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Berlin's Hauptbahnhof
Train Station A Destination Itself
Words and photos by John Clayton
Berlin was a frequent bombing target of the USAAF and Britain's Bomber Command in WW2, and at war's end Berlin was a Ghost City with a devastated landscape as far as the eye could see. As a train aficionado I went to Berlin in 2008 to see what this train treasure looked like. In 3 words, Stunning and Spectacular. In fact if you watched the TV show HOMELAND, the station was featured in the last season. Next to the Swiss I've always thought Germany has the best railroad system in Europe, especially their superb Inter City Express (ICE) trains that I've journeyed on many times during trips to Germany. Whizzing along at often 200 mph, their accommodations and level of service are equally impressive.
With the advent of German reunification in 1989 there evolved an urgent need for an expanded and updated rail system in what was previously East Germany. Another key component was to make Berlin THE center rail hub where passengers could arrive, leave and connect on both domestic and international trains as easy as possible. This magnificently modern station does all of that – and a whole lot more! The North South routes are domestic, and the East West lines are international. Getting to where you want to go in Europe from Berlin is now easier and faster than ever before.
What does this REALLY mean for Berlin's Central Train Station? Results reveal there are 300,000 passengers a day; at least 110,000 who are either arriving, leaving or changing trains; equally incredible, trains traveling in all directions leave and depart at an amazing interval of 90 seconds; approximately 220 long distance trains arrive each day; 324 regional trains, and over 600 S-Bahn local trains every day; 310 trains, plus over 600 trains move in an East/West direction, and 234 in a North/South direction; it has over 900 parking spaces for automobiles; there are four platforms with eight tracks serving the North-South lines, that are next to the underground and S-Bahn stations; 54 escalators are dotted around the huge complex, 43 elevators and five magnificent staircases; plus over 9,000 sprinklers for fire protection, and at night the station looks even more spectacular as 9,000 lights illuminate its striking appearance; the station occupies 750,000 square feet of space and the investment for this gigantic project was $850 million. There are over 80 different shops, including upscale hair salons; travel agencies; gifts galore, car rentals; clothing stores, plus wonderful places to eat and dine. Is a train station worth a visit? If it's as spectacular as THIS one, absolutely YES!
Kirsten Schmidt, director of PR for the city of Berlin in North America, comments. "This beautiful and architecturally stunning station makes it easy to get connections to destinations all over Europe. Another great fact about its location is that you can reach some of Berlin's top tourist attractions – such as the nearby Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate and the Holocaust Memorial – all only a short walk from the station." For information about Berlin see www.visitBerlin.de/en
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ave
you ever thought about a railroad station being like a big department
store? I mean what if – when you boarded the elevator to go to
"Home Furnishings," or Electrical Appliances on the 2nd or
3rd floor – you heard instead announcements about trains going
north, south, west and east – and all on different levels? Hard
to believe, but there IS a railroad station in Europe that does exactly
that. It's Berlin's 5 level Hauptbahnhof Central that German Chancellor
Angela Merkel opened on 26th May, 2006.
