Chemnitz Hauptbahnhof

Chemnitz Hbf
Karl-Marx-Stadt Hbf (1953-1990)
Trains in the track hall
Operations
Category	3
Type	Bf
DS100 code	DC
Station code	1040
Construction and location
Opened	1852
Location	Chemnitz
State	Saxony
Country	Germany
Route information
Dresden–Werdau Riesa–Chemnitz Würschnitz Valley Railway Chemnitz–Aue Neukieritzsch–Chemnitz
List of railway stations in Saxony

Chemnitz Hauptbahnhof (usually translated from German as Chemnitz Central Station, short form: Chemnitz Hbf) is the Hauptbahnhof of Chemnitz in Germany.

Station building

Chemnitz Hauptbahnhof in 2008

The station has a combination of terminating and through platforms. Platform tracks 1 to 9 terminate and tracks 10 to14 continue to the west of Chemnitz towards Zwickau, Nuremberg and Göttingen. Tracks 11 to 14 are reached by a passenger subway. The subway also passes under tracks 15 and 16, which have no platforms. The platforms are also accessible by lift. Since 15 December 2002,^[1] "Chemnitz model" tram-trains of the City-Bahn Chemnitz have run from platform 102 (a tram track) in the station forecourt.

Bus lines 23 (Heinersdorf–Neefepark) and 32 (Dresdner Str–Rabenstein, Tierpark), tram lines 4 (Hauptbahnhof–Hutholz) and 6 (Hauptbahnhof–Altchemnitz) and the City-Bahn line to Stollberg connect the Hauptbahnhof to the central tram station in central Chemnitz. Near the Hauptbahnhof is the bus station. From here buses connect the city to its outskirts. Some of these lines also stop at the Hauptbahnhof

History

The original Chemnitz station in 1854

Entrance foyer in 1873

Platforms in 1976

Entrance foyer in 2008

Platforms in 2008

In 1836, the Erzgebirge Railway Company (Erzgebirgische Eisenbahngesellschaft ) was founded in Chemnitz to build a railway line from Riesa to Zwickau, but the line was not completed to Chemnitz until 1852. The Riesa–Chemnitz line was opened on 1 September 1852 by King Friedrich August II. This linked Chemnitz to the first German long distance railway between Leipzig and Dresden.

An ever growing rail network allows the station to grow

On 15 November 1858 with the opening of the extension of the line was to Zwickau, the Nikolaibahnhof ("Nikolai station", now Chemnitz-Mitte station) was opened as the second station in Chemnitz and the original station was renamed Central Station (Centralbahnhof). The line extension made necessary the first extension of the station’s facilities.

Between 1858 and 1866 the first freight facilities were developed. After further lines were opened (in 1866 to Annaberg, in 1869 to Dresden and to Hainichen and in 1872 to Leipzig and to Limbach), the station had to be extended again. In 1869 construction of increased capacity for passenger services began. The main hall of the station was completed by the architect Engelhardt in 1872. More lines opened, to Aue in 1875, to Marienberg and Reitzenhain in 1875, to Stollberg in 1895 and to Wechselburg and Rochlitz in 1902.

In 1880 the coal and freight yard was opened at Kappel and in 1908 another station in the city was added as Chemnitz Süd. In 1910 construction began on a concourse, although the station building remained unchanged outwardly from the 1872 station. Chemnitz station had about 80,000 passengers a day in 1930, almost as many as Leipzig.

After the Second World War

During the bombardment of the city on 5 March 1945 the station hall was severely damaged and was later demolished. In addition, waiting rooms and offices were burned after a plane was shot down and fell on the building. From 1974 VEB Stahlbau Dessau began construction of the existing platform hall, which was completed in 1975. The Dresden–Chemnitz–Zwickau main line ran on the western side of the station’s through tracks, as it had before the Second World War. In the winter 1974/1975 timetable nearly 300 daily passenger trains arrived or departed at the station.

Between 1976 and 1993, the station (then called Karl-Marx-Stadt Chemnitz Hauptbahnhof) was part of the Stadt- und Vorortbahnverkehr ("urban and suburban rail transport system"), an S-Bahn-like system for the urban agglomeration, running on the line between Flöha and Hohenstein-Ernstthal.

Development to the regional train station

Chemnitz has had at times national connections, in addition to its significance as a regional transport hub. A Städteexpress ("city express") ran to Berlin during the Communist period. After the fall, Interregio services ran via Berlin to Rostock (some ran to Magdeburg, Stralsund, Binz or Barth), to Oberstdorf (via Nuremberg and Munich), to Karlsruhe (via Stuttgart) and to Aachen (via Düsseldorf). An Intercity-Express service ran to Cologne using ICE TD diesel tilting trains. Most recently Intercity (IC) services ran on the Dresden–Chemnitz–Nuremberg route. Sections of off-peak IC trains ran to and from Cologne and Hamburg, continuing to Flensburg.

Since 2006, Chemnitz has not been served by Deutsche Bahn long-distance trains, only by regional trains. The metropolitan area of Chemnitz-Zwickau (1.2 million inhabitants) is now the largest region in Germany with no Deutsche Bahn long-distance train services.

Vogtlandbahn has operated the Vogtland-Express since 2005 (except between15 February 2009 and 8 April 2009) between Plauen and Berlin.

