Cottbus station
Encyclopedia
Cottbus station is one of the main railway stations of the German state of Brandenburg
. It is located just south of central Cottbus
. It is classified by Deutsche Bahn
as a category 2 station
.
. In 1870, the station building was inaugurated, located between the tracks as an “island station” . In the following years, other railway lines were built in the region. The Großenhainer Bahnhof (the station serving trains to Großenhain) was opened on the Großenhain–Cottbus railway in 1873, north of the Berliner Bahnhof (the station serving trains to Berlin). In 1880, this station was closed and the trains were diverted to the Berlin station. The building of the Großenhainer Bahnhof still exists and serves the railway administration.
In 1886, the station's new owners, the Prussian state railways
, built a tunnel to connect the platforms. To the north of the station there were originally freight facilities.
In 1899, the Spreewald Railway was opened with a its terminus on the edge of the track field north of the state station.
By 1927 there were plans to build a new building on the southern side of the tracks because of the lack of space in the station building, which was confined on its island. However, these were not realised because of the Great Depression
.
In February 1945, the station building and other parts of the station were destroyed in an air raid. After the war, a barracks-like building was built for passengers to replace the destroyed building. This provisional building remained for a long time and proved to be more and more inadequate. In the late 1960s, there were plans to build a new station building on the south side of the line. In 1970, the first preparations were made for its construction. As Cottbus was an important railway junction, especially for freight, because of the extensive lignite
mining in the region, extensive preparations had to be made before the main construction could begin. These included the duplication of several lines in the Cottbus area, in order to relieve the junction. An additional platform was built. In 1974, work began on the new platform tunnel. Finally, after four years of construction, on 5 October 1978, the new station building went into operation.
On 30 September 1989, the Lübbenau–Cottbus line was electrified, including the tracks at Cottbus station. On 16 December 1989, electrification was extended to Finsterwalde on the Halle–Cottbus line. In 1990, it was extended to Senftenberg (on the Großenhain–Cottbus line) and Guben (Cottbus–Guben line).
In 1995, the National Garden Show (Bundesgartenschau
) was held in Cottbus. On this occasion, the entrance building was extensively renovated and expanded.
At the end of November 2010, a new electronic interlocking system was put into operation at a cost of € 50 million. Since then, all signals, switches and crossings in the area of Cottbus station have been controlled from the control centre at Berlin-Pankow.
On the central island there are two platform edges on through tracks and some bay platforms on terminating tracks. The station building, built in the style of the 1970s, is on the southern side of the tracks. During the reconstruction a new “home platform” was created next to the new entrance building. Between the entrance building and the central island, there are two island platforms and another north of it.
During the reconstruction, a tunnel was built from the new station building to the middle island. The original station tunnel is located about 100 metres to its west. It starts on the platform that faces the current tracks 2 and 3 and links the platforms with each other and with the northern exit on the city side. It could not, however, be extended to the new station building. To get from the station building to the northernmost platform or the northern entrance, it is necessary to change tunnels. At the northern entrance there are no ticket facilities or waiting rooms. In front of its exit is the Spreewaldbahnhof, the starting point of the disused narrow gauge Spreewald Railway. Between the northern entrance and the platforms there are facilities for freight. These are for the most part no longer in operation, including the freight loading and unloading facilities and the container terminal.
The entrance building contains a ticket office, various dining facilities, a bookstore, and a shop selling local products. There are facilities for waiting in the heated concourse building.
Directly in front of the entrance building is the stop for tram lines 1 and 5 and some bus lines. Tram lines 2, 3 and 4 stop east of the station at the intersection of Bahnhofstraße and Stadtring.
(Berlin-Brandenburg Transport Association) and the public transit system of Cottbus–Cottbusverkehr–call the station in their timetables Cottbus Hauptbahnhof. Officially the railway station, despite its importance, however, is still not known as Cottbus Hauptbahnhof.
is planning the renovation of the station. All tracks and platforms of the passenger station are to be rebuilt and the signalling system is to be modernised. The modernisation is expected to cost almost € 100 million.
At the end of 2008, DB Netz
was requested by the Federal Railway Authority to demolish large parts of the infrastructure of the former container terminal on the north side of the station. The city of Cottbus plans an extension of Wilhelm-Külz-Straße on the site.
