Köln Hauptbahnhof or Cologne Central Station is a railway station in
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 ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. The station is an important local, national and international
transport hub
A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports and ferry slips. F ...
, with many
ICE
Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...
,
Thalys
Thalys (French: ) is a French-Belgian high-speed rail, high-speed train operator originally built around the LGV Nord high-speed line between Gare du Nord, Paris and Brussels-South railway station, Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar tr ...
and
Intercity
InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
trains calling there, as well as regional
Regional-Express
In Germany, Luxembourg and Austria, the Regional-Express (RE, or in Austria: REX) is a type of regional train. It is similar to a semi-fast train, with average speed at about 70–90 km/h (top speed often 160 km/h) as it calls at ...
,
RegionalBahn and local
S-Bahn
The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban- suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble co ...
trains.
EuroNight
EuroNight, abbreviated EN, is a European train category which denotes many main-line national and international night train services within the Western and Central European inter-city rail network. Overview
The classification and name were bro ...
and
Nightjet
Nightjet (stylised as nightjet) is a brand name given by the Austrian Federal Railways ÖBB to its overnight passenger train services.
''Nightjet'' operates in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland. The ...
night services also call at the station. It has frequent connections to
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
by way of the
Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed rail line
The Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed railway (german: Schnellfahrstrecke Köln–Rhein/Main) is a railway line in Germany, connecting the cities of Cologne and Frankfurt. Its route follows the Bundesautobahn 3 for the greater part, and currently the ...
, which starts in southern Cologne. On an average day, about 280,000 travellers frequent the station,
making it the
fifth busiest station in Germany.
The station is situated next to
Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral (german: Kölner Dom, officially ', English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese of ...
.
There is another important station in Cologne, the
Köln Messe/Deutz station
Köln Messe/Deutz station (called ''Köln-Deutz'' until November 2004, Colognian: , ) is an important railway junction for long-distance rail and local services in the Cologne district of Deutz in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...
across the river
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
, just about 400 metres away from Köln Hauptbahnhof. The stations are linked by the
Hohenzollern Bridge
The Hohenzollern Bridge (german: Hohenzollernbrücke) is a bridge crossing the river Rhine in the German city of Cologne (German: ''Köln''). It crosses the Rhine at kilometre 688.5. Originally, the bridge was both a railway and road bridge. ...
, a six-track railway bridge with pedestrian and bicycle lanes on each side. Frequent local services connect the two stations.
History
By 1850 there were five stations at Cologne that had been built by different railway companies. On the west bank of the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
there were the
Bonn-Cologne Railway Company (German, old spelling: ''Bonn-Cölner Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'', ''BCE''), the
Cologne-Krefeld Railway Company (German, old spelling: ''Cöln-Crefelder Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'', ''CCE'') and the
Rhenish Railway Company
The Rhenish Railway Company (German: ''Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'', RhE) was along with the Cologne-Minden Railway Company (CME) and the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company (BME) one of the railway companies that in the mid-19th century ...
(German: ''Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'', ''RhE''). On the east bank there were the
Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company
The Bergisch-Markisch Railway Company (german: Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, BME), also referred to as the Berg-Mark Railway Company or, more rarely, as the Bergisch-Markische Railway Company, was a German railway company that togeth ...
(German: ''Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'', ''BME'') and the
Cologne-Minden Railway Company
The Cologne-Minden Railway Company (German, old spelling: ''Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'', ''CME'') was along with the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company and the Rhenish Railway Company one of the railway companies that in the mid-19th ...
(German, old spelling: ''Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'', ''CME'').
In 1854 a controversial decision was taken to locate a new rail and road bridge next to the cathedral, following consideration of such proposals as connecting the bridge to an existing freight yard and temporary passenger station on the banks of the Rhine (''Rhine Station'') at the street of Trankgasse, which is to the southeast of the current Hauptbahnhof. It was suggested that carriages could be lowered by lift to the Trankgasse station, but it was quickly realized that the only effective way for connecting the left and right bank line was to create a central station. The city agreed to the proposal in 1857 and made available the ground of the former Botanical garden to the north of the cathedral and on the site of part of the old
University of Cologne
The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...
