is a combination of a wedge shaped station and a two-level interchange station in Ludwigshafen am Rhein

Ludwigshafen am Rhein

Ludwigshafen am Rhein is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Ludwigshafen is located on the Rhine opposite Mannheim. Together with Mannheim, Heidelberg and the surrounding region, it forms the Rhine Neckar Area....

 in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....

. The station is at the junction on the lines from Mainz

Mainz

Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...

 and Neustadt an der Weinstrasse to Mannheim

Mannheim

Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....

. 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

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....

 station. The Ludwigshafen station was built in 1847 as a terminal station in the centre of modern Ludwigshafen. The current station was built in 1969 to the west of the city centre, but has not proved to be a success due to its poor location.

Terminus 1847–1969

The first station in Ludwigshafen was a terminus in Rheinschanze, now central Ludwigshafen, opened on 11 June 1847 on the Palatine Ludwig Railway to Neustadt. The station was located immediately next to the port of Winterhafen, which opened in 1845, so a direct access to the Rhine was possible. The station building was a two-storey building with a clock tower and single-storey wings on its the south side. The original station building was rebuilt with three-story wings on both sides in order to cope with the opening of the line to Worms on 15 June 1853 and the bridge over the Rhine

Konrad Adenauer Bridge

Konrad Adenauer Brücke may refer to the following bridges:* Konrad Adenauer Bridge * Konrad Adenauer Bridge...

 to Mannheim on 25 February 1867.

The early connection of Ludwigshafen to the rail network significantly promoted the rapid development of Ludwigshafen, but it also caused significant urban problems, as the station separated the neighbourhoods now called Nord and Mitte. A viaduct was opened carrying Ludwigsstraße over the railway in 1890. It later carried the tram tracks to Oggersheim and Friesenheim. Despite later rebuilding the bridge remained a traffic bottleneck until its demolition in 1974.

At the end of the 19th century the passenger station was extended. A marshalling yard was also built on the line to Neustadt, with connecting curves to the lines to Mannheim and Worms. During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the railway facilities in Ludwigshafen were partially destroyed. The station was rebuilt in a simplified form in 1954.

There were various proposals to replace the terminal station with a through station. One of these was prevented from going forward by World War II and another was rejected by the Federal Government in the early 1950s because it failed to maintain connections with the BASF

BASF

BASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik . Today, the four letters are a registered trademark and the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock...

 factory. In May 1959, a direct connection curve between the lines from Mainz and Mannheim was opened for long-distance fast passenger trains and freight trains at a cost of 16 million Deutsche Marks. Previously all trains on this route had to reverse either in the terminus or the freight yard.

Transformation 1962–1971

In the late 1950s it was decided to build a new station at its current location as part of a comprehensive transport plan for Mannheim and Ludwigshafen. The new passenger station was built with a triangular shape on two levels. On the upper level there are two platform tracks and two through tracks without platforms on the Mannheim–Worms–Mainz line, which was a development of the connection opened in 1959. The lower level triangular station has eight platform tracks on a widely spaced site. The western platforms serve the tracks between Mannheim and Neustadt; the eastern platforms serve the tracks between Neustadt and Mainz and the commuter trains from the Palatinate to the BASF factory. A cable-stayed bridge was also built above the station for Federal Highway B 37 and a tram tunnel and a tunnel for pedestrians and cyclists was built under it.

The station building is partly built below the high-level platforms. The station forecourt is divided into three parts. Taxi stands and a parking area are located in the western part. The bus station is to the east under the main street. In the middle a four-track tunnel of the tram station was built under a pedestrian area; this is also used by the trains of the Rhine-Haardt Railway (Rhein-Haardtbahn). Under the 1962 agreement concluded with Ludwigshafen, the city had committed to the new central station connected to the road and tram networks, so that it was easily reached from all parts of the city. The underground tram station was built in anticipation of the planned removal of trams from all the inner city streets.

