Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof

Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof is a through-station in the German city of Kaiserslautern and one of seven stations in the city. It is a stop on the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn and Deutsche Bahn’s Intercity-Express network and a hub for all the regional trains of the western Palatinate. On 10 June 2007, the Rhealys high-speed rail consortium established a service with a stop in Kaiserslautern, reducing travel time to Paris to two and a half hours.

Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof
Location	Bahnhofstr. 1, Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate Germany
Coordinates	49°26′9″N 7°46′8″E
Owned by	DB Netz
Operated by	DB Station&Service
Line(s)	Saarbrücken–Mannheim (km 43.7) (KBS 665.1/665.2/670) Kaiserslautern–Enkenbach (km 0.0) (KBS 672) Kaiserslautern–Lauterecken-Grumbach (km 0.0) (KBS 673) Kaiserslautern–Pirmasens (km 0.0) (KBS 672)
Platforms	13 7 through tracks 6 terminal tracks
Other information
Station code	3082[1]
DS100 code	SKL[2]
IBNR	8000189
Category	2[1]
Website	www.bahnhof.de
History
Opened	1848
Services
Preceding station   DB Fernverkehr   Following station Saarbrücken towards Paris Est ICE/TGV 82 Mannheim towards Frankfurt Preceding station   DB Regio Mitte   Following station Landstuhl toward Koblenz Hbf RE 1 Mosel-Saar-Express Terminus Terminus RE 6 Neustadt (Weinstraße) Hbf toward Karlsruhe Hbf Galgenschanze toward Pirmasens Hbf RB 64 Biebermühlbahn Terminus Terminus RB 65 Alsenztalbahn Enkenbach toward Bingen (Rhein) Hbf Kaiserslautern Pfaffwerk toward Lauterecken-Grumbach RB 66 Lautertalbahn Terminus Kennelgarten toward Kusel RB 67 Landstuhl–Kusel railway Terminus Kindsbach toward Merzig (Saar) RB 70 Saartal-Bahn Terminus Preceding station   Vlexx   Following station Terminus RE 17 Enkenbach toward Koblenz Hbf Preceding station   Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn   Following station Kennelgarten toward Homburg (Saar) Hbf S 1 via Mannheim Hochspeyer toward Osterburken Terminus S 2 via Mannheim Hochspeyer toward Mosbach (Baden)
Location
Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof Location in Rhineland-Palatinate Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof Location in Germany Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof Location in Europe

In 2003, the station building was renovated and it now houses among other things, a service point and several shops. The station provides step-free access to all platforms. The redesigned Kaiserslautern station forecourt includes a busy bus station, allowing a convenient transfer between bus and rail. Buses run to the University of Kaiserslautern, Betzenberg and the central bus interchanges at Schillerplatz and Rathaus, where there are connections to all bus routes.

Prior to the closure of the Einsiedlerhof marshalling yard, Kaiserslautern was a significant rail freight hub.

History

Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof was opened in 1848 along with the Homburg–Kaiserslautern section of the Palatine Ludwig Railway. The Palatine Ludwig Railway is still the most important line serving the station.

On 16 May 1871 the Alsenz Valley Railway was completed from Bad Münster to Hochspeyer; its trains ran into Kaiserslautern. To shorten the route for long-distance traffic, a line was opened on 15 May 1875 between Kaiserslautern and Enkenbach (at the closest point on the Alsenz Valley Railway), allowing trains to run between Kaiserslautern, Bad Kreuznach and the Ruhr and between Kaiserslautern, Worms and Frankfurt without having to pass through Hochspeyer.

It received a new entrance building in 1879. The Lauter Valley Railway was opened on 15 November 1883 between Kaiserslautern and Lauterecken-Grumbach. In 1913 the Kaiserslautern–Waldfischbach line opened, completing the Biebermühl Railway to Pirmasens.

The second station building was badly damaged in the Second World War and demolished after the war. The current station building was completed in the early 1950s.[3] It was rebuilt in 2003.

Connections

TGV on the way to Paris

InterCity train hauled by DB Class 120 locomotive in Kaiserslautern on the way to Saarbrücken

There are the following long-distance and local transport connections:

Long distance

Line	Route	Frequency
ICE 82	Paris – Saarbrücken – Kaiserslautern – Mannheim – Frankfurt (Main)	Five pairs of trains
ICE 50	Saarbrücken – Kaiserslautern – Mannheim – Frankfurt (Main) – Erfurt – Leipzig – Dresden	One pair of trains
IC/EC 62	Saarbrücken – Kaiserslautern – Mannheim – Stuttgart – Ulm – Augsburg – München – Salzburg	Occasional
IC 50	Saarbrücken – Kaiserslautern – Mannheim – Darmstadt – Frankfurt (Main)	Occasional

S-Bahn and DB regional

Line	Route	Interval
S 1	Homburg – Kaiserslautern – Neustadt – Schifferstadt – Ludwigshafen – Mannheim – Heidelberg – Eberbach – Mosbach-Neckarelz – Osterburken	60 minutes
S 2	Kaiserslautern – Neustadt – Schifferstadt – Ludwigshafen – Mannheim – Heidelberg – Eberbach – Mosbach-Neckarelz – Mosbach	60 minutes
RE 1	Koblenz – Trier – Saarbrücken – Homburg – Kaiserslautern (– Neustadt – Mannheim)	60/120 minutes
RE 6	Kaiserslautern – Neustadt – Landau – Winden – Wörth – Karlsruhe	120 minutes
RE 17	Kaiserslautern – Winnweiler – Rockenhausen – Alsenz – Bad Münster am Stein – Bad Kreuznach – Bingen (Rhein) – Koblenz	120 minutes
RB 64	Kaiserslautern – Schopp – Waldfischbach – Pirmasens Nord – Pirmasens	60 minutes
RB 65	Kaiserslautern – Enkenbach – Winnweiler – Rockenhausen – Alsenz – Bad Münster am Stein – Bad Kreuznach – Langenlonsheim – Bingen	60 minutes
RB 66	Kaiserslautern – Lampertsmühle-Otterbach – Olsbrücken – Wolfstein – Lauterecken-Grumbach	60 minutes
RB 67	Kaiserslautern – Landstuhl – Glan-Münchweiler – Altenglan – Kusel	60 minutes
RB 70	Kaiserslautern – Landstuhl – Hauptstuhl – Bruchmühlbach-Miesau – Homburg – Limbach – Kirkel – Saarbrücken	60 minutes

Sources

Notes

1. "Stationspreisliste 2021" [Station price list 2021] (PDF) (in German). DB Station&Service. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
2. Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas) (2009/2010 ed.). Schweers + Wall. 2009. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.
3. Engbarth 2007, p. 24.

References

• Emich, Hans-Joachim; Becker, Rolf (1996). Die Eisenbahnen an Glan und Lauter [The railways on the Glan and the Lauter] (in German).
• Engbarth, Fritz (2007). Von der Ludwigsbahn zum Integralen Taktfahrplan – 160 Jahre Eisenbahn in der Pfalz [From the Ludwig Railway to the Integral Timetable—160 years of Railways in the Palatinate] (in German).
• Sturm, Heinz (2005). Die pfälzischen Eisenbahnen [The Palatine Railways] (in German). Ludwigshafen am Rhein: pro MESSAGE. ISBN 3-934845-26-6.

External links

Media related to Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof at Wikimedia Commons

• "Kaiserslautern Hbf track map" (PDF) (in German). Deutsche Bahn. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 22, 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2010(PDF; 196,2 KB)