Memmingen station in the city of
Memmingen
Memmingen (; Swabian: ''Memmenge'') is a town in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is the economic, educational and administrative centre of the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the river that marks the Baden-WÃ ...
in the German state of
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
. The current station building had two predecessors, with the original being opened in 1862. The
Buchloe–Memmingen and the
Leutkirch–Memmingen railways meet the
Neu-Ulm–Kempten railway
The Neu-Ulm–Kempten railway is a mostly single track and non-electrified main line from Neu-Ulm via Memmingen to Kempten in the German state of Bavaria. It follows the Iller river for its entire length and is therefore also called the Iller Vall ...
(Iller Valley Railway) in Memmingen. The route from
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
to
Zurich through Memmingen station is planned to be upgraded for tilting trains and electrified.
The station is designed to be accessible. For some time various parties have sought another railway stop at Schulzentrum West (school centre west) for about 3,500 students.
Location
The station is located in the city centre on the eastern edge of the old town, between Kalchstraße and Lindentorstraße. Maximilianstraße starts outside the station from Bahnhofstraße (station street) which runs west of the station. To the north there is a pedestrian underpass to Augsburger Strasse and to the south Gaswerkstraße crosses the railway tracks over an iron bridge.
History
Supported by financing by the city, the Iller Valley Railway connected Memmingen to the railway network in 1862. The first section from Memmingen to Neu-Ulm opened on 12 October 1862 and the southern portion from Memmingen to Kempten was put into operation on 1 June 1863. It was originally a joint post office and railway station.
It became a railway junction on 1 May 1874 with the opening of the Buchloe–Memmingen line. This connected Memmingen with the Bavarian capital of
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
. In 1879, the Memmingen station precinct had five tracks and three platforms. All the operations of the precinct at that time were handled on the site of today's station. The Kalchtor (a tower), the Lindentörlein (a gate in the wall), the Wasserturm (another tower) and a large part of the city walls were demolished for the rail infrastructure. A
watering point and an accommodation building were located on the east side opposite the station building. Between them was a two-track
roundhouse with a 12-metre
turntable
A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
. A two track carriage shed with a loading ramp, a warehouse and turntable for wagons was built on the west side.
In 1887, the
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German ...
and the
Kingdom of Württemberg
The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which existe ...
signed a treaty for the completion of the
Württemberg Allgäu Railway and the construction of the Leutkirch–Memmingen line. Memmingen station was rebuilt in 1888. West of the original track three terminal tracks were built, two next to a platform. Next to the station there were sidings for passenger carriages and freight wagons and a shed for locomotives of the
Royal Württemberg State Railways
The Royal Württemberg State Railways (''Königlich Württembergische Staats-Eisenbahnen'' or ''K.W.St.E.'') were the state railways of the Kingdom of Württemberg (from 1918 the ''People's State of Württemberg'') between 1843 and 1920. Please ...
. There was also an engine shed with two tracks. An annex with accommodation rooms was built for train drivers of the Württemberg Railways. A 12-metre turntable was built in front of the engine shed, with a watering point as well as a head and a side loading ramp. A total of 2,740 m of new track was laid and 1,080 m of old track was lifted and re-laid. 2,090 m of track was moved and 1,585 m of track was raised by 20 to 30 centimetres. 13 new
sets of points, one of them British, were installed, 15 were removed and re-used, two overlapping sets of points were inserted and two sets of points were moved.
![LindentorstrasseEisernerSteg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/LindentorstrasseEisernerSteg.jpg)
The roundhouse was moved from the west to the northeast side of the Augsburger Strasse level crossing. So foreign rail traffic could be generally carried out on the current tracks 11 to 13 without affecting the operations of the
Royal Bavarian State Railways. A loading facility was moved and extended by 20 m and the accommodation building was raised by one floor. In 1889, a 17,133 ton iron bridge was built for pedestrian traffic just north of the town's stream and moved further north 19 years later.
Extension and expansion
The line to Leutkirch was opened on 2 October 1889. From 1890 to 1893 extensive changes and additions to the tracks were necessary. The freight yard and the loading tracks were extended. The main platform gained an iron platform canopy. Shelters were built for the growing number of employees (in 1913 there were 155 railway workers).
The post office moved to its own premises in 1893 and the site became a railway station only. On 22 October 1900, the
Ungerhausen-Ottobeuren railway was opened with its trains normally running to and from Memmingen. Finally, on 23 June 1904, the
Memmingen–Legau railway was opened.
A new freight shed and office was completed in the 1909. The old freight hall on track 13 was converted into another residential building for rail staff. A year later, a carriage cleaning shed was opened at the Württemberg locomotive depot.
The width of the platforms was not wide enough for passengers or freight transport. From 1916 to 1919, they were rebuilt and the railway tracks in the passenger station were extended. The removal of the Bavarian locomotive shed and the watering point was required to make room for this work. The platforms were extended and provided with a wooden canopy and a platform underpass to give access. The remaining works and the construction of a building next to the station building were not completed until 1921 due to World War I.
