

Hamburg Hauptbanhof

Location in Schleswig-Holstein

Hamburg Hauptbanhof

Location in Germany

Hamburg Hauptbanhof

Location in Europe

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]

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[edit]

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 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[edit]

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[edit]

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 8 platforms for the main lines.^{[citation needed][needs update]}

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

Long distance trains[edit]

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 CopenhageninDenmark and KielinSchleswig-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.

Operator

Kiel – Hamburg – Frankfurt – Frankfurt Flughafen – Mannheim – Stuttgart ( –Ulm –Augsburg –München)

Some trains

DB Fernverkehr

Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg – Berlin – Leipzig – Erfurt – Frankfurt – Stuttgart – Munich

Hamburg – Hannover – Frankfurt – Stuttgart – Frankfurt – Munich

Some trains at night

Hamburg – Bremen – Münster – Essen – Cologne – Aachen

Some trains

Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg – Berlin – Berlin-Südkreuz

Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg – Berlin – Halle – Erfurt – Nuremberg – Ingolstadt – Munich

Every two hours

(Kiel –) Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Frankfurt – Mannheim – Karlsruhe – Freiburg – Basel - Zürich (- Chur)

(Kiel –) Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Frankfurt – Frankfurt Airport – Mannheim – (Heidelberg –) Stuttgart

Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel – Würzburg – Augsburg (train split) –

– Buchloe – Kempten – Immenstadt – Oberstdorf

Some trains

Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel – Würzburg – Augsburg – Munich –

Schwarzach-St. Veit

(Lübeck –) Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Fulda – Würzburg – Nuremberg – Ingolstadt – Munich

Every two hours

(Binz / Greifswald –) Stralsund – Rostock – Schwerin – Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Gießen – Frankfurt – Heidelberg – Karlsruhe

(Westerland /Flensburg –) Hamburg – Berlin (– Dresden)

Some trains

Hamburg – Berlin – Dresden – Prague (– Brno – Budapest)

Every two hours

ÖBB/DB

Hamburg – Berlin – Leipzig – Erfurt – Nuremberg – Munich

DB Fernverkehr

Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg – Berlin – Erfurt – Nürnberg – Munich

Some trains

Westerland –

Niebüll – Itzehoe – Hamburg – Ludwigslust –Berlin-Gesundbrunnen

Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg – Bremen – Münster – Essen – Cologne

Westerland –

Niebüll – Itzehoe – Hamburg – Bremen – Münster – Dortmund – Cologne

Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg Hbf – Bremen – Münster – Dortmund – Cologne – Stuttgart – Munich

Every two hours

Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg Hbf – Bremen – Münster – Dortmund – Cologne – Frankfurt Airport – Mannheim – Basel

Binz – Stralsund – Hamburg Hbf – Bremen – Münster – Essen – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Frankfurt Airport – Mannheim – Basel

One train pair

Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg Hbf – Bremen – Osnabrück – Münster – Dortmund – Bochum – Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Karlsruhe – Baden-Baden – Freiburg – Basel – Zürich – / Interlaken Ost

Two train pairs

Hamburg – Ludwigslust – Wittenberge – Stendal – Magdeburg

Some trains

Hamburg – Lübeck – Puttgarden – Copenhagen

Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Fulda – Würzburg – Nuremberg – Regensburg – Plattling – Passau – Linz – St. Pölten – Vienna

One train pair

Hamburg – Hamburg-Harburg – Osnabrück – Münster – Gelsenkirchen – Essen - Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Cologne

2–3 train pairs

FlixTrain

(Kiel –) Hamburg (– Salzwedel – Stendal) – Berlin (– Leipzig)

1–4 train pairs

Hamburg – Nuremberg (train split) –

Munich – Innsbruck

One train pair

ÖBB

Berlin – Hamburg – Copenhagen Airport – Malmö – Linköping – Stockholm

SJ

Berlin – Hamburg – Copenhagen – Malmö – Linköping – Stockholm

One train pair seasonally

Snälltåget

Regional trains[edit]

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

Hamburg Hbf – Schwerin – Rostock

Hamburg Hbf – Lüneburg – Uelzen – Hanover

Hamburg Hbf – Buchholz – Rotenburg – Bremen

Hamburg Hbf – Buxtehude – Stade – Cuxhaven

Hamburg Hbf – Neumünster – Flensburg/Kiel

Hamburg Hbf – Bad Oldesloe – Lübeck

Hamburg Hbf – Pinneberg – Neumünster – Kiel

Hamburg Hbf – Bad Oldesloe – Lübeck

Hamburg – Winsen – Lüneburg

Hamburg Hbf – Rotenburg – Bremen

Hamburg Hbf – Pinneberg – Glückstadt – Itzehoe

Hamburg Hbf – Ahrensburg – Bad Oldesloe

Rapid transit[edit]

Hamburg, Germany

Hamburger HochbahnAG

2island platforms

4

Underground

Yes

HVV: A/000^[16]

15 February 1912; 112 years ago (1912-02-15)

1912-1968 Hauptbahnhof

U1

U3

Hamburg, Germany

Hamburger HochbahnAG

2island platforms

2

Underground

Yes

HVV: A/000^[17]

29 September 1968; 55 years ago (1968-09-29)

U2

U4

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[edit]

The station is located on the WallringinHamburg'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[edit]

• 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[edit]

Notes[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• 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[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (category)

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

S-Bahn

A-Bahn

R-Bahn

Altona

Landungsbrücken

Jungfernstieg

Hauptbahnhof

Berliner Tor

Hasselbrook

Wandsbeker Chaussee

Barmbek

Ohlsdorf

Sternschanze

Dammtor

Hauptbahnhof

Berliner Tor

Bergedorf

Eidelstedt

Altona

Landungsbrücken

Jungfernstieg

Hauptbahnhof

Elbbrücken

Harburg

Eidelstedt

Sternschanze

Dammtor

Hauptbahnhof

Elbbrücken

Harburg

Buxtehude

Horneburg

Stade

Ohlsdorf

Jungfernstieg

Hauptbahnhof Süd

Wandsbeker Chaussee

Jungfernstieg

Hauptbahnhof Nord

Berliner Tor

Sternschanze

Landungsbrücken

Hauptbahnhof Süd

Berliner Tor

Barmbek

Jungfernstieg

Hauptbahnhof Nord

Berliner Tor

• List of Hamburg U-Bahn stations
• List of Hamburg S-Bahn stations