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
. It is located just south of central Cottbus
Cottbus
Cottbus is a city in Brandenburg, Germany, situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree. As of , its population was .- History :...
. It is classified by Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
as a category 2 station
German railway station categories
About 5,400 railway stations in Germany that are owned and operated by the Deutsche Bahn subsidiary DB Station&Service are assigned into seven categories, denoting the service level available at the station....
.
History
Cottbus station entered into operation on 13 September 1866 with the opening of the railway line from Berlin. In 1867, this line was extended to GörlitzGörlitz station
Görlitz station is the central station of the city of Görlitz in the German state of Saxony. Of the original twelve station tracks only six are still in operation...
. In 1870, the station building was inaugurated, located between the tracks as an “island station” . In the following years, other railway lines were built in the region. The Großenhainer Bahnhof (the station serving trains to Großenhain) was opened on the Großenhain–Cottbus railway in 1873, north of the Berliner Bahnhof (the station serving trains to Berlin). In 1880, this station was closed and the trains were diverted to the Berlin station. The building of the Großenhainer Bahnhof still exists and serves the railway administration.
In 1886, the station's new owners, the Prussian state railways
Prussian state railways
The term Prussian state railways encompasses those railway organisations that were owned or managed by the State of Prussia...
, built a tunnel to connect the platforms. To the north of the station there were originally freight facilities.
In 1899, the Spreewald Railway was opened with a its terminus on the edge of the track field north of the state station.
By 1927 there were plans to build a new building on the southern side of the tracks because of the lack of space in the station building, which was confined on its island. However, these were not realised because of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
In February 1945, the station building and other parts of the station were destroyed in an air raid. After the war, a barracks-like building was built for passengers to replace the destroyed building. This provisional building remained for a long time and proved to be more and more inadequate. In the late 1960s, there were plans to build a new station building on the south side of the line. In 1970, the first preparations were made for its construction. As Cottbus was an important railway junction, especially for freight, because of the extensive lignite
Lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad,is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat...
mining in the region, extensive preparations had to be made before the main construction could begin. These included the duplication of several lines in the Cottbus area, in order to relieve the junction. An additional platform was built. In 1974, work began on the new platform tunnel. Finally, after four years of construction, on 5 October 1978, the new station building went into operation.
On 30 September 1989, the Lübbenau–Cottbus line was electrified, including the tracks at Cottbus station. On 16 December 1989, electrification was extended to Finsterwalde on the Halle–Cottbus line. In 1990, it was extended to Senftenberg (on the Großenhain–Cottbus line) and Guben (Cottbus–Guben line).
In 1995, the National Garden Show (Bundesgartenschau
Bundesgartenschau
The Bundesgartenschau is the biennial Federal horticulture show in Germany. It also covers topics like landscaping. Taking place in different cities, the location changes in a two-year cycle....
) was held in Cottbus. On this occasion, the entrance building was extensively renovated and expanded.
At the end of November 2010, a new electronic interlocking system was put into operation at a cost of € 50 million. Since then, all signals, switches and crossings in the area of Cottbus station have been controlled from the control centre at Berlin-Pankow.
Infrastructure
The station is located south of central Cottbus on an east-west orientation. The original structure of the station as an island station can still be easily recognised by the large open area between the tracks. On this island some of the outbuildings of the temporary station built after the war have been preserved. Originally, the station was reached from Bahnhofstraße, which runs east of the station on a bridge over the tracks; there is now no connection from the bridge.On the central island there are two platform edges on through tracks and some bay platforms on terminating tracks. The station building, built in the style of the 1970s, is on the southern side of the tracks. During the reconstruction a new “home platform” was created next to the new entrance building. Between the entrance building and the central island, there are two island platforms and another north of it.
During the reconstruction, a tunnel was built from the new station building to the middle island. The original station tunnel is located about 100 metres to its west. It starts on the platform that faces the current tracks 2 and 3 and links the platforms with each other and with the northern exit on the city side. It could not, however, be extended to the new station building. To get from the station building to the northernmost platform or the northern entrance, it is necessary to change tunnels. At the northern entrance there are no ticket facilities or waiting rooms. In front of its exit is the Spreewaldbahnhof, the starting point of the disused narrow gauge Spreewald Railway. Between the northern entrance and the platforms there are facilities for freight. These are for the most part no longer in operation, including the freight loading and unloading facilities and the container terminal.
