Münster Hauptbahnhof

(Redirected from Münster Central Station)

Münster Hauptbahnhof is the main railway station in the city of Münster in Germany.

Münster Hauptbahnhof
Deutsche Bahn
Crossing station
Station hall seen from Berliner Platz
General information
LocationBerliner Platz 8-10, Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia
Germany
Coordinates51°57′24″N 7°38′6″E / 51.95667°N 7.63500°E / 51.95667; 7.63500
Line(s)
Platforms9 (1 closed)
Construction
AccessibleYes
Architect
  • Professor Raschdorff (original station)
  • Theodor Dierksmeier (new station)
Architectural style
Other information
Station code4280[1]
DS100 codeEMST[2]
IBNR8000263
Category2[1]
Fare zoneWestfalentarif: 55011[3]
Websitewww.bahnhof.de
History
Opened1 October 1890
Key dates
1930renovated
1945destroyed
1958rebuilt
Passengers
65,000
Services
Preceding station DB Fernverkehr Following station
Recklinghausen Hbf
towards Köln Hbf
ICE 14 Osnabrück Hbf
Recklinghausen Hbf IC 32
Select trains
Terminus
Hamm (Westf) Hbf IC 34 Rheine
Recklinghausen Hbf IC 35 Rheine
Dortmund Hbf
towards München Hbf
ICE 42 Osnabrück Hbf
Dortmund Hbf
towards Basel SBB
ICE 43
Terminus ICE 77 Osnabrück Hbf
Preceding station Following station
Gelsenkirchen Hbf
towards Köln Hbf
FLX 20 Osnabrück Hbf
towards Hamburg Hbf
Preceding station DB Regio NRW Following station
Münster-Albachten RE 2 Terminus
Münster-Albachten RE 42
Havixbeck RB 63 Münster-Zentrum Nord
Terminus
Terminus RB 64 Münster-Zentrum Nord
towards Enschede
Preceding station National Express Germany Following station
Greven
towards Rheine
RE 7 (Rhein-Münsterland-Express) Münster-Hiltrup
towards Krefeld Hbf
Preceding station Eurobahn Following station
Terminus RB 50 Münster-Amelsbüren
towards Dortmund Hbf
RB 65 Terminus
RB 66
RB 67 Telgte
Münster-Hiltrup RB 69 Terminus
Münster-Hiltrup
towards Warburg
RB 89
Preceding station WestfalenBahn Following station
Greven
towards Emden Hbf
RE 15 Terminus
Map
Location
Münster Hauptbahnhof is located in North Rhine-Westphalia
Münster Hauptbahnhof
Münster Hauptbahnhof
Location within North Rhine-Westphalia
Münster Hauptbahnhof is located in Germany
Münster Hauptbahnhof
Münster Hauptbahnhof
Location within Europe
Münster Hauptbahnhof is located in Europe
Münster Hauptbahnhof
Münster Hauptbahnhof
Münster Hauptbahnhof (Europe)

History

edit

The original Münster station was opened in 1848 by the Münster-Hamm Railway Company, when it opened by the Münster–Hamm railway to the then capital of the Prussian Province of Westphalia as a terminus of its branch line from Hamm, where it connected with Cologne-Minden trunk line. The railway was opened with a ceremonial run on 25 May 1848. The station building was erected in front of the Servatii-Tor (gate) between the modern streets of Wolbecker Straße and Albersloher Weg.

About a month after the opening passenger services were added to the freight traffic on the line. However, the new means of transport was not particularly successful in the early years. On average 100 passengers per train were recorded.

1855-1880

edit

In 1855, the Münster-Hamm Railway Company was taken over in 1855 by the Prussian government-funded Royal Westphalian Railway Company (Königlich-Westfälische Eisenbahn, KWE). This led to a shortening of travel times, because through trains now ran from Warburg to Munster.

In 1856 the Münster–Rheine railway was opened. This line connected at Rheine with the Hanoverian Western Railway, connecting Löhne, Rheine and Emden.

The concession for the construction of the railway connection from the Ruhr area and Venlo via Münster to Hamburg was awarded in 1866 to the Cologne-Minden Railway Company (Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, CME). The Wanne–Munster section of this route was opened in 1870. It was extended to Osnabrück in 1871 /and to Hamburg in 1874. So Munster now had direct access to the German North Sea ports. The CME built its Münster station east of the KWE station. This station was designed as a stopgap, so that a single station could be built for both railways.

