Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof

Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof (German for Magdeburg main station, sometimes translated as Magdeburg Central Station) is the main railway station in the city of Magdeburg in the northern part of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.

Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof
Deutsche Bahn
Through station
Entrance hall
General information
LocationMagdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt
Germany
Coordinates52°7′50″N 11°37′40″E / 52.13056°N 11.62778°E / 52.13056; 11.62778
Line(s)
Platforms10
Construction
ArchitectLudwig Heim
Other information
Station code3881[1]
DS100 codeLM[2]
IBNR8010224
Category2[1]
Fare zonemarego: 010[3]
Websitewww.bahnhof.de
History
Opened15 May 1873; 151 years ago (1873-05-15)
Electrified1923-1946[4]
6 January 1957; 67 years ago (1957-01-06)
Passengers
40,000
Services
Preceding station DB Fernverkehr Following station
Braunschweig Hbf IC 55 Köthen
towards Dresden Hbf
Helmstedt
towards Emden Hbf
IC 56 Brandenburg Hbf
towards Cottbus Hbf
Stendal Hbf IC 57 Köthen
towards Leipzig Hbf
Stendal Hbf
towards Hamburg Hbf
Terminus
Preceding station Abellio Rail Mitteldeutschland Following station
Magdeburg-Neustadt RE 6 Terminus
Magdeburg-Buckau
towards Erfurt Hbf
RE 10
Magdeburg-Buckau
towards Thale Hbf
RE 11
Magdeburg-Buckau
towards Goslar
RE 21
Magdeburg-Buckau RE 31
Magdeburg-Neustadt RB 36
Magdeburg-Buckau
towards Aschersleben
RB 41
Magdeburg-Buckau RB 43
Magdeburg-Buckau RB 47
Preceding station Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn Following station
Terminus RE 1
Magdeburg-Neustadt
towards Cottbus Hbf
Preceding station DB Regio Südost Following station
Terminus RE 13 Magdeburg-Neustadt
towards Leipzig Hbf
RE 20 Magdeburg-Neustadt
towards Uelzen
Magdeburg-Buckau RE 30 Terminus
Magdeburg-Sudenburg RB 40 Magdeburg-Neustadt
Preceding station S-Bahn Mittelelbe Following station
Magdeburg-Hasselbachplatz S 1 Magdeburg-Neustadt
towards Wittenberge
Map
Location
Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof is located in Saxony-Anhalt
Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof
Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof
Location within Saxony-Anhalt
Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof is located in Germany
Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof
Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof
Location within Germany
Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof is located in Europe
Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof
Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof
Location within Europe

Importance

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The station is the main station of Magdeburg and along with Halle Hauptbahnhof the centre of long-distance rail transport in Saxony-Anhalt. It is also connected to the Magdeburg S-Bahn network and the HarzElbeExpress regional rail network.

History

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The current main station is built on the site of the western side of the former Magdeburg Fortress. Several competing railway companies had built lines to Magdeburg between 1839 and 1849, each with their own stations. They were built on the west bank of the Elbe river, on reclaimed land. With the increasing industrialisation and growing importance of Magdeburg, the need for space at stations grew. A central station, however, was not feasible at first.

As the existing railway facilities in Magdeburg became more inadequate the construction of a central station became more urgent. Both the city of Magdeburg and various railway companies conducted lengthy negotiations with the military with the objective of buying the grounds of the disused fortress. In 1870, three railway companies, the Berlin-Potsdam-Magdeburg Railway, the Magdeburg-Halberstadt Railway, Magdeburg-Leipzig Railway finally reached an agreement to buy the 33 hectares of the fortifications from the state of Prussia.[5]

Construction

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Former western station building and concourse (January 1925) - now Kölner Platz

The foundation stone for the new Magdeburg station was laid in 1870. The companies involved were the Berlin-Potsdam-Magdeburg Railway, the Magdeburg-Halberstadt Railway, both of which had been strongly affected by the confined spaces of the stations on the banks of the Elbe, and lastly, the Magdeburg-Leipzig Railway which was less troubled by its existing infrastructure.

The companies built two entrance buildings. The Magdeburg-Leipzig Railway constructed the eastern entrance building in the style of a Tuscan palace between 1872 and 1882. Its cladding consists of sandstone obtained from Königslutter. The western entrance building was built by the Berlin-Potsdam-Magdeburg Railway and was shared with the Magdeburg-Halberstadt Railway. In contrast to the eastern building, Nebra sandstone was used for the north facade of the western building, its walls were made of bricks faced with stone. Both buildings were of equal length and connected with each other by separate tunnels for passengers and baggage.

