Berlin Hauptbahnhof () (English: Berlin Central Station) is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. It came into full operation two days after a ceremonial opening on 26 May 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof, and on the Berlin S-Bahn suburban railway. The station is operated by DB Station&Service, a subsidiary of AG, and is classified as a Category 1 station, one of 21 in Germany and four in Berlin, the others being Berlin Gesundbrunnen, Berlin Südkreuz and Berlin Ostbahnhof.
Lehrter Bahnhof (Lehrte Station) opened in 1871 as the terminus of the railway linking Berlin with Lehrte, near Hanover, which later became Germany's most important east–west main line. In 1882, with the completion of the Stadtbahn (City Railway, Berlin's four-track central elevated railway line, which carries both local and main line services), just north of the station, a smaller interchange station called Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was opened to provide connections with the new line. This station later became part of the Berlin S-Bahn. In 1884, after the closure of nearby Hamburger Bahnhof (Hamburg Station), Lehrter Bahnhof became the terminus for trains to and from Hamburg.
Following heavy damage during World War II, limited services to the main station were resumed, but then suspended in 1951. In 1957, with the railways to West Berlin under the control of East Germany, Lehrter Bahnhof was demolished, but Lehrter Stadtbahnhof remained as a stop on the S-Bahn. In 1987, it was extensively renovated to commemorate Berlin's 750th anniversary. After German reunification, it was decided to improve Berlin's railway network by constructing a new north–south main line, to supplement the east-west Stadtbahn. Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was considered to be the logical location for a new central station.
Location
The station is located in the Moabit district, in the Mitte constituency. To the north is Europaplatz and Invalidenstraße, and to the south is Washingtonplatz and the Spree. South of the station is the Spreebogenpark, the Bundeskanzleramt, and the Paul-Löbe-Haus. To the east is the Mitte district and the Humboldthafen.
Function
Berlin Hauptbahnhof is part of the mushroom concept in Berlin, in which the station forms a connecting point for converging and intersecting lines of different modes of public transport.
The station's length is , though some of the platforms are long.
Structurally, the entire station complex is a tower station, while operationally it is a crossing station similar to all central stations. The complex consists of several independent operating points: Tracks 1 to 8 are underground and are used for regional and intercity services on the Berlin North–South mainline. Tracks 9 and 10 are underground and will be used for the future S21 S-Bahn line. Tracks 11 to 14 are elevated and are used for regional and intercity services on the Berlin Stadtbahn. Tracks 15 and 16 are elevated and are used for S-Bahn services on the Stadtbahn. Tracks U1 and U2 are separate from the main station and are used for U-Bahn line U5.
Construction and techniques
Building
The station building has two platform levels and three connecting and business levels. Compared to Raffles Place MRT station and Taipei main station, it is one of the most densely packed stations. The upper platform level serves the Berlin Stadtbahn, and consists of six elevated tracks on four bridge structures, served by three island platforms high. The outer bridges carry one track each, while the inner bridges carry two each. The lower platform level serves the Berlin North–South mainline, and consists of eight underground tracks served by four island platforms deep. To the east are two tracks and an island platform serving U-Bahn line U5 (formerly line U55). Further to the east, a similar double track platform is being built as part of the S21 project.
The bridges carrying the Stadtbahn are approximately long, and span not only the station area, but also the adjacent Humboldthafen. Due to the way the Stadtbahn is aligned, they are curved, and due to the broadening from four to six tracks and the additional platforms, the total width has increased from wide. The Humboldthafen Bridge spans the Humboldthafen with a span of . It consists of a bow with steel tubes and pre-stressed concrete beam as upper flange.