Bad Honnef (Rhein) is a station on the

East Rhine Railway The East Rhine Railway (German: ''Rechte Rheinstrecke'', literally 'right (of the) Rhine railway') is a major, double-track, electrified railway line, running along the right bank of the Rhine from Cologne to Wiesbaden. The -long line forms two De ...

Bad Honnef Bad Honnef () is a spa town in Germany near Bonn in the Rhein-Sieg district, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the border of the neighbouring state Rhineland-Palatinate. To the north it lies on the slopes of the Drachenfels (“Dragon's Ro ...

, a town in the German state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

. It was opened on 11 July 1870 during the extension of the East Rhine Railway from

Neuwied Neuwied () is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne. Th ...

to Oberkassel as a station with the name of ''Honnef (Rhein)''. In the course of the commissioning of the

electronic interlocking In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junctions or crossings. The signalling appliances and tracks are sometimes collectively re ...

on the Right Rhine line, the station was converted into a halt (''Haltepunkt'') with an ''Anschlussstelle'' (siding that is normally locked out of use) in August 2014.

Location

The station is located on the western edge of Bad Honnef between Lohfelder Straße to the west and August-Lepper-Strasse and the parallel federal highway 42 to the east, near the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

bank in front of the island of Grafenwerth. At its southern edge is a commercial area, to its north is a bridge structure called ''Honneferkreuz'' ("Honnef Cross"), which serves as an interchange with the B 42, which gives access for passengers to the station. There is a parking area at and below the bridge. The station has an island platform, which is accessed by a subway with stairs from the entrance building. The entrance building is two-storeys, with a one-storey wing extending to the subway. The station is classified by Deutsche Bahn as Category 5.

History

The original entrance building was built in a similar style to some of the neighbouring stations in neo-Classical forms and the entrance was bordered by a broad set of steps. During their visit to Bad Honnef, the Swedish king and queen,

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

and Sophia, were received at the station in 1901. Opposite the station was a station hotel, which was demolished at the latest after the Second World War. In 1957, the station was extensively modified in anticipation of the

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...

of the railway line (1958) with the entrance building losing its neo-classical style and the

signal box In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...

being moved to a smaller building south of the station. After Honnef received the official prefix of ''Bad'' (

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

) in 1960, the station was renamed ''Bad Honnef (Rhein)'' in 1964 or 1965. In 1999, Deutsche Bahn closed its ticket office, which was initially taken over and operated by an agency, but was later closed. Around 2000, 1500 passengers frequented the station daily. For a number of years, the station building, which is no longer used for railway purposes, has served as the headquarters of a passenger transport company. In 2011, Deutsche Bahn sold it to the company. The new owner plans to demolish it and build a new railway station building in the long term. The station forecourt was extended in 2011/12 in two construction phases with the removal of the cobblestone pavers and the construction of a barrier-free bus stop. Recently, efforts have been made to upgrade the station and open a kiosk with ticket sales for regional transport and a postal agency. In the long term, the city plans to abandon the existing station location in favour of a new station at the end of the

Stadtbahn ' (; German for "city railway"; plural ') is a German word referring to various types of urban rail transport. One type of transport originated in the 19th century, firstly in Berlin and followed by Vienna, where rail routes were created that co ...

( Siebengebirgsbahn) (as of 2016).

Services

The station is served by RE8 services hourly. On working days, it is also served by RB27 services, which together provide a service every half-hour to

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

and Rommerskirchen and to

Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bahnhof Bad Honnef (Rhein) station Railway stations in North Rhine-Westphalia Railway stations in Germany opened in 1870 Buildings and structures in Rhein-Sieg-Kreis