In western Münsterland, at the beginning of the 1860s there were efforts to promote the local economy by building a railway link from Münster via Gronau to Enschede. Construction began in June 1872, but the Münster-Enschede railway company ran into financial difficulties in 1874. The KWE therefore took over its management and on 30 September 1875 it opened the line to Enschede. This line used the KWE station.`

1880–1914

edit
 
Münster Central Station 1890

After the nationalisation of the railways in 1881, all railways in Münster became part of the Prussian state railways. Already in 1875 the rural municipalities of St. Lamberti and Mauritz had been incorporated into Münster, so it now had planning authority for the station area. In 1885, the financial resources became available to build a central station. The opening of the news station took place on 1 October 1890.

Initially planned as a narrow gauge railway from Münster to Telgte, the line from Münster via Warendorf to Rheda was built as standard gauge. On 8 February 1886, the line between Munster and Warendorf. was opened.

Munster increasingly became a main railway station and the rail network was extended in 1903 over the Münster–Warstein line to Neubeckum and in 1908 over the Baumberge Railway via Coesfeld to Empel-Rees. However, the station did not reach achieve the significance the city sought, mainly because the main line connecting Cologne and the Ruhr with Hanover and Berlin bypassed Munster.

1920–1933

edit
 
The station after the 1930 reconstruction

In 1920 the German state railways were incorporated in Deutsche Reichsbahn. The line to Lünen was opened in 1928 and the rail freight bypass was opened in 1930.

Since the traffic volume had increased further at the end of the 1920s, the construction of another station platform was necessary. In 1928/30 the station building was rebuilt as a "gateway to the modern city" and the reconstruction was completed at the end of September 1930 for Katholikentag.

1933–1945

edit

Münster was included in the Blitzzug ("Lightning Train") network. From 6 October 1935, Münster was included on the Cologne–Hamburg route of this network.

The situation changed fundamentally with the start of the Second World War. Discounts for travel were abolished in January 1940 and a reduced timetable was introduced. Further reductions of services followed.

In 1941/42, an underground bunker was built at Münster station for 2,000 people. This was captured in 1945, but without injury.

There were 102 air raids on the Münster rail facilities by Allied bombers. The air attacks on the station area destroyed wagons and locomotives as well as 75 to 80% of the tracks. The station building was completely destroyed.

1945–2012

edit
 
Old station hall, demolished in 2015. Photo taken in 2005.

On 2 April 1945, Allied troops marched into Münster. In late April, the lines to the west were reopened. In the summer of 1945 reconstruction began of tracks and signal boxes. After the repair of damaged bridges in the area of Schleuse Münster, trains could also run to Osnabrück again. Because in the platform area the platforms, stairs and pedestrian tunnels were unusable, they had to be hastily repaired before the commencement of passenger operations.

In 1949, a connection was built to the city's port railway which allowed the passenger trains of the Westfälische Landes-Eisenbahn (Westphalian State Railway) to approach the station from Lippstadt. For this, the Westfälische Landes-Eisenbahn built a fifth platform on the east side of station, which was used only by its own trains. This platform has been closed since the abandonment of passenger service on the line to Lippstadt in the winter timetable of 1975.[4]

At the beginning of the 1950s, the station was rebuilt in several phases. The station hall was completed in 1958 and work at the station was completed 1960. The plans for the work at the station and adjacent areas were prepared by the Munster-born chief architect of Deutsche Bundesbahn, Theodor Dierksmeier.

From 8 June 1960 in Münster was connected to the Trans Europ Express network. The TEA Parsifal express ran from Hamburg to Paris and stopped in Münster.

In September 1968, the whole line between the Ruhr and Hamburg was electrified; the line between Münster and the Ruhr had already been electrified for two years. The line was electrified to Emden in 1981.

