Koblenz-Stadtmitte station

Koblenz-Stadtmitte station
Station platforms
Operations
Category 7
Type Through station
Platforms in use 3
DS100 code KKSM
Construction and location
Opened 14 April 2011
Location Koblenz
State North Rhine-Westphalia
Country Germany
Route information
List of railway stations in North Rhine-Westphalia

Koblenz Stadtmitte ("city centre") station was opened on 14 April 2011 on the West Rhine Railway (German: Linke Rheinstrecke) in central Koblenz in the German state of Rhineland Palatinate. The main purpose of this station is to improve public transport access to central Koblenz because it is more convenient than Koblenz Hauptbahnhof (central station). In addition, it plays an essential role as the station serving the Federal Horticultural Show 2011 in Koblenz.

Contents

Location

Koblenz Stadtmitte is classified as a Haltepunkt, which means a station that is not a rail junction and has no sets of points. It is centrally located in the Koblenz city centre, right behind the Löhr-Center shopping centre, and near the pedestrian zone. There is also a bus station in the same shopping centre near the station, with a direct bus connection to almost every district of Koblenz.[1]

In the second half of the 19th century there had been an earlier station near the modern station in today’s Fischelstraße. It was called the Rhenish station (Rheinischer Bahnhof, after the Rhenish Railway Company, its builder) and was on the West Rhine Railway, running from Cologne to Bingerbrück. In 1902, it was replaced by the current Koblenz Hauptbahnhof.[2]

History

Already in the 1930s there were proposals for a station near the centre of the city. However, these were not pursued. This idea was raised again in the late 1970s and plans were developed. Despite considerable debate a decision to build the station was not taken until 2005.[3] A major factor in this decision was the selection of Koblenz as the site for the Federal Horticultural Show 2011. Preliminary work began in January 2008.[4] Before the start of work on the station, the westernmost of the three tracks had to be moved about five metres to the west for a length of about 300 metres to make room for the platform. Subsequently construction started on a central platform for tracks 2 and 3 and an outside platform for track 1. On 14 April 2011, a day before the start of the Federal Horticultural Show, operations started at the station.[5]

In 2005, it was estimated that the station would cost € 9.1 million, but it ended up costing about € 18.5 million.[6] The state of Rhineland-Palatinate provided about € 9.1 million of this.[7]

Services

Koblenz Stadtmitte has three platform tracks, consisting of a side platform on track 1 and a central platform between tracks 2 and 3. The platforms are designed for trains with a length of 180 metres. Access to the platforms is barrier-free and the platforms have a height of 76 cm to provide barrier-free access to trains. The station is served by four services. It is served by Regional-Express line 5 services, running between Koblenz and Emmerich, and MRB 26 services, running between Koblenz and Cologne-Deutz. These two services use tracks 1 and 2. Track 3 is used by SE 10 services in both directions between Neuwied and Frankfurt am Main. Regionalbahn 27 services also stop on track 3 in both directions, running on the right bank route (East Rhine Railway) through Neuwied between Koblenz and Cologne.

Line KBS Route Operator Frequency
RE 5 Rhein-Express 470 Left Rhine line Emmerich – Wesel – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Bonn – Remagen – Andernach – Koblenz Stadtmitte – Koblenz Hbf DB Regio NRW 60 min
SE 10 RheingauLinie 466 Right Rhine line Neuwied – Koblenz Stadtmitte – Koblenz Hbf – Rüdesheim am Rhein – Wiesbaden – Frankfurt am Main VIAS 60 min
MRB 26 MittelRheinBahn 470 Left Rhine line Köln – Bonn – Remagen – Andernach – Koblenz Stadtmitte – Koblenz Hbf trans regio 60 min
RB 27 Rhein-Erft-Bahn 465 Right Rhine line (Mönchengladbach –) Köln – Troisdorf – Bonn-Beuel – Neuwied – Koblenz Stadtmitte – Koblenz Hbf DB Regio NRW 60 min

Notes

  1. ^ "Bus-Liniennetz in Koblenz" (in German). KEVAG. http://www.kevag.de/index.php?id=112. Retrieved 24 April 2011. 
  2. ^ "152 Jahre Schienenhaltepunkt Mitte" (in German). Rhein-Zeitung. http://eckpunkte.rhein-zeitung.de/?p=878. Retrieved 24 April 2011. 
  3. ^ "Große Mehrheit für den Haltepunkt Mitte" (in German). Rhein-Zeitung. 7 October 2005. http://archiv.rhein-zeitung.de/on/05/10/07/rlp/r/regio-1.html. Retrieved 24 April 2011. 
  4. ^ "Stadtchronik 2009" (in German) (PDF). City of Koblenz. http://www.koblenz.de/bilder/stadtchronik_2009.pdf. Retrieved 24 April 2011. 
  5. ^ "Bahnhaltepunkt Koblenz-Stadtmitte geht in Betrieb" (in German). City of Koblenz. http://www.koblenz.de/cgi-bin/r30msvcshop_detail_anzeige.pl?var_hauptpfad=../r30/vc_shop/&var_fa1_select=var_fa1_select. Retrieved 24 April 2011. 
  6. ^ "Kostenexplosion beim Schienenhaltepunkt" (in German). Rhein-Zeitung. 4 December 2010. http://www.rhein-zeitung.de/regionales_artikel,-Kostenexplosion-beim-Schienenhaltepunkt-_arid,172637.html. Retrieved 24 April 2011. 
  7. ^ "9,1 Millionen Euro vom Land für neuen Bahn-Haltepunkt in Koblenz" (in German). Rhein-Zeitung. 30 December 2008. http://archiv.rhein-zeitung.de/on/08/12/30/rlp/t/rzo517360.html. Retrieved 24 April 2011. 

External links