On 15 May 1873 the first train ran between the new station and the town of Burg. The official opening took place on 18 August 1873. Construction works continued until 1893. In addition to the passenger station there were also extensive freight facilities.

On 1 July 1923 the first electric train ran from Zerbst to Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof. Electrification had begun in 1910, but had been interrupted by World War I. From 7 October 1934 electric trains also ran to Halle.

Damage in World War II

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As an infrastructure building, the central station was subject of heavy bombing during World War II. On 16 January 1945 the station was hit in a severe air raid on the city. The western station building was completely destroyed and never rebuilt, while the eastern entrance building was heavily damaged and the platform halls were partially collapsed. The tracks were littered with bomb craters and the signal boxes were partially destroyed by the bombing.

Reconstruction after 1945

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Entrance hall

At the end of March 1946, the restoration of the electrification had been completed on the rail networks in the Soviet occupation zone. Then, the Soviet military authorities then demanded the removal of the overhead line equipment and the transfer of the electrical rolling stock as reparations to the Soviet Union, which was partly returned in the early 1950s in need of repair. The rail network was then electrified for the third time, and electric train operation resumed in 1956. Reconstructed of the main station started in 1946, but the platform halls were omitted.

In 1974, the Magdeburg S-Bahn was established. More extensive alterations were made in 1984. After German reunification in 1992, platforms were lengthened to allow Intercity-Express operation. In 2003, the pedestrian tunnel was extended to connect the various platforms to an entrance on the western side of the station. The station was modernised again between 2008 and 2015 at a cost of about €300 million.

Train services

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The following services currently call at the station:[6]

Line Route Operator Frequency
IC 55 (Tübingen –) StuttgartHeidelbergMainzMannheimKoblenzBonnCologneWuppertalDortmundHammHannoverBraunschweigMagdeburgHalleLeipzig/Halle AirportLeipzigDresden DB Fernverkehr Every 2 hours
IC 56 Leipzig – KöthenMagdeburg – Braunschweig – Hannover – BremenOldenburgEmdenNorddeich Mole
IC 57 MagdeburgStendalWittenbergeLudwigslustHamburg 1 train pair
Leipzig Halle – Magdeburg – Stendal – Wittenberge – Ludwigslust –SchwerinRostock (– Warnemünde) 2 train pairs
HBX Berlin – Potsdam – MagdeburgHalberstadt (train split)QuedlinburgThale / WernigerodeGoslar Abellio Some trains

(Fri–Sun)

RE 1 MagdeburgBrandenburgPotsdam – Berlin – ErknerFürstenwaldeFrankfurt (Oder) (– Cottbus) Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn Hourly
RE 6 Magdeburg – Haldensleben – OebisfeldeWolfsburg Abellio Some trains
RE 10 MagdeburgStendalSalzwedelUelzen Every 2 hours
RE 11 MagdeburgHalberstadtThale Hourly
RE 13 MagdeburgDessau – Leipzig DB Regio Südost Every 2 hours
RE 20 Magdeburg – Stendal – Salzwedel – Uelzen
RE 21 Magdeburg — Halberstadt – Goslar Abellio
RE 30 Magdeburg – Halle DB Regio Südost Hourly
RE 31 Magdeburg – Osterweddingen – Oschersleben – Halberstadt (split from RE11) – Langenstein – Blankenburg Abellio Every 2 hours
RB 36 Magdeburg - Haldensleben - Wolfsburg Hourly
RB 40 Braunschweig - Magdeburg - Burg DB Regio Südost Hourly
RB 41 Magdeburg - Staßfurt - Aschersleben Abellio Every 2 hours
RB 43 Magdeburg - Langenweddingen - Oschersleben (Bode) Hourly
RB 47 Magdeburg – Magdeburg-Buckau – Schönebeck – Calbe – BernburgKönnernHalle-Trotha – Halle Every 2 hours
S 1 Wittenberge - Stendal - Magdeburg - Schönebeck (Elbe) - Schönebeck-Salzelmen S-Bahn Mittelelbe Hourly

References

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  1. ^ a b "Stationspreisliste 2024" [Station price list 2024] (PDF) (in German). DB Station&Service. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  2. ^ Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas) (2009/2010 ed.). Schweers + Wall. 2009. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.
  3. ^ "Liniennetzplan: Magdeburg und die Region" (PDF). Magdeburger Regionalverkehrsverbund. December 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  4. ^ Since 1946 catenaries and overhead line masts were dismantled as Soviet war reparations.
  5. ^ Asmus, Helmut (2005). 1200 Jahre Magdeburg (1200 years of Magdeburg) (in German). Vol. 3. Magdeburg: Scriptum. pp. 222–223.
  6. ^ Timetables for Magdeburg Hbf station (in German)
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