, suppressed by the French in 1798. The railway track was laid at ground level from the bridge over the Rhine and crossing the street of Eigelstein west of the station at ground level and running through the medieval city wall.
Original station
The original ''Central Station'' (German: ''Centralbahnhof'') was built beginning in 1857 to the plans of
Hermann Otto Pflaume Hermann or Herrmann may refer to:
* Hermann (name), list of people with this name
* Arminius, chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe in the 1st century, known as Hermann in the German language
* Éditions Hermann, French publisher
* Hermann, Mis ...
on behalf of the RhE, which had in the same year acquired the BCE. The station was opened on 5 December 1859 together with the
Cathedral Bridge
The Cathedral Bridge (german: Dombrücke, ) was a railway and street bridge crossing the river Rhine in the German city of Cologne. It was owned by the Cologne-Minden Railway Company and named after the Cologne Cathedral, which is located on the ...
(German: ''Dombrücke'', later the site of the
Hohenzollernbrücke
The Hohenzollern Bridge (german: Hohenzollernbrücke) is a bridge crossing the river Rhine in the German city of Cologne (German: ''Köln''). It crosses the Rhine at kilometre 688.5. Originally, the bridge was both a railway and road bridge. ...
). The Central Station was a combined terminus and through station: it included four terminating tracks for the RhE running to the west, while the CME had two through tracks connected to its line on the eastern side of the Rhine by the Cathedral Bridge.
The station quickly reached capacity, but the RhE as operator had only limited interest in developing the station, as this would have mainly benefited competing companies. Serious planning for an enlarged station was therefore only taken after the nationalisation of the railways in Prussia in the 1880s.
New station
For the planning of the new central station two options were considered:
*Construction of a major railway station in an open area north of Venloer Straße and reclassifying of the original station as a minor station, or
*Replacement of the central station with a new building at the same place with an increase in platforms and the construction of two secondary passenger stations (
Cologne West and
Cologne South) on the urban railway on the model of
Berlin Stadtbahn
The Berlin Stadtbahn ("city railway") is a major railway thoroughfare in the German capital Berlin, which runs through Berlin from east to west. It connects the eastern district of Friedrichshain with Charlottenburg in the west via 11 interme ...
and a rail freight bypass.
While the Prussian government argued for the second option, opinion in Cologne was split. On 9 January 1883, the
Cologne City Council
The City Hall (german: link=no, Kölner wikt:Rathaus, Rathaus) is a historical building in Cologne, western Germany. It is located off Hohe Straße in the district of Innenstadt, Cologne, Innenstadt, and set between the two squares of Rathausplatz ...
decided by one vote, finally, for the second option under a plan by the engineer E. Grüttefien of
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. Construction began in 1889. The tracks were raised by six metres with half the new space created under the track filled with earth and a new entrance building was built to the design of
Georg Frentzen
Georg may refer to:
* ''Georg'' (film), 1997
*Georg (musical), Estonian musical
* Georg (given name)
* Georg (surname)
* , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker
See also
* George (disambiguation)
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* ...
, an architect from
Aachen
Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...
. The foundation stone was laid on 7 May 1892.
In 1894 the large tripartite platform hall was completed. The central hall had a roof span of 64 metres covering today's platforms 2 to 7, and outside it were two 13.5 metre-wide aisles for platforms 1 and 8. The 255 metre-long hall included a two-storey waiting room building, with easy access to all platforms. The station included four terminating platforms facing east and four facing west on either side of the waiting rooms, with one through platform on the northeast side and one on the southwest side.
During the restructuring of the rail tracks in the Cologne area in about 1905–1911 (most notable for the construction of the new
South Bridge and the four-track Hohenzollern Bridge), the waiting room building was removed and all the platforms were rebuilt as through platforms. Advantage was taken of the previously unused space beneath the tracks.
