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
Through station
Entrance hall
Location	Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt Germany
Coordinates	52°7′50″N 11°37′40″E
Line(s)	Berlin–Magdeburg (km 141.8) Magdeburg–Wittenberge (km 0.0) Magdeburg–Leipzig (km 0.0) Braunschweig–Magdeburg (km 141.8) Magdeburg–Thale / Blankenburg (Harz) (km 0.0)
Platforms	10
Construction
Architect	Ludwig Heim
Other information
Station code	3881[1]
DS100 code	LM[2]
IBNR	8010224
Category	2[1]
Website	www.bahnhof.de
History
Opened	15 May 1873
Electrified	1923-1946[3] 6 January 1957
Passengers
40,000
Services
Preceding station   DB Fernverkehr   Following station Braunschweig towards Cologne IC 55 Köthen towards Cologne Stendal towards Warnemünde IC 56 Köthen towards Leipzig Helmstedt towards Norddeich Mole IC 56 Brandenburg towards Cottbus Preceding station   Abellio Rail Mitteldeutschland   Following station Magdeburg-Neustadt toward Wolfsburg Hbf RE 6 Terminus Magdeburg-Buckau toward Erfurt Hbf RE 10 via Sangerhausen Terminus Magdeburg-Buckau toward Thale Hbf RE 11 via Halberstadt Terminus Magdeburg-Buckau toward Goslar RE 21 via Halberstadt Terminus Magdeburg-Buckau toward Blankenburg (Harz) RE 31 via Halberstadt Terminus Magdeburg-Neustadt toward Wolfsburg Hbf RB 36 Terminus Magdeburg-Buckau toward Aschersleben RB 41 Terminus Magdeburg-Buckau toward Oschersleben (Bode) RB 43 Terminus Terminus RB 48 Magdeburg-Buckau toward Bernburg Hbf Preceding station   DB Regio Nordost   Following station Terminus RE 1 via Brandenburg (Havel) - Berlin - Frankfurt (Oder) Magdeburg-Neustadt toward Frankfurt (Oder) or Cottbus Preceding station   DB Regio Südost   Following station Terminus RE 13 via Dessau Magdeburg-Neustadt toward Leipzig Hbf Magdeburg-Neustadt toward Uelzen RE 20 via Stendal Terminus Terminus RE 30 via Calbe (Saale) Ost - Köthen Magdeburg-Buckau toward Halle (Saale) Hbf Magdeburg-Sudenburg toward Braunschweig Hbf RB 40 Magdeburg-Neustadt toward Burg (Magdeburg) Terminus RB 42 Magdeburg-Neustadt toward Dessau Hbf Preceding station   S-Bahn Mittelelbe   Following station Magdeburg-Hasselbachplatz toward Schönebeck-Bad Salzelmen S 1 Magdeburg-Neustadt toward Wittenberge
Location
Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof Location within Saxony-Anhalt Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof Location within Germany Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof Location within Europe

Importance

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

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.[4]

Construction

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

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

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

The following services currently call at the station:[5]

Line	Train Type	Route	Operator	Frequency
IC 55	Intercity	Köln Hbf – Wuppertal Hbf – Dortmund Hbf – Hamm (Westfalen) – Hannover Hbf – Braunschweig Hbf – Magdeburg – Halle (Saale) Hbf – Leipzig/Halle Airport – Leipzig Hbf – Dresden Hbf	DB Fernverkehr	Every 2 hours
IC 56	Intercity	Norddeich Mole – Emden Hbf – Oldenburg Hbf – Bremen Hbf – Hannover Hbf – Braunschweig Hbf – Magdeburg – Halle (Saale) Hbf – Leipzig Hbf	DB Fernverkehr	Every 2 hours
IC 56	Intercity	Norddeich Mole – Emden Hbf – Oldenburg Hbf – Bremen Hbf – Hannover Hbf – Braunschweig Hbf – Magdeburg – Brandenburg Hbf – Potsdam Hbf – Berlin Hbf – Cottbus Hbf	DB Fernverkehr	1x day
IC 56	Intercity	Leipzig Hbf – Leipzig/Halle Airport – Halle (Saale) Hbf – Magdeburg – Stendal – Wittenberge – Schwerin Hbf – Rostock Hbf – Warnemünde	DB Fernverkehr	1x day
RE 1	Regional-Express	Magdeburg – Brandenburg Hbf – Potsdam Hbf – Berlin Hbf – Erkner – Fürstenwalde (Spree) – Frankfurt (Oder) (– Cottbus Hbf)	DB Regio Nordost	1x per hour
RE 6	Regional-Express	Magdeburg – Haldensleben – Oebisfelde – Wolfsburg Hbf	DB Regio Südost	4x per day
RE 10	Regional-Express	Magdeburg - Stendal - Salzwedel - Uelzen	DB Regio Südost	Every 2 hours
RE 11	Regional-Express	Magdeburg - Halberstadt - Thale Hbf	Transdev Sachsen-Anhalt	1x per hour
RE 13	Regional-Express	Magdeburg - Dessau Hbf - Leipzig Hbf	DB Regio Südost	Every 2 hours
RE 14	Regional-Express	Magdeburg - Dessau Hbf - Lutherstadt Wittenberg Hbf - Falkenberg (Elster)	DB Regio Südost	Individual services
RE 20	Regional-Express	Magdeburg - Stendal - Salzwedel - Uelzen	DB Regio Südost	Every 2 hours
RE 21	Regional-Express	Magdeburg - Halberstadt - Goslar	Transdev Sachsen-Anhalt	Every 2 hours
RE 30	Regional-Express	Magdeburg - Halle (Saale) Hbf	DB Regio Südost	1x per hour
RB 31	Regionalbahn	Magdeburg - Halberstadt - Blankenburg (Harz)	Transdev Sachsen-Anhalt	Every 2 hours
RB 36	Regionalbahn	Magdeburg - Haldensleben - Wolfsburg Hbf	DB Regio Südost	1x per hour
RB 40	Regionalbahn	Braunschweig Hbf - Magdeburg - Burg (b Magdeburg) (- Genthin)	DB Regio Südost	1x per hour
RB 41	Regionalbahn	Magdeburg - Staßfurt - Aschersleben	DB Regio Südost	Every 2 hours
RB 42	Regionalbahn	Magdeburg - Güterglück - Dessau Hbf	DB Regio Südost	Every 2 hours
RB 43	Regionalbahn	Magdeburg - Langenweddingen - Oschersleben (Bode)	Transdev Sachsen-Anhalt	1x per hour
RB 48	Regionalbahn	Magdeburg - Calbe (Saale) Ost - Bernburg	DB Regio Südost	Every 2 hours
S 1	S-Bahn	Wittenberge - Stendal - Magdeburg - Schönebeck (Elbe) - Schönebeck-Salzelmen	S-Bahn Mittelelbe	1x per hour

References

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. Since 1946 catenaries and overhead line masts were dismantled as Soviet war reparations.
4. Asmus, Helmut (2005). 1200 Jahre Magdeburg (1200 years of Magdeburg) (in German). 3. Magdeburg: Scriptum. pp. 222–223.
5. Timetables for Magdeburg Hbf station (in German)

External links

• Construction work information of Deutsche Bahn (in German)
• Construction work information of the City of Magdeburg (in German)
• A Moment in Magdeburg In 1970 the British Military Train pauses in Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof.