The Ludwigshafen (Rhein) Mitte (german: middle) station is in the southern part of the centre of the city of

Ludwigshafen am Rhein Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning " Ludwig's Port upon Rhine"), is a city in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the river Rhine, opposite Mannheim. With Mannheim, Heidelberg, and the surrounding region, it form ...

in the German state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

. It was established in 2003 and is classified by

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 ...

as a category 4 station. It is located next to the public transport hub of Berliner Platz and has good connections to all parts of the city of Mannheim and to the surrounding area. The geographical position of

Ludwigshafen Hauptbahnhof Ludwigshafen (Rhein) Hauptbahnhof is a railway station at Ludwigshafen am Rhein in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. A combination of a wedge-shaped station and a two-level interchange, the station is at the junction on the lines from Mai ...

(central station) on the outskirts of the city made it necessary to build a new station in a central location at the so-called South Pole of the inner city. The station was opened on 14 December 2003 in the wake of the commissioning of the

Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn The Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn ''(S-Bahn RheinNeckar)'' forms the backbone of the urban rail transport network of the Rhine Neckar Area, including the cities of Mannheim, Heidelberg and Ludwigshafen. The S-Bahn operates over 437 km of route in the ...

. The elaborate design of the station was very well accepted by passengers from the beginning. This accelerated the Hauptbahnhof's loss of significance, so that some

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 f ...

trains now stop in Ludwigshafen-Mitte, but not at the Hauptbahnhof.

Station

The station has a side platform (platform track 1) and a central platform (tracks 2 and 3). The platforms for most of their length are covered by a glass roof and the building is full of light. In 2004, the station received the Renault Traffic Design Award, an architecture prize. A fourth track runs through the station on its southern side without access to a platform. This track is primarily used for freight trains passing through the station. Originally the station was only intended for handling local transport, in particular the S-Bahn, with main line traffic expected to run between

Mannheim Hauptbahnhof Mannheim Hauptbahnhof (German for ''Mannheim central station'') is a railway station in Mannheim in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is the second largest traffic hub in southwestern Germany after Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof, with 658 train ...

and Ludwigshafen Hauptbahnhof without stopping. Subsequently, however, plans were changed and the length of the platform was extended, so that

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, Switzerla ...

trains could stop at the station. Just east of the station the line runs over the Konrad Adenauer Bridge to cross the

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

. This means that the station is somewhat elevated. There is access from the eastern side of the station from the walkway between Berliner Platz and the Walzmühle shopping centre by stairs, escalators and lifts. There is access on the west side of the station via steps at the overpass over Mundenheimer Straße.

Connections

Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn

Regional transport

References

{{reflist, 30em Railway stations in Rhineland-Palatinate Buildings and structures in Ludwigshafen Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn stations Railway stations in Germany opened in 2003