Only the first and second class waiting rooms in Trankgasse and Johannisstraße (streets) survived
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and subsequent modifications and are now used as a restaurant and the Alter Wartesaal events centre.
Reconstruction and new construction
![Koln5](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Koln5.JPG)
For several years after World War II, there was debate as to whether the main station should be rebuilt on the site of the Gereon freight yard—now the site of
MediaPark
The MediaPark is an urban regeneration neighborhood in Cologne, Germany, completed by the turn of the millennium. It was set up to accommodate companies of the media and communication industry, as well as cultural institutions, a hotel and some a ...
. Therefore, the reconstruction of the main railway station was a slow process and for a decade Cologne station included temporary structures.
The first building occurred in 1953 with the demolition of the long building on the western side, which was replaced by a modern building with baggage handling facilities and a hotel. The old station building (which had been only slightly damaged during the war and temporarily repaired) was demolished in 1955. On 23 September 1957, the new station hall with its shell-shaped roof was opened to the design of the architects Schmitt and Schneider. The main station building was built on the northern side of the station following the demolition of an originally built-up area between the streets of Maximinenstraße, Domstraße, Hofergasse and Hermannstraße and the shifting of Goldgasse with the building of Breslauer Platz as a second entrance plaza.
In the course of building the
S-Bahn
The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban- suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble co ...
up until 1991, the entire railway line, railway station and the Hohenzollern bridge were supplemented by two independent S-Bahn tracks. First, in 1975 two additional platforms were built (10 and 11) and then the additional tracks were built on the Hohenzollern bridge for the S-Bahn line.
In 2000, a shopping centre was opened at the entry level—including the area under the S-Bahn tracks. The so-called ''colonnade'' includes 70 shops and restaurants with over 11,500 square metres of retail space and 700 employees.
Planning
At a summit of
Deutsche Bahn
The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder.
describes itself as the se ...
, the federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia on 31 March 2010 in Düsseldorf, it was decided that the station should be extended by 2019 with an S-Bahn platform with two S-Bahn tracks at Breslauer Platz. The estimated cost would amount to €60 million.
It is planned to extend the platform for track 1 to provide a secure area for checking passenger and baggage to enable ICE trains to run to
London-St Pancras in 2016.
It will be operationally difficult for trains departing towards London to cross all the western approach tracks, as will be necessary.
Rail services
Cologne Hauptbahnhof is one of the hubs of European long-distance traffic. Long-distance lines run on both sides of the Rhine via Cologne. Therefore, the station situated on the left (western) bank of the Rhine is connected to
Köln Messe/Deutz station
Köln Messe/Deutz station (called ''Köln-Deutz'' until November 2004, Colognian: , ) is an important railway junction for long-distance rail and local services in the Cologne district of Deutz in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...
situated on the right (eastern) bank of the Rhine via the Hohenzollern Bridge. Long-distance trains connect in the station from the
Ruhr
The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...
region, southern Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Belgium. ''Köln Messe/Deutz (tief)'' station is used by two ICE services on the right bank route. In the past, therefore, a direct connection, such as a
moving walkway
A moving walkway, also known as an autowalk, moving pavement, moving sidewalk, people-mover, travolator, or travelator, is a slow-moving conveyor mechanism that transports people across a horizontal or inclined plane over a short to medium distan ...
over the Rhine was considered, but this controversial idea was rejected as too expensive for the time being.
The Cologne rail node is at the centre of eleven routes radiating in all directions. More than 280,000 arriving and departing passengers are estimated to use 1,200 trains daily.
Cologne Hauptbahnhof, together with the Hohenzollern Bridge is a key bottleneck for rail transport in the Cologne region. Long-distance traffic load is concentrated to and from the east of the station, while regional trains mainly run to and from the west. The connecting lines from
Hürth-Kalscheuren and
Steinstraße are operating at capacity. Adding extra tracks is hardly possible. Changing the track layout is not possible with the existing signalling. The network will become increasingly congested up to 2030 and beyond.