World War II
Towards the end of World War II, the railway junction and the adjacent air base were the target of several raids. On 20 July 1944, the first attack caused major damage on the passenger part of the station. Harm to passengers and damage to rolling stock was averted by the evacuation of four passenger trains. After intensive clearing and repair work train operations were recommenced shortly afterwards. The most devastating air raid was on 20 April 1945.
On 26 April 1945, U.S. forces marched in, so the Second World War ended for Memmingen. The rehabilitation of the shattered infrastructure left a heavy burden of debt. After traffic was restored, rationalisation measures started in the early fifties. The Memmingen track supervisor's office (''Bahnmeisterei'') no 2 was closed on 1 September 1953 and the Memmingen operations office was dissolved on 1 May 1954.
Extension of the bus station and demolitions
![BahnhofMemmingenZOB](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/BahnhofMemmingenZOB.jpg)
To relieve the crowded station forecourt, a bus station was built south of the station building at the end of the 1960s, which was upgraded as the ''zentralen Omnibusbahnhof'' (central bus station, ZOB) in 1982. The bay platform track 12 was demolished to add an additional through track; this platform had become dispensable, especially since the closure of passenger and freight traffic on the branch line to Legau on 28 May 1972.
In the 1970s, the track plan was simplified as a result of various rationalisations. This applied particularly to connections in the freight depot. After the depot's water tower was closed in 1976, the roundhouse and turntable were demolished in 1983. Only the massive structure of the roundhouse remained and it continues to be used for accommodation.
With sidings 21 to 23 having a good design for turning wagons around, the remains of track 13 and track 10 could be dismantled in the mid-eighties. While several new sidings were built in the 1970s, it has not been possible to stop the decline in freight transport since the mid-eighties.
Recent history
![Bahnhof1MM](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Bahnhof1MM.JPG)
In 1980, an attempt was made to make up the lost ground in the transport of
swap bodies with the establishment of a container yard. On 30 May 1976, Memmingen, became a rail node during the rationalisation of freight operations. On 25 September 1988, the node was included in the area of operations of Neu-Ulm.
The first major project was the replacement of the Augsburgerstraße level crossing with an underpass for bicycle and pedestrian traffic only, which was completed in 1999. Since the underpass ran directly at the northern end of the platforms, an extension was made to the platform between tracks two and three. This led to the modernisation and raising of all the platforms. The platform edges, which were previously only about 20 cm high, were a significant obstacle to passengers changing trains. The rebuilding of the platforms included the replacement of the old wooden platform canopies. A modern passenger information system replaced the antiquated train route indicator with plug-in steel plates. The new station was opened in 2001. A modular approach that could have been used throughout Germany for new station buildings was used. Because of its high cost,
Deutsche Bahn, however, did not apply this system to other similar railway buildings, so it was the only modular station.
Signal boxes
![BahnhofMemmingenStellwerkSued3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/BahnhofMemmingenStellwerkSued3.jpg)
From 1932 to 1934 there was an
electro-mechanical 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 ...
system of class VES 1912 with four interlockings. In 1932, signalbox 4 in Augsburger Strasse and the train dispatching centre 3 went into operation.
Signal box 2 was switched on at the junction of routes to Kempten and Legau and Leutkirch in 1933 and a year later signal box 1 was completed at the southern end of the station at the former
hump
The mountains and hills of the British Isles are categorised into various lists based on different combinations of elevation, prominence, and other criteria such as isolation. These lists are used for peak bagging, whereby hillwalkers attempt ...
.
Operations
Long distance passenger services
Memmingen station has regular
EuroCityExpress connections towards
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
and
Zurich, as well as a daily intercity service between the
Ruhr and
Oberstdorf
Oberstdorf ( Low Alemannic: ''Oberschdorf'') is a municipality and skiing and hiking town in Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. It is the southernmost settlement in Germany and one of its highest towns.
At the&nb ...
.
The
Ulm
Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...
–
Kempten
Kempten (, (Swabian German: )) is the largest Town#Germany, town of Allgäu, in Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. The population was about 68,000 in 2016. The area was possibly settled originally by Celts, but was later taken over by th ...
section is part of the important passenger route between Bavarian
Allgäu
The Allgäu (Standard German: , also Allgovia) is a region in Swabia in southern Germany. It covers the south of Bavarian Swabia, southeastern Baden-Württemberg, and parts of Austria. The region stretches from the pre-alpine lands up to the A ...
and
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
in the south and central and northern Germany.
Regional services
Trains meet at the station at regular intervals (on the hour) resulting in good transport connectivity in all directions.
Freight
Until 1980, the volume of freight traffic in the station increased considerably. This was due to the general increase in production of industrial enterprises and the construction of a variety of sidings. This ever-increasing volume of freight required the extension of the tracks, which happened in several stages. Towards Kempten there was a separate freight yard with crossovers for entry and exit as well as a hump.
Notes
References
* ''Bahnhöfe von A–Z, Bahnhof Memmingen'', 6 pages
External links
* {{cite web, url=http://www.verkehrsmittelvergleich.de/bahnhof/memmingen, title= Information on Memmingen station, publisher= verkehrsmittelvergleich.de , language=German, accessdate=16 January 2013
Railway stations in Bavaria
Railway stations in Germany opened in 1862
1862 establishments in Bavaria
Memmingen