An essential prerequisite for the transformation of the Ludwigshafen railway facilities was the removal of the freight and marshalling yards, which were moved to Mannheim.

New station in 1969

The new station was opened in May 1969 station and was described as one of Deutsche Bundesbahn

Deutsche Bundesbahn

The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany on September 7, 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft '...

‘s most interesting and attractive buildings. It was said that the removal of the terminal station would provide Ludwigshafen with urban development opportunities that the devastation of the war had not.

The new timetables after the relocation of the station was not much changed: long-distance and Trans Europ Express

Trans Europ Express

The Trans Europ Express, or Trans-Europe Express, is a former international railway service in Europe. At its maximum extent, in 1974, the network comprised 45 trains, connecting 130 different cities.-Origin:...

 continued to run to Mannheim

Mannheim Hauptbahnhof

is the central railway station of Mannheim in Germany. It is the second largest traffic hub in southwestern Germany after Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof, with 658 trains a day, including 238 long-distance trains. 100,000 passengers embark, disembark or transfer between trains at the station each day...

 without stopping in Ludwigshafen.

The railway land around the old terminus was cleared and a second highway was built to Mannheim, with Federal Highway B 44 running from the northern end of the new station to Kurt Schumacher Bridge over the Rhine to Mannheim. In September 1976, trams began running through the new underground tramway. In 1979 the Rathaus-Center opened on the site of the former terminus; this is a high-rise building consisting of a shopping centre and the city hall. The western part of the former railway land was still largely derelict land in 2008.

In the timetable of the summer of 2000, the stops of 16 InterRegio

InterRegio

The InterRegio is a train service seen in some European countries. Mostly they are trains that run "from region to region", as best described by Swiss Federal Railways.-Switzerland:...

 trains in Ludwigshafen were deleted. In 2002, the Ludwigshafen-based urban planner Lars Piske described the station as sinking into uselessness and suggested that it had led to the loss of sales from Ludwigshafen to Mannheim.

In December 2003, the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn commenced operations. A workshop was built in the station for the maintenance of the S-Bahn trains at a cost of € 16 million. The line across the bridge over the Rhine to Mannheim was widened to four tracks, and the new station of Ludwigshafen (Rhein) Mitte

Ludwigshafen (Rhein) Mitte station

The Ludwigshafen Mitte station is in the southern part of the centre of the city of Ludwigshafen am Rhein in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate...

 was built on it closer to the centre of Ludwigshafen. As early as 1973 the Deutsche Bundesbahn had presented this concept as a cheaper way of improving the city’s transport links. Some Regional-Express trains that now stop at Ludwigshafen-Mitte do not stop at Ludwigshafen Hauptbahnhof.

In December 2008, Rhine-Neckar Transport (Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr) closed two of the four tram tracks leading to the station, including the lines running through the tram tunnel. In the end this had only been used in peak hours, by about 1,000 passengers each day.

Operations

The daily timetable 2009 included five long-distance trains (from / to Frankfurt, Saarbrucken and Stuttgart) stopping in Ludwigshafen Hauptbahnhof. In addition, it was a stop on the S-Bahn lines S1 to S4 and various regional routes.

