Hamburg-Altona (or simply Altona) is a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

, Germany, situated to the west of the city's

main station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

, in the district which bears its name. A main line

terminal station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing ...

, most

Intercity-Express The Intercity Express (commonly known as ICE ()) is a system of high-speed rail, high-speed trains high-speed rail in Germany, predominantly running in Germany. It also serves some destinations in Austria, Denmark (ceased in 2017 but planned to ...

(ICE) services to and from southern Germany begin and terminate at Hamburg-Altona. It also has an underground station (named Altona) which is served by the rapid transit trains of the Hamburg S-Bahn. The station is managed by DB Station&Service.

History

The original Altona station was built by the Altona-Kiel Railway Company at the end of the Hamburg-Altona–Kiel railway, line from Kiel, some 300 metres south of the current station. It opened in 1844, at which time Altona was an independent city within the Duchy of Holstein (the old station is currently used as the present-day Altona borough's town hall). In 1866 the Hamburg-Altona link line, link line was opened, allowing trains to run through to Klosterthor station (near the main train station) and on to Berlin or Hanover. In 1867 the Altona-Blankenese railway was opened to the towns on the right bank of the river Elbe (this line is today used by S-Bahn lines S1 and S11). In 1898 ''Altona Hauptbahnhof'' (Altona main station) was opened at the current location. It was badly damaged during World War II but subsequently rebuilt. The building was finally demolished in the late 1970s during the construction of the City-S-Bahn despite protests; it was feared that the tunnelling would cause the structure to collapse. It was replaced by the current two-storey, low-rise precast concrete structure upon its opening in 1979.

Future

In September 2009 the ''Hamburger Morgenpost'' and ''Die Welt'' revealed that Deutsche Bahn, Deutsche Bahn AG plans to close the long distance train station at Altona and to build a new station in the area of Diebsteich station. According to ''Die Welt'', the Government of Hamburg, city government had preliminary studies for the area to build flats and a park. Initially it was expected that the new station would open in 2016. As a result of frequent protests, that date has been delayed until 2027.

Station layout

Regional and long-distance trains start and terminate at the street-level bay platforms within the terminal. There are two underground island platforms for the Hamburg S-Bahn rapid transit trains, accessible by stairs, escalators and lifts. In front of the station there is a bus station with connections across the city.

Station services

Trains

Long distance

Altona is the terminus/starting point for ICE lines 18, 25 and 28 to Munich, line 22 to Stuttgart, line 26 to Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof, Karlsruhe and line 20 to Basel. All ICE services are run by Deutsche Bahn.

Regional trains

Regional services available from Altona include number RE 6/60 to Westerland (Sylt) station, Westerland (Sylt) and RB 71 to Itzehoe station, Itzehoe and Wrist station, Wrist.

S-Bahn (Rapid transit)

The S1 and S11 line trains on the Altona-Blankenese railway, Blankenese line from the west of the city call at Altona and continue on towards Hamburg Hauptbahnhof via the Hamburg City S-Bahn, City S-Bahn and the Hamburg-Altona link line, link line towards Hamburg Airport station, Hamburg Airport and the northern terminus at Poppenbüttel station, Poppenbüttel. Route S3 runs from Pinneberg station, Pinneberg in the north-west of the city via the Hamburg-Altona–Kiel railway, Pinneberg line and continues via Jungfernstieg station and the Hauptbahnhof and via the Harburg S-Bahn towards Hamburg-Neugraben station, Neugraben, eventually terminating at Stade station, Stade in Lower Saxony. Route S31 starts here and runs via the link line, Holstenstrasse station and the Hauptbahnhof towards Hamburg-Harburg station, Harburg and Neugraben.

Facilities

Several shops are located in the station building, along with emergency and information telephones, ticket machines, toilets, lockboxes and personnel.

Gallery

File:Altonarbf90.jpg, The first station with wings built in 1890, as seen from the south] File:130-altona-cropped.GIF, Bahnhof Altona (railway station) in 1971. Buses, trams, trains and S-Bahn trains all met here. File:Bahnhof Hamburg Altona.JPG, Present-day platforms and tracks

References

External links

DB station information

Picture of the Hamburg-Altona station

Network plan HVV
(PDF, 560 KiB) {{Authority control Hamburg S-Bahn stations Railway stations in Germany opened in 1844 Railway stations located underground in Hamburg, Altona Buildings and structures in Altona, Hamburg Hermann Eggert buildings