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Karlsruhe Central Station

Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof
Deutsche Bahn S-Bahn-Logo.svg Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn
Through station
Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof 20070521 Ausschnitt.jpg
Main entrance
Location Bahnhofplatz 1a
76137 Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg
Germany
Coordinates 48°59′38″N 8°24′2″E / 48.99389°N 8.40056°E / 48.99389; 8.40056Coordinates: 48°59′38″N 8°24′2″E / 48.99389°N 8.40056°E / 48.99389; 8.40056
Line(s)
Platforms 16
Construction
Architectural style Neoclassical and Art Nouveau
Other information
Station code 3107
DS100 code RK
IBNR 8000191
Category 1
Website www.bahnhof.de
History
Opened 1913
Traffic
Passengers 60,000 daily

Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof is a railway station in the German city of Karlsruhe. The station is classified as a Category 1 station, as it is a major hub where several railways connect.

When the Baden Mainline was built between Mannheim and Basel, the original Karlsruhe station was built on Kriegsstraße between Ettlinger Tor and Mendelssohnplatz about 500 metres south of Karlsruher Marktplatz, the central square of Karlsruhe. The station was designed by Friedrich Eisenlohr and it was opened on 1 April 1843 with two platforms. From the beginning, it was designed as a through station. South of the station there was a locomotive depot and to its east there was a freight yard and a central workshop.

It was built to Irish gauge (1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)), as were all railways built by the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway in the early days. It was converted to standard gauge in 1855. In the following years other routes were connected to Karlsruhe station: in 1859 the line to Stuttgart, in 1863 the Maxau Railway (German: Maxaubahn) connecting with the Palatinate, in 1870 the Rhine Railway to Mannheim, in 1879 the Kraichgau Railway and in 1895 the strategic railway from Graben-Neudorf via Rastatt to Haguenau. The tracks ran at ground level and the approach lines were built with sharp curves because of the confined spaces.

The increased rail traffic and the resulting frequent closures of the level crossings disrupted the ever growing city and made its expansion more difficult. After several years of discussion, which considered, among other things, the raising of the level of the tracks, the Baden parliament decided in 1902 to relocate the station to a site one kilometre south of the existing site.


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