| Frankfurt Airport Regional station | |
|---|---|
| Underground platforms | |
| Operations | |
| Category | 3 [1] |
| Type | Underground through station |
| Platforms in use | 3 |
| DS100 code | FFLU |
| Station code | 1849 |
| Construction and location | |
| Opened | 14 March 1972 |
| Location | Frankfurt am Main |
| State | Hesse |
| Country | Germany |
| Home page | www.bahnhof.de |
| Route information | |
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| List of railway stations in Hesse | |
Frankfurt Airport Regional station (German: Frankfurt (Main) Flughafen Regionalbahnhof) is an underground railway station in Frankfurt am Main, Germany that connects Frankfurt Airport to local S-Bahn and Regionalbahn services. It opened on 14 March 1972 as part of the new terminal opened at the airport. It was the first airport station in the area of the former Federal Republic of Germany. It should not be confused with the airport's long-distance station.
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The regional train station is designed as an underground through station and has three platform tracks (called "Regio 1" to "Regio 3"), of which tracks 2 and 3 are on either side of a central platform. Prior to the commissioning of the long-distance station it was called Bahnhof Frankfurt (Main) Flughafen (Frankfurt Airport station). Both commuter and intercity trains ran from this station. This led to congestion on its three tracks.
The central platform is 410 m long and the outer platform is 210 m long.[2]
Vehicles with diesel traction may only enter into the regional station, when the level of their exhaust emissions are below set limits. Currently class 612 diesel multiple units operate hourly through the regional station on the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof–Saarbrücken route.
After the opening of the long-distance station occasional long-distance trains still stopped at the regional station, since the long-distance station was closed overnight. Since the annual timetable change in December 2010, the long-distance station is also open at night, so no more scheduled long-distance trains stop at the regional station.
A three-track underground station was already envisaged when Terminal 1 was planned in the mid 1960s. In April 1969, the then Deutsche Bundesbahn and the Airport Company (Flughafengesellschaft FAG) signed a funding agreement on connecting the airport to the rail network. The cost for the station and the 7.5 km long airport loop amounted to Deutsche Mark 100 million (approximately € 51 million), with Deutsche Bundesbahn funding half and the other half split between the Airport Company and the federal government. The station was opened on 14 March 1972. It served initially as a regional station, but it was ready from its opening for long distance traffic, with a 410 m long central platform. Deutsche Bundesbahn expected to handle at a later date only long-distance charter trains, not scheduled intercity passenger trains.[2]
Between 1982 and 1993 the station was used by the Lufthansa Airport Express, which ran to and from Düsseldorf and Stuttgart.[3] As part of the enhancement of the Intercity (IC) network in 1985, the station was served hourly by IC services. With the opening of the long-distance station on 30 May 1999, most long-distance traffic operated via the new station.[4] At this time the name of the original station changed from Frankfurt Airport station to Frankfurt Airport regional station.
In the late 1980s, it was planned, as part of the construction of the airport's eastern terminal (Terminal 2) and the Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed line, to build a fourth (long-distance) platform track and to upgrade the rail infrastructure, including building a tunnel to connect with the Ried Railway (Riedbahn) towards Zeppelinheim. Despite the high cost that would have been required for the reconstruction of the existing building, it was expected that capacity would not have been sufficient in the medium term. Another proposal considered was to build an additional station in the existing building. Although a feasibility study found that would have had positive returns, this option was rejected due to its high cost.[4][5] Next to the platform provision had been made for the building of another track, which has never been built.
From 9 to 30 July 2007, the railway station was closed for the complete replacement of the 30-year-old tracks.
Work has been under way since early 2010 to give a new, lighter design to the distributor level and the connecting corridor to Terminal 1.
The following Regional-Express and S-Bahn services stop in Frankfurt Airport regional station:
| Line | Route | Frquency |
|---|---|---|
| S-Bahn S 8 | Wiesbaden Hbf – Mainz Hbf – Frankfurt Airport – Frankfurt (Main) Hbf (tief) – Offenbach Ost (– Hanau Hbf) | 15 min |
| S-Bahn S 9 | Wiesbaden Hbf – Mainz-Kastel – Frankfurt Airport – Frankfurt (Main) Hbf (tief) – Offenbach Ost – Hanau Hbf | 15 min |
| S-Bahn S8/S9 | (Kelsterbach –) Frankfurt Airport – Frankfurt (Main) Hbf (shuttle) | Individual services |
| RE 55 | Frankfurt Airport – Frankfurt South – Hanau Hbf (– Kahl – Aschaffenburg Hbf – Gemünden (Main) – Würzburg Hbf) (only in peak hours) | Individual services |
| RE 2/80 | Koblenz Hbf – Boppard Hbf – Bingen (Rh) Hbf – Mainz Hbf – Frankfurt Airport – Frankfurt (Main) Hbf (Mittelrhein-Main-Express) | * |
| RE 3/80 | Saarbrücken Hbf – Bad Kreuznach – Mainz Hbf – Frankfurt Airport – Frankfurt (Main) Hbf (Rhein-Nahe-Express) | * |
| * Every alternative hour | ||
| Preceding station | Rhine-Main S-Bahn | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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toward Wiesbaden Hbf
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toward Hanau Hbf
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| Preceding station | DB AG | Following station | ||
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toward Saarbrücken Hbf
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RE 3 Rhein-Nahe-Express |
toward Frankfurt Hbf
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toward Koblenz Hbf
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RE 2 Mittelrhein-Main-Express |
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