Long distance

Type	Route	Frequency
	Saarbrücken Saarbrücken Hauptbahnhof Saarbrücken Hauptbahnhof is the main or central railway station in the German city of Saarbrücken and the largest station in the Saarland, a German state on the border with France. Around 10 million passengers use the station annually...  – Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof is a through station in the German city of Kaiserslautern and one of seven stations in the city.It is a stop on the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn and Deutsche Bahn’s Intercity-Express network and a hub for all the regional trains of the western Palatinate...  – Ludwigshafen – Mannheim Mannheim Hauptbahnhof is the central railway station of Mannheim in Germany. It is the second largest traffic hub in southwestern Germany after Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof, with 658 trains a day, including 238 long-distance trains. 100,000 passengers embark, disembark or transfer between trains at the station each day...  – Stuttgart Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof is the Hauptbahnhof of the city of Stuttgart, the capital of the Land of Baden-Württemberg, in southwestern Germany. It is the largest regional and long-distance railway station in Stuttgart, the main node of the Stuttgart S-Bahn network, and, together with the halt at Charlottenplatz, the main...  – Ulm Ulm Hauptbahnhof is the Hauptbahnhof or central railway station for the city of Ulm, which lies on the Danube, on the border of the German states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. It is on ICE line from Stuttgart to Munich and the Paris –Budapest Magistrale for Europe line that is supported by the European Union...  – Augsburg Augsburg Hauptbahnhof is the Hauptbahnhof for the Bavarian city of Augsburg, situated in southern Germany.The station has one of the oldest still existing station halls in Germany, which was built from 1843 to 1846 after plans by architect Eduard Rüber. It was reconstructed in 1869 according to Friedrich Bürklein's plans...  – Munich München Hauptbahnhof Munich Central Station is the main railway station of the city of Munich in Germany. It is one of the three long distance train stations in Munich, the others being München-Pasing and München Ost. The station sees about 350,000 passengers a day, which puts it on par with other large stations in...  – Salzburg Salzburg Hauptbahnhof is the Hauptbahnhof at Salzburg, capital of the federal state of Salzburg in Austria. It is the most important station in the agglomeration of Salzburg, and a major transportation hub in western Austria.-Overview:...  – Bischofshofen Bischofshofen Bischofshofen is a city located in the Salzach valley in the Alps, in the District of Pongau, in Salzburgerland, Austria.The city is an important railway hub and lies at the Tauernautobahn, a highway route through the Alps....  – Selzthal Selzthal Selzthal is a municipality in the district of Liezen in Styria, Austria....  – Schladming Schladming Schladming is a small mining town in the Austrian state of Styria, that is now very popular with tourists. It has become a large ski resort and has held various skiing competitions recently. The shopping area has lots of cafes, restaurant and a variety of shops and caters well for tourists.As of...  – Graz Graz Hauptbahnhof is the Hauptbahnhof at Graz, which is both the capital city of the federal state of Styria in Austria, and the second largest city in Austria.- External links :...	One train daily
	Saarbrücken – Homburg (Saar) Homburg (Saar) Hauptbahnhof of the city of Homburg in the German state of Saarland. It is a through station with four platforms and seven platform tracks and is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a station of category 3. It is located at the junction of the Homburg–Neunkirchen line and the Mannheim–Saarbrücken line...  – Kaiserslautern – Neustadt (Weinst) Neustadt (Weinstraße) Hauptbahnhof is the centre of public transport in the city of Neustadt in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.In addition to the Hauptbahnhof, there is another station in the city, Neustadt-Böbig, which is a stop on the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn...  – Ludwigshafen – Mannheim – Darmstadt Darmstadt Hauptbahnhof is the Hauptbahnhof of the German city Darmstadt. After Frankfurt Hbf and Wiesbaden Hbf, it is the third largest station in the state of Hesse. It is the second busiest station in Hesse, servicing 35 000 passengers and 220 trains per day....  – Frankfurt	A pair of trains Mon–Fri
	Mannheim - Ludwigshafen - Frankenthal - Worms - Frankfurt	A pair of trains Mon-Sun
	Saarbrücken – Homburg (Saar) Homburg (Saar) Hauptbahnhof of the city of Homburg in the German state of Saarland. It is a through station with four platforms and seven platform tracks and is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a station of category 3. It is located at the junction of the Homburg–Neunkirchen line and the Mannheim–Saarbrücken line...  – Kaiserslautern – Neustadt (Weinst) Neustadt (Weinstraße) Hauptbahnhof is the centre of public transport in the city of Neustadt in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.In addition to the Hauptbahnhof, there is another station in the city, Neustadt-Böbