Aachen Hauptbahnhof

Aachen Hauptbahnhof (German for Aachen main station) is the most important railway station for the city of Aachen, in the far west of Germany near the Dutch and Belgian border. It is the largest of the four currently active Aachen stations, and is integrated into the long-distance network.

Aachen
Deutsche Bahn
Hbf
Station forecourt and main entrance
General information
LocationBahnhofplatz 2a
52064 Aachen
Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia
Germany
Coordinates50°46′03″N 6°05′28″E
Line(s)
Platforms7
Construction
ArchitectFriedrich Mettegang
Architectural styleArt Nouveau
Other information
Station code1
DS100 codeKA[1]
IBNR8000001
Category2[2]
Fare zone
  • AVV: Aachen City-XL-Zone[3]
  • VRS: 3100 (AVV transitional tariff)[4]
Websitewww.bahnhof.de
History
Opened1905 (1905)
Services
Preceding station Thalys Following station
Liège-Guillemins
towards Paris-Nord
Thalys 9400 Köln Hbf
towards Dortmund Hbf
Preceding station DB Fernverkehr Following station
Herzogenrath ICE 14 Terminus
Liège-Guillemins ICE 79 Köln Hbf
Preceding station Following station
Terminus FLX 30 Köln Hbf
towards Leipzig Hbf
Preceding station DB Regio NRW Following station
Terminus RE 9 Aachen-Rothe Erde
towards Siegen Hbf
Aachen Schanz
towards Heerlen or Alsdorf Poststraße
RB 20 Aachen-Rothe Erde
towards Langerwehe/Düren or Stolberg Altstadt
Aachen Schanz
towards Essen Hbf
RB 33 Terminus
Preceding station Arriva Following station
Terminus RE 18 LIMAX Aachen West
towards Maastricht
Preceding station National Express Germany Following station
Terminus RE 1 (NRW-Express) Aachen-Rothe Erde
RE 4 (Wupper-Express) Aachen Schanz
towards Dortmund Hbf
Preceding station NMBS/SNCB Following station
Hergenrath
(Belgium)
RE 29 euregioAIXpress Terminus
Location
Aachen Hauptbahnhof is located in North Rhine-Westphalia
Aachen Hauptbahnhof
Aachen Hauptbahnhof
Location in North Rhine-Westphalia
Aachen Hauptbahnhof is located in Germany
Aachen Hauptbahnhof
Aachen Hauptbahnhof
Location in Germany
Aachen Hauptbahnhof is located in Europe
Aachen Hauptbahnhof
Aachen Hauptbahnhof
Location in Europe

History

A station at Aachen was first opened in 1841, when the Rheinische Eisenbahngesellschaft opened its line from Cologne. The line first was extended to Herbesthal (near the Belgian border) and on 15 October 1843 to Antwerp. The first station was built outside of the city walls, however the city soon grew and the station eventually became surrounded by new buildings. The Prussian state railways deemed that rather impractical and decided to build a new station situated on a hillside. Embankments and new bridges were built from 1901 onward, and on 21 December 1905 the station opened at its new location.

The station remained largely undisturbed until suffering from damage in 1944, when German troops were retreating. However, since the rail link was highly valued by the Allied forces, damage was cleared up rather quickly and in 1950 all war damage had been removed from the site. Since 2002 the Cologne–Aachen high-speed railway line allows connections to Cologne with speeds up to 250 km/h (160 mph).

Electrification

In 1966, Aachen Hauptbahnhof was electrified. Due to its proximity to Belgium, it was decided to implement the switching point from the Deutsche Bahn's 15 kV AC to the 3000 V DC used by the NMBS/SNCB in the station. Tracks 6 to 9 therefore have a switchable catenary and are used for international Thalys, ICE and Regional-Express services.

Renovations

The station hall was renovated from 2000 to 2006. In 2007 a new electronic signal box was built, enabling more streamlined operations and automatic switching of the correct voltages. The cost estimate for the revamp was around €40 million. The main changes were:

  • Construction of 400m long platforms for international traffic, replacing the old 250m platforms that did not allow economic usage due to their limited length.
  • Special through tracks (tracks 3 and 4) for freight trains to the Netherlands and Belgium (via Montzen) to Aachen West.
  • Constructional changes to the system changeover point to Belgium; a new track layout, which allows the smooth changeover of electric locomotives and is capable of handling the increasing number of through carriages.
  • Improvement of the layout to remove operating problems, especially in the sidings.

Train services

ICE 3M train en route from Brussels to Frankfurt in Aachen Hauptbahnhof.
Regional-Express trains in Aachen Hauptbahnhof.

The following services currently call at Aachen Hbf:

Series Operator Route Material Frequency Notes
Thalys 9400 Thalys Paris Nord Brussels-South Liège-Guillemins Aachen Hauptbahnhof Cologne (Düsseldorf Duisburg Essen Dortmund) Thalys PBKA 5x per day high speed service
ICE 79 DB Brussels-South Brussels-North Liège-Guillemins Aachen Hauptbahnhof Cologne (Siegburg/Bonn Montabaur Limburg –) Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt ICE 3M – Class 406 Every 2 hours high speed service
ICE 14 DB Aachen HauptbahnhofMönchengladbachKrefeldDuisburgEssenBochumDortmundHammGüterslohBielefeldHerfordHannoverWolfsburgBerlin-SpandauBerlin HbfBerlin Ostbahnhof ICE T 1x per day
FLX 30 Flixtrain Aachen Hauptbahnhof Cologne Düsseldorf Duisburg Essen Dortmund Bielefeld Hannover Berlin-Spandau Berlin Hbf Berlin Südkreuz Lutherstadt Wittenberg Leipzig Siemens Vectron BR193 + railway coaches 8x per week
NJ 425 ÖBB Nightjet Brussels-South Brussels-North Liège-Guillemins Aachen Hauptbahnhof Cologne Bonn-Beuel Koblenz Mainz Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt South Nuremberg  Augsburg Munich Kufstein Wörgl Jenbach Innsbruck Compartment coaches, Couchette cars, Sleeping cars 2x per week Night Train
NJ 50425 Regensburg Passau Wels Linz Amstetten St. Pölten Wien Meidling Vienna
RE 1

NRW-Express

National Express Aachen HauptbahnhofEschweilerDürenHorremCologneDüsseldorfDuisburg HbfMülheim (Ruhr)EssenBochumDortmundHamm DB Class 146 + 6x Double-deck Coach 1x per hour
RE 4

Wupper-Express

National Express Aachen HauptbahnhofHerzogenrathRheydtMönchengladbachNeussDüsseldorfWuppertalHagenWittenDortmund DB Class 111 + 5x Double-deck Coach 1x per hour
RE 9

Rhein-Sieg-Express

DB Regio NRW Aachen HauptbahnhofEschweilerDürenHorremCologneTroisdorfSiegburg/BonnHennefAu (Sieg)Siegen Talent 2, DB Class 111 + 5x Double-deck Coach 1x per hour
RE 18

LIMAX

Arriva Nederland Aachen HauptbahnhofAachen WestHerzogenrathEygelshoven MarktLandgraafHeerlenValkenburgMeerssenMaastricht Stadler FLIRT 3 1x per hour
RB 20

Euregiobahn

DB Regio NRW Alsdorf-AnnaparkAlsdorf-BuschHerzogenrath-August-Schmidt-PlatzHerzogenrath-Alt-MerksteinHerzogenrathKohlscheidAachen WestAachen SchanzAachen HauptbahnhofAachen-Rothe ErdeEilendorfStolberg (Rheinland) Eschweiler-WestEschweiler TalbahnhofEschweiler-NothbergEschweiler-WeisweilerLangerweheDüren DB Class 643 2x per hour
Stolberg-SchneidmühleStolberg-Mühlener BahnhofStolberg-RathausStolberg-Altstadt 2x per hour
RE 29

L 09
euregioAIXpress

SNCB/NMBS Spa-GéronstèrePepinsterVerviers CentralVerviers-PalaisDolhain-GileppeWelkenraedtHergenrathAachen Hauptbahnhof SNCB AM62 1x per hour
RB 33

Rhein-Niers-Bahn

DB Regio NRW EssenMülheim (Ruhr)Mülheim-StyrumDuisburgDuisburg-Hochfeld SüdRheinhausen OstRheinhausenKrefeld-Hohenbudberg ChemparkKrefeld-UerdingenKrefeld-LinnKrefeld-OppumKrefeldForsthausAnrathViersenMönchengladbachRheydtWickrathHerrathErkelenzHückelhoven-BaalBrachelen LindernGeilenkirchenÜbach-PalenbergHerzogenrathKohlscheidAachen WestAachen SchanzAachen Hauptbahnhof DB Class 425 1x per hour
Heinsberg 1x per hour
S19

Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn

DB Regio NRW Aachen Hauptbahnhof Aachen-Rothe Erde Stolberg (Rheinland) Langerwehe Düren Horrem Cologne Cologne/Bonn Airport station Troisdorf (–Hennef(Sieg)) DB Class 423 2x per night

Operational usage

Aachen Hauptbahnhof is served by the following lines:

References

  1. Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas) (2009/2010 ed.). Schweers + Wall. 2009. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.
  2. "Stationspreisliste 2023" [Station price list 2023] (PDF) (in German). DB Station&Service. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  3. "Liniennetzplan Region Aachen" (PDF). Aachener Verkehrsverbund. 9 June 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  4. "VRS-Gemeinschaftstarif" (PDF) (in German). Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg. 20 April 2020. p. 197. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
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