Although its platforms are divided into three sections each, they are still remarkably crowded throughout the day, and a major extension of the station is impossible because of its historic surroundings. Connections to the local Cologne network
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 ...
are made by two subterranean stations, ''Dom/Hbf'' and ''Breslauer Platz/Hbf'' at the respective ends of the station. The station has 11
main line
Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to:
Transportation
Railway
* Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system
* Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...
passenger track platforms, of which two are used for
S-Bahn
The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban- suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble co ...
services; one of the two subterranean
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 ...
has two tracks with side platforms (''Dom/Hbf'') the other (''Breslauer Platz/Hbf'') has two out of three tracks in service and one side platform and an island platform (both in use). Its
IATA code
IATA codes are abbreviations that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) publishes to facilitate air travel. They are typically 1, 2, 3, or 4 character combinations (referred to as unigrams, digrams, trigrams, or tetragrams, respect ...
is QKL.
Long-distance services
Cologne Hauptbahnhof is the hub of many
Intercity Express
The Intercity Express (commonly known as ICE ()) is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany. It also serves some destinations in Austria, Denmark (ceased in 2017 but planned to resume in 2022), France, Belgium, Switzerl ...
and
Intercity
InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
lines, mostly serving Cologne every hour or every two hours:
Various high-speed services connect most cities in Germany as well as several neighbouring countries in a few hours.
Thalys
Thalys (French: ) is a French-Belgian high-speed rail, high-speed train operator originally built around the LGV Nord high-speed line between Gare du Nord, Paris and Brussels-South railway station, Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar tr ...
high-speed trains run from Cologne to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
via
Aachen
Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...
,
Liege and
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
. An international Intercity Express service also operates every two hours during the day on the Brussels–Liege—Aachen–Cologne line, continuing to
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
.
With a combined 403 scheduled long-distance arrivals and departures each day at Cologne in the summer timetable of 1989, it was the most important node in the network of
Deutsche Bundesbahn
The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB (German Federal Railway) was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remained ...
.
[ (Dissertation of the University of Leipzig)] With 383 scheduled long-distance arrivals and departures, in Deutsche Bahn's timetable of summer 1996, it was the second most important node (after
Hannover Hauptbahnhof
Hannover Hauptbahnhof (German for ''Hanover main station'') is the main railway station for the city of Hanover in Lower Saxony, Germany. The railway junction is one of the 21 stations listed as a railway Category 1 station by DB Station&Servi ...
).
Regional services
Cologne Hauptbahnhof is also a hub for numerous
Regional-Express
In Germany, Luxembourg and Austria, the Regional-Express (RE, or in Austria: REX) is a type of regional train. It is similar to a semi-fast train, with average speed at about 70–90 km/h (top speed often 160 km/h) as it calls at ...
and
Regionalbahn services, mostly serving the station in Cologne every half-hour or hour, but sometime only every two hours:
S-Bahn trains
Köln Hauptbahnhof is integrated in the Rhein-Sieg S-Bahn network. From Monday to Friday S-Bahn trains run at 20-minute intervals during the day and at other times usually every 30 minutes. It is also served on working days by the
S19 service between
Düren and Au (Sieg), running hourly but substituting for an S13 service. Northwest of the Cologne Hauptbahnhof S-Bahn station is the
Köln Hansaring S-Bahn station and to the east is the
Köln Messe/Deutz S-Bahn station. All S-Bahn services serving the station, use these two stations.
Local services
![Köln Stadtbahnstation Breslauer Platz-Hauptbahnhof A](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/K%C3%B6ln_Stadtbahnstation_Breslauer_Platz-Hauptbahnhof_A.jpg)
Below Cologne Hauptbahnhof there are two stations of the
Cologne Stadtbahn
The Cologne Stadtbahn is a light rail system in the German city of Cologne, including several surrounding cities of the Cologne Bonn Region ( Bergisch Gladbach, Bonn, Bornheim, Brühl, Frechen, Hürth, Leverkusen-Schlebusch, Wesseling). T ...