The entrance building contains a ticket office, various dining facilities, a bookstore, and a shop selling local products. There are facilities for waiting in the heated concourse building.
Directly in front of the entrance building is the stop for tram lines 1 and 5 and some bus lines. Tram lines 2, 3 and 4 stop east of the station at the intersection of Bahnhofstraße and Stadtring.
Name
Until 2000 the station was the only passenger station in the city, so its name did not need to be distinguish it from other stations. Since then, a new stations has been built at Cottbus Sandow and the stations now known as Cottbus-Merzdorf and Cottbus-Willmersdorf Nord have had Cottbus added to their names. During the renovation of the station for the National Garden Show the name on the outside facade of the station was changed from Bahnhof Cottbus ("Cottbus station") to Cottbus Hauptbahnhof (“Cottbus central station"). Both the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-BrandenburgVerkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg
The Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg is a transport association run by public transport providers in the German states of Berlin and Brandenburg. It is a private limited company owned jointly by the states of Berlin and Brandenburg and the 18 counties and cities of Brandenburg with 1.85% each...
(Berlin-Brandenburg Transport Association) and the public transit system of Cottbus–Cottbusverkehr–call the station in their timetables Cottbus Hauptbahnhof. Officially the railway station, despite its importance, however, is still not known as Cottbus Hauptbahnhof.
Rail services
The station has lost its former role as a long-distance transport junction. It is served only by two pairs of long-distance trains.| Line | Operator | Route | Interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| IC 56 | DB Fernverkehr DB Fernverkehr DB Fernverkehr AG is a semi-independent division of Deutsche Bahn that operates long-distance passenger trains in Germany. It was founded in 1999 in the second stage of the privatisation of German Federal Railways under the name of DB Reise&Touristik and renamed in 2003.DB Fernverkehr operates all... |
Cottbus – Berlin Berlin Hauptbahnhof ' , is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. It began full operation two days after a ceremonial opening on 26 May 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof, and until it opened as a main line station, it was a stop on the Berlin S-Bahn suburban railway temporarily... – Potsdam Potsdam Hauptbahnhof Potsdam Hauptbahnhof is the main railway station in German city of Potsdam. It is the southern terminus of S-Bahn line and, replacing the S7 on Friday and Saturday nights, the line .- Overview :... – Magdeburg Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof is the main railway station in the city of Magdeburg in the northern part of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.-Importance :The station is the main station of Magdeburg and along with Halle Hauptbahnhof the centre of long-distance rail transport in Saxony-Anhalt... – Hanover Hannover Hauptbahnhof is the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Hanover in Lower Saxony, Germany.-History:The first station on the current site, a temporary building serving the line to Lehrte, was erected in 1843... – Bremen Bremen Hauptbahnhof is the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Bremen in northwestern Germany. It is the most important rail station for both the city and the state of Bremen; InterCityExpress, Intercity, EuroCity, CityNightLine and DB NachtZug services call at the station, which is situated to the Northeast of the city... – Oldenburg (Oldb) Oldenburg (Oldenburg) Hauptbahnhof is the main passenger station in the city of Oldenburg in the German state of Lower Saxony. With gradual closure of other stations, including Ofenerdiek and Osternburg, it is currently the only passenger station in Oldenburg. It is a through station, with seven platform tracks... – Norddeich Mole |
One pair of trains per day |
| EC 99 | DB Fernverkehr | Hamburg-Altona – Salzwedel – Stendal Stendal station Stendal is a railway station in the town of Stendal, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The station lies on the Berlin-Lehrte railway, Hanover–Berlin high-speed railway, Magdeburg-Wittenberge railway, Stendal–Uelzen railway, Stendal-Tangermünde railway and Stendal–Niedergörne railway.-Train services:Stendal... – Berlin – Cottbus – Wrocław Gł – Kraków Gł Kraków Główny railway station The Kraków Central station is the largest and the most centrally located railway station in Kraków.The building, constructed between 1844 and 1847 , is parallel to the tracks. The design was chosen to allow for future line expansion. The station was initially a terminus of the KrakówUpper Silesia... |
One pair of trains per day |
| RE 2 | DB Regio Nordost | Cottbus – Lübbenau (Spreewald) – Lübben (Spreew) – Königs Wusterhausen – Berlin – Berlin-Spandau – Wustermark – Rathenow | 60 min |
| RE 10 | DB Regio Nordost | Cottbus – Calau Calau Calau is a small town in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district, in southern Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 14 km south of Lübbenau, and 27 km west of Cottbus... – Doberlug-Kirchhain Doberlug-Kirchhain Doberlug-Kirchhain is a town in the district of Elbe-Elster, Brandenburg, Germany. -History:937. The town of Kirchhain was built by Margrave Gero. A document written in 1005 mentions the town Doberlug for the first time. In 1165 the Cistercian Dobrilugk Abbey was founded by Margrave Dietrich of... – Falkenberg (Elster) Falkenberg/Elster Falkenberg is a town in the Elbe-Elster district, in southwestern Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated near the river Schwarze Elster, 16 km east of Torgau, and 13 km northwest of Bad Liebenwerda.-History:... – Eilenburg Eilenburg Eilenburg is a town in Germany. It lies in the district of Nordsachsen in the Free State of Saxony, approximately 20 km northeast of the city of Leipzig.- Geography :... – Leipzig Leipzig Hauptbahnhof is, at 83,460 m², Europe's largest railway station when measured by floor area. It has 24 platforms housed in six iron trainsheds; a multi-level concourse with towering stone arches; and a 293 metre-long facade... |
120 min |
| RE 11 | DB Regio Nordost | Cottbus – Guben – Eisenhüttenstadt Eisenhüttenstadt Eisenhüttenstadt is a town in the Oder-Spree district of Brandenburg, Germany at the border with Poland. The town was founded in 1950 alongside a new steel mill as a socialist model city and has a population of 32,214... – Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, located on the Oder River, on the German-Polish border directly opposite the town of Słubice which was a part of Frankfurt until 1945. At the end of the 1980s it reached a population peak with more than 87,000 inhabitants... |
60 min |
| RE 18 | DB Regio Nordost | Cottbus – Senftenberg – Ruhland Ruhland Ruhland is a town in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district, in southern Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the river Schwarze Elster, 12 km southwest of Senftenberg.... – Dresden Dresden Hauptbahnhof is one of two main inter-city transit hubs in the German city of Dresden. Designed by Ernst Giese and Paul Weidner, it was built between 1892 and 1897 at the southern border of the inner city and was important in the growth and development of the city.... /Elsterwerda-Biehla Elsterwerda Elsterwerda is a town in the Elbe-Elster district, in southwestern Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the river Schwarze Elster, 48 km northwest of Dresden, and 11 km southeast of Bad Liebenwerda.-External links:... – Falkenberg (Elster) |
60 min (Cottbus–Ruhland) 120 min (Ruhland–Dresden) 120 min (Ruhland–Falkenberg) |
| RB 43 | DB Regio Nordost | Cottbus – Calau – Doberlug-Kirchhain – Falkenberg (Elster) | 120 min |
| OE 46 | Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn | Cottbus – Forst (Lausitz) | 60 min |
| OE 65 | Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn | Cottbus – Görlitz Görlitz station Görlitz station is the central station of the city of Görlitz in the German state of Saxony. Of the original twelve station tracks only six are still in operation... – Zittau Zittau Zittau is a city in the south east of the Free State of Saxony, Germany, close to the border tripoint of Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. , there are 28,638 people in the city. It is part of the Görlitz district.... |
60 min |
Future
The station built during the renovation in the 1970s remained in many ways an inadequate station, partly because of its lack of continuous tunnels. Deutsche BahnDeutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
is planning the renovation of the station. All tracks and platforms of the passenger station are to be rebuilt and the signalling system is to be modernised. The modernisation is expected to cost almost € 100 million.
At the end of 2008, DB Netz
DB Netz
DB Netz AG is a 100%-owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn is a railway infrastructure provider, which owns and operates a majority of the German railway system . The company was established in the course of the second stage of the German rail reform as a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn...
was requested by the Federal Railway Authority to demolish large parts of the infrastructure of the former container terminal on the north side of the station. The city of Cottbus plans an extension of Wilhelm-Külz-Straße on the site.