Recent developments

With the formation of the Middle Saxony Transport Association (Verkehrsverbund Mittelsachsen) with Chemnitz as its central hub, Chemnitz Hauptbahnhof has taken on new functions. Work at the station from 2003 to 2005 improved the interface between trams and buses the station. Further construction is under way to adapt the station for tram-trains.

Services

The station is connected to the following lines:

• Dresden–Werdau line (KBS 510)
• Riesa–Chemnitz line (–Elsterwerda) (KBS 520)
• Würschnitz Valley Railway (KBS 522)
• Chemnitz–Aue line (KBS 524)
• Neukieritzsch–Chemnitz line (KBS 525)

Long distance

Line	Line name	Route	Frequency	Vehicles	Operator
VX	Vogtland-Express	Adorf – Plauen – Reichenbach – Zwickau – Glauchau - Chemnitz – Mittweida – Döbeln – Riesa – Elsterwerda – Doberlug-Kirchhain – Berlin (several stations)	1 pair of trains daily[2]	Class 642	Vogtlandbahn

Regional services

Line	Line name	Route	Frequency	Vehicles	Operator
IRE 1	Franken-Sachsen-Express	Dresden – Freiberg – Flöha – Chemnitz – Hohenstein-Ernstthal (only to Nuremberg) – Zwickau – Reichenbach – Plauen – Hof – Bayreuth – Nuremberg	every 2 hours, every hour with RE 3	Class 612	(DB Regio)
RE 1	Mitte-Deutschland-Express	Chemnitz – Glauchau – Gößnitz – Ronneburg – Gera – Jena – Weimar – Erfurt – Gotha – Mühlhausen (Thür) – Leinefelde – Göttingen	every 2 hours, Mo-Fr: substituted by SEV to Glauchau	Class 612	DB Regio
RE 3	Franken-Sachsen-Express	Dresden – Tharandt – Freiberg – Flöha – Chemnitz – Hohenstein-Ernstthal – Glauchau – Zwickau – Reichenbach – Plauen – Hof (− Marktredwitz – Nuremberg)	every 2 hours, every hour with IRE 1	Class 612	DB Regio
RE 6	CLEX – Chemnitz-Leipzig-Express	Chemnitz – Burgstädt – Narsdorf – Geithain – Bad Lausick – Leipzig	60 min	BR 612	DB Regio
RE 28	Fichtelberg-Express	Leipzig – Bad Lausick – Geithain – Narsdorf – Burgstädt – Chemnitz – Flöha – Erdmannsdorf-Augustusburg – Annaberg-Buchholz – Cranzahl – Vejprty	daily	Class 642	DB Regio; Erzgebirgsbahn
RB 30		Dresden – Tharandt – Edle Krone – Freiberg – Oederan – Flöha – Niederwiesa – Chemnitz – Wüstenbrand – Hohenstein-Ernstthal – Glauchau – Zwickau	60 min	Class 143 with double-decker carriages	DB Regio
RB 45		Chemnitz – Mittweida – Waldheim – Döbeln – Riesa (– Elsterwerda)	60 min	Class 143 with double-decker carriages	DB Regio
RB 80	Zschopau Valley Railway	Chemnitz – Flöha – Erdmannsdorf-Augustusburg – Hennersdorf – Wolkenstein – Annaberg-Buchholz – Cranzahl – Bärenstein – Vejprty	60 min	BR 642	Erzgebirgsbahn
RB 81	Flöha Valley Railway	Chemnitz – Flöha – Falkenau – Pockau-Lengefeld – Olbernhau/Marienberg	due to construction work: every 2 hours	Class 642	Erzgebirgsbahn
RB 89	Zwönitz Valley Railway	Chemnitz – Thalheim – Zwönitz – Aue	60 min	Class 642	Erzgebirgsbahn
CB 516	Striegis Valley Railway	Chemnitz – Niederwiesa – Frankenberg – Hainichen	60 min	BR 650	City-Bahn Chemnitz
CB 522	Würschnitz Valley Railway	Chemnitz – Chemnitz Zentralhaltestelle – Neukirchen-Klaffenbach – Stollberg	30 min	Variotram	City-Bahn Chemnitz
CB 525		Chemnitz – Burgstädt	60 min	Class 650	City-Bahn Chemnitz

Notes

1. ^ "Chronology" (in German). City-Bahn.de. http://www.city-bahn.de//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2&Itemid=26&limit=1&limitstart=1. Retrieved 11 December 2010. 
2. ^ "Vogtlanbahn.de". 4 April 2009. http://www.vogtlandbahn.de/SITEFORUM?t=/contentManager/onStory&e=UTF-8&i=1234363502582&l=1&active=no&ParentID=1232119835478&StoryID=1238680869699. 

See also

• List of railway stations in Saxony

External links

• Der Hauptbahnhof
• Die Königlichen Staatseisenbahnen in Chemnitz
• Der Chemnitzer Hauptbahnhof
• Photographs of the Hauptbahnhofes
• Verkehrsmittelvergleich - Bahnhof Chemnitz Hbf

Coordinates: 50°50′25″N 12°55′50″E / 50.840156°N 12.930594°E / 50.840156; 12.930594