. Stadtbahn stations ''Dom/Hauptbahnhof'' and ''Breslauer Platz/Hauptbahnhof'' are on the same tunnel that runs under the main station making a turn of 120 degrees. The former one is located below the southern end, next to the cathedral, the latter at the northern end where it connects to the bus station. ''Breslauer Platz/Hauptbahnhof'' station was relocated and completely redesigned up December 2011. Line 5 has been rerouted from ''Dom/Hauptbahnhof'' to
Rathaus station to connect with the first open part of the north-south Stadtbahn tunnel, which is currently under construction. One year later line 5 was lengthened one station from Rathaus to Heumarkt. Formerly, all trains stopped at ''Dom/Hbf'' and ''Breslauer Platz/Hbf'', but, as the junction for the new line will be between these stations, line 5 trains only stop at ''Dom/Hbf'', and line 16 trains will only stop at ''Breslauer Platz/Hbf'' when the line is opened.
Currently ''Dom/Hbf'' station is served by the following lines (during the day at ten-minute intervals, line 18 at five-minute intervals), but ''Breslauer Platz/Hbf'' station is served only by lines 16 and 18:
Services are offered by the
Cologne Stadtbahn
The Cologne Stadtbahn is a light rail system in the German city of Cologne, including several surrounding cities of the Cologne Bonn Region ( Bergisch Gladbach, Bonn, Bornheim, Brühl, Frechen, Hürth, Leverkusen-Schlebusch, Wesseling). T ...
and the
Bonn Stadtbahn
The Bonn Stadtbahn ('' en, city rail'') is a part of the local public transit system in Bonn and the surrounding Rhein-Sieg area, that also includes the Bonn Straßenbahn. Although with six actual Stadtbahn lines (as well as three tram lines) th ...
, often referred to as ''Stadtbahn Rhein-Sieg'' after the
Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg
The Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg (''Rhine-Sieg Transport Association''; VRS) is the public transport association covering the area of the Cologne/Bonn Region, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
It was founded on 1 September 1987, and covers an area ...
(VRS - Rhein-Sieg Transit Authority).
Future
London services
Since January 2010, a system of "open access" on European high-speed railway lines now permits different rail operators to apply to run high-speed passenger services.
DB Fernverkehr
DB Fernverkehr AG (German for "DB Long-Distance Traffic") is a semi-independent division of Deutsche Bahn that operates long-distance passenger trains in Germany. It was founded in 1999 in the second stage of the privatisation of Deutsche Bahn, ...
have announced their intention to operate a direct ICE service from Cologne to
London St Pancras
St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a London station group, central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Bor ...
via Brussels and the
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel (french: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles ( Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. ...
. The proposal, first put forward in 2007,
was delayed by
Eurotunnel
Getlink, formerly Groupe Eurotunnel, is a European public company based in Paris that manages and operates the infrastructure of the Channel Tunnel between England and France, operates the Eurotunnel Shuttle train service, and earns revenue o ...
safety regulations which required operators to use trainsets which could be divided in the Tunnel in the event of an emergency, allowing passengers to be transported out of the tunnel in two directions. This regulation has now been relaxed, and it was envisaged that DB could begin direct London-Cologne services before the end of 2014. These plans have since been delayed, and services are not expected to start until at least 2018.
See also
*
Köln Messe/Deutz railway station
*
Hauptbahnhof
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 ...
*
List of railway stations in North Rhine-Westphalia
This list of railway stations in North Rhine-Westphalia includes the most important passenger stations operated by the Deutsche Bahn in North Rhine-Westphalia, based on the DB's German railway station categories, railway statio ...
*
Odonia
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koln Hauptbahnhof
!
Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn stations
Buildings and structures in Cologne
Innenstadt, Cologne
S6 (Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn)
S11 (Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn)
S12 (Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn)
S13 (Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn)
Railway stations in Germany opened in 1859
Cologne-Bonn Stadtbahn stations
1859 establishments in Prussia
Transit centers in Germany