Saarlouis Hauptbahnhof is the only station in the town of Saarlouis in the German state of

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...

. It is on the Saar line between

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

and Saarbrucken in the district of Roden, about 1 km north of the city centre. It 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 3 station.

History

The first station on the territory of today's Saarlouis was opened in

Fraulautern Fraulautern is a district of Saarlouis in the Saarland region of Germany. In 1936, the village of Fraulautern was incorporated into the city of Saarlouis. It is also the source of the alternative name for Saarlouis, ''Saarlautern''. Fraulautern ha ...

on 16 December 1858 during the construction of the Saar line. However, Saarlouis was cut off from rail traffic, which hindered its economic development and the city fell behind the neighbouring communities of Dillingen and Bous. This initially led to the establishment of the ''Straßen- und Kleinbahnen im Kreis Saarlouis'' (Tramways and Light Railways in the District of Saarlouis). In addition, it was decided to construct a railway station in the current district of Roden. Saarlouis station was opened on the present site on 19 December 1912. From the mid-1960s the station was connected to the electrical 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 ...

after the station was renamed to ''Saarlouis Hauptbahnhof'' ("main station", although there are no other stations in Saarlouis). Until 2002, InterRegio services also stopped in Saarlouis; since then the station has only been served by regional services.

Infrastructure

The station has three platforms tracks and three freight tracks that have no platform. Platform 1 has a length of 314 m and a height of 76 cm, track 2 and 3 are each 300 m long and 55 cm high. Barrier-free access for the disabled is only possible on platform 1. Tracks 2 and 3 are only accessible via a pedestrian tunnel with stairs. The station has a travel centre. In front of the station there are parking spaces, bicycle parking, taxi stands and restrooms. The station building was replaced as part of a renovation program for stations in the Saarland, which was completed in 2012. In 1967,

relay 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 ...

was installed at the station.

Rail services

The station is now only served by regional trains. Its fares are regulated by the ''Saarländischen Verkehrsverbund'' (Saarland Transport Association) as part of German fare zone 452. Outside the station, there is a bus station with buses to all parts of the city of Saarlouis, to France and to

Lebach Lebach is a town in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately northeast of Saarlouis, and north of Saarbrücken. As of 2020, its population was 18,828. Inhabitants (31 December) Mayors * 1978–2006: Niko ...

. The latter replaces the closed

Prims Valley Railway The Prims Valley Railway (german: Primstalbahn) is a partly closed railway line that ran south from Nonnweiler to Primsweiler along the upper reaches of the Prims and then turned to the east and ran via Lebach to Neunkirchen in the German state ...

(''Primstalbahn'').

Notes

External links

* * {{Authority control Railway stations in the Saarland Buildings and structures in Saarlouis (district) Railway stations in Germany opened in 1858