Starting on 23 July 2012 the private railway company Hamburg-Köln-Express provides up to three intercity train pairs daily along the route Hamburg - Münster - Cologne.[5] The French rail company SNCF is also thinking about a new TGV lines, including a route from Strasbourg to Frankfurt, Cologne and Münster to Hamburg. A realization of these plans could take place in 2011. As of 2014, no further plans have been announced on this TGV route.[6]

Since 2013

edit

From 2013 until 2017, the buildings of the Hauptbahnhof in Münster have been completely rebuilt. The re-opening was on 24 June 2017.[7]

Rail services

edit

The station is served by the following services:[8]

Long distance

edit

Long distance services as of 2021:

Line Route Frequency Operator
(rolling stock)
ICE 14 CologneDüsseldorfDuisburgEssenGelsenkirchenRecklinghausenMünsterOsnabrückHannoverWolfsburgBerlin One train pair DB Fernverkehr
(ICE 1)
IC 32 Münster – Recklinghausen – Gelsenkirchen – Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Cologne (– Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Stuttgart – Ulm – Augsburg – Munich – Salzburg – Klagenfurt) 1 train DB Fernverkehr/ÖBB
(IC)
IC 34 Frankfurt – WetzlarSiegen – Dortmund/UnnaHammMünster – (EmdenNorddeich Mole) 5 train pairs DB Fernverkehr
(IC 2)
IC 35 Norddeich Mole – Norddeich – Norden – Emden – Leer – Papenburg – Meppen – Lingen – Rheine – / Bremerhaven-Lehe - Bremen - Osnabrück - Münster – Recklinghausen – Wanne-Eickel – Gelsenkirchen – Oberhausen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Bonn – Remagen – Andernach – Koblenz ( – Mainz – Mannheim – Stuttgart / Konstanz) Every two hours DB Fernverkehr
(IC, IC 2)
ICE 39 Cologne - Düsseldorf - Duisburg - Essen - MünsterHamburgHamburg-Altona Some trains DB Fernverkehr
(ICE 1)
ICE 42 (Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg – BremenOsnabrück –) Münster –Dortmund – Bochum – Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Siegburg/Bonn – Frankfurt Airport – Mannheim – Stuttgart – Ulm – Augsburg – München-Pasing – Munich Every two hours DB Fernverkehr
(ICE 4)
ICE 43 Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg – Bremen – Osnabrück – Münster – Dortmund – Bochum – Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Cologne  – Frankfurt Airport – Mannheim – KarlsruheFreiburgBasel Every two hours DB Fernverkehr
(ICE 3)
ICE 77 Münster – Osnabrück – Hannover – Berlin – Berlin Ost Some trains DB Fernverkehr
(IC)
FLX 20 Hamburg – Hamburg-Harburg – Bremen – Osnabrück – Münster – Gelsenkirchen – Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Cologne 2–3 train pairs Flixtrain

Regional

edit

Regional services as of 2021:

Line Route Frequency
RE 2 DüsseldorfDuisburgEssenGelsenkirchenRecklinghausenMünsterLengerichOsnabrück 60 mins
RE 7 KrefeldNeussCologneSolingenWuppertalHagenHammMünsterRheine 60 mins
RE 15 Münster – Rheine – LingenLeerEmdenEmden Außenhafen 60 mins
RE 42 MünsterHaltern am See – Recklinghausen – Gelsenkirchen – Essen – (Mülheim – Duisburg – Krefeld – ViersenMönchengladbach) 30 mins
RB 50 Dortmund – LünenMünster 60 mins
RB 63 MünsterCoesfeld 30/60 mins
RB 64 EnschedeGronauMünster 60 mins
RB 65 Rheine – Münster 60 mins
RB 67 MünsterGüterslohBielefeld 60 mins
RB 69 Münster – Hamm – Gütersloh – Bielefeld 60 mins
RB 89 Münster – Hamm – PaderbornWarburg 60 mins

References

edit
  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. ^ "Fahrtauskunft". Westfalentarif. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  4. ^ Anja Gussek-Revermann, Heinz Kilian: Münster und die Eisenbahn. Ardey-Verlag 2003, p. 173
  5. ^ newxtix Hamburg-Köln-Express GmbH gegründet (German)
  6. ^ Westfälische Nachrichten vom 3. November 2009 (German)
  7. ^ Klaus Baumeister: Massenansturm zur Eröffnung des Hauptbahnhofs – Volles Haus gleich am ersten Tag, in Westfälische Nachrichten, 26 June 2017, retrieved 13 July 2018.
  8. ^ Timetables for Münster Hbf station (in German)
edit