Frankfurt (Main) Hauptwache station

Hauptwache station is a major station in Frankfurt am Main with 181,000 passengers per day, making it the second busiest rapid transit station in the city and a major hub for rail transport in the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region. It is served by eight S-Bahn lines—S1–S6 and S8/S9—and 6 U-Bahn lines—U1, U2, U3, U6, U7 and U8. The station is named after the similarly named plaza, which was once the site of Frankfurt's main watch-house (German: Hauptwache).

History

In 1961 the Frankfurt city council agreed to build a U-Bahn network. Construction began in 1963 on a line between the Nordweststadt (a new housing estate in the north-western suburbs) and the city centre. The first section opened in 1968 from Nordweststadt to Hauptwache, which was the terminus of the line until 1973, when it was extended south to Theaterplatz, now Willy-Brandt-Platz. This line (known as route A) is now used by trains on lines U1–U3. In 1986 the east-west route C opened, which is used by trains on lines U6 and U7.

Deutsche Bundesbahn committed to build an S-Bahn network in 1962, but no new line was opened until 28 May 1978, when the first section of the City Tunnel from the central station to Hauptwache was opened. Hauptwache was the terminus of the S-Bahn until 1983, when the line was extended to Konstablerwache, at the other end of the Zeil shopping street. In 1986 the tramline serving Hauptwache was closed.

Operational Usage