Bonn Central Station

Bonn Central Station
(Bonn Hauptbahnhof)
Entrance of the station (2008)
Operations
Category 2
Type Bf
DS100 code KB
Station code 0767
Construction and location
Opened 22 April 1885
Style of architecture Neo-Renaissance
Location Bonn
State North Rhine-Westphalia
Country Germany
Home page www.bahnhof.de
Route information
List of railway stations in North Rhine-Westphalia

Bonn Central Station (German: Bonn Hauptbahnhof) is a railway station located on the left bank of the Rhine along the Cologne–Mainz line. It is the principal station serving the city of Bonn. In addition to extensive rail service from Deutsche Bahn it acts as a hub for local bus, tram, and Stadtbahn services.

Contents

History

The first station was constructed in 1844 by the Bonn-Cologne Railway Company, as part of the West Rhine Railway.[1] The current building was erected between 1883 and 1884. From 1870 a train ferry connected Bonn station to the East Rhine Railway. With the opening of the Voreifel Railway to Euskirchen, the station became a rail junction.

In 1883 and 1884, a new station building was erected, which is now heritage listed.

The station sharply increased in importance in 1949, when Bonn became capital of the Federal Republic. Many politicians and federal employees travelled by train, as did guests of the state.

In 1969, Bonn grew considerably by incorporating towns which includes the stations of Bad Godesberg, Beuel, Duisdorf, Oberkassel and Mehlem and, in 1971, the station was renamed Bonn Hauptbahnhof.

Northwest of the station there used to be a small freight yard, which is now closed and partially demolished. The remaining tracks are used to allow freight trains to be overtaken and as a yard for assembling passenger trains and parking freight wagons. The Rhine Shore station (Rheinuferbahnhof) of the former Cologne-Bonn Railway (Köln-Bonner Eisenbahnen AG, KBE) was next to the station until 1985. As part of the construction of the Bonn Stadtbahn in the early 1970s, the existing buildings at the station were demolished and rebuilt. The design of the station forecourt was soon the subject of much controversy among the public of Bonn and there were several attempts to redesign it.

During the planning phase of the Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed line in the 1980s and early 1990s, a proposal to build a new line via Bonn station was controversial. This proposed a tunnel under the city, which would begin on the northern outskirts of Bonn and run through a deep level station 35 m below the main station. After crossing under the government district, the Rhine and the Siebengebirge hills to reach the line route that favoured by the Deutsche Bundesbahn to run via Limburg an der Lahn to Frankfurt. The additional cost of this option was estimated at about half a billion Euros.[2] In addition, a route via Bonn-Beuel and Aegidienberg through a 14 km long tunnel was also considered.[2] Today, Bonn Central Station is connected indirectly to the high-speed line, by tram line 66 of the Bonn Stadtbahn to Siegburg/Bonn station. Despite Intercity-Express services running through Siegburg/Bonn rather than Bonn, Bonn Central is still a major stop for long-distance traffic.

Stadtbahn

Located beneath the main platforms are two underground platforms served by the Bonn Stadtbahn. Bonn Central Station sits astride the north-south and east-west axes of the network and consequently sees daily about 50,000 passengers. The current facility opened in 1979.

Services

Preceding station   DB AG   Following station
toward Trier Hbf
 ICE 10
ICE 31
toward Kiel Hbf
ICE 91
toward Chur
 IC/EC 30
toward Ostseebad Binz or Seebad Heringshof
toward Passau Hbf
 IC/EC 31
IC/EC 32
IC/EC 35
toward Emden Außenhafen or Norddeich Mole
toward Köln Hbf
 IC 55

Regional trains

Preceding station   DB AG   Following station
RE 5
Rhein-Express
toward Emmerich
Terminus RB 23
Voreifel-Bahn
Bonn-Duisdorf
toward Bad Münstereifel
toward Ahrbrück
 RB 30
Rhein-Ahr-Bahn		 Terminus
RB 48
Rhein-Wupper-Bahn
Preceding station   trans regio   Following station
MRB 26
MittelrheinBahn

Local trains

Preceding station   SWB   Following station
Bonn West
toward Niehl Sebastianstrasse
 Line 16
toward Bad Godesberg Stadthalle
Bonn West
 Line 18 Terminus
Poppelsdorfer Allee
toward Dottendorf
 Line 61
Thomas-Mann-Straße
toward Kopenhagener Straße
Line 62
Thomas-Mann-Straße
toward Oberkassel Süd
Bonn West
toward Tannenbusch Mitte
 Line 63
toward Bad Godesberg Stadthalle
Stadthaus
toward Siegburg
 Line 66
Telekom-Express
toward Bad Honnef
Line 67
toward Bad Godesberg Stadthalle
Bonn West
toward Bornheim
 Line 68
toward Ramersdorf

References

  1. ^ "Bonn Hbf (KB) operations" (in German). NRW rail archive. André Joost. http://nrwbahnarchiv.bplaced.net/kln/KB.htm. Retrieved 21 September 2011. 
  2. ^ a b "Planungsstadium" (in German). Eisenbahn Journal (Special issue 3: Tempo 300 − Die Neubaustrecke Köln–Frankfurt): 12–17. 2002. ISBN 3-89610-095-5. 

External links