Bremen Hauptbahnhof

Infobox DB station


name=Bremen Hbf
caption=Station hall
state=Bremen
locale=Bremen
code=0855
category=1
ds100=HB
platforms=9
type=Bf
start=1847
years1=1870
events1=Rollbahn opened
years2=1886
events2=Current hall built
years3=1964
events3=Station electrifiedHbf intro|Bremen 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.

History

Bremen's first station was opened in 1847 on the site of today's Hauptbahnhof, connecting the city to Hanover. Later, lines leading to Vegesack, Bremerhaven (then "Wesermünde"), Oldenburg and Uelzen were connected to the station. In 1870, the Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn, opening its line Wanne-Eickel - Hamburg ("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. [cite web|title=Frisches Geld für drei Bahnhöfe|publisher=Verlagsgruppe Kreiszeitung|url=http://syke.mzv.net/news/stories/bremen/?id=81547|accessdate=2006-12-18]

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 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:
* Track 1 - Osnabrück (Nordwestbahn)
* Track 2 - Oldenburg, Nordenham
* Track 5 - Verden, Hanover
* Track 6 - Bremerhaven
* Track 7 - Osnabrück (InterCity), Diepholz
* Track 8 - Hamburg, Uelzen
* Track 9 - Hamburg (Metronom)
* Track 10 - Rotenburg

The station is connected to the Bremen tramway network operated by BSAG by a large, six-track tram station in front of the main hall.

Trivia

The sculptures on the façade, among other railway-related symbolisms, depict the coats of arms of the cities of Bremen and Hanover, the original destinations of the line.

There is a large mural inside the station's main hall, dating back to the 1950s and showing city scenes. 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.

References

External links

* [http://www.bahnhof.de/site/bahnhoefe/de/nord/bremen__hbf/bremen__hbf.html DB information page (German)]
* [http://homepage.mac.com/wkaemena/FS/Bremen/BremenHBF1/index_swf.html See the Ticket Hall in a 360 degrees interactive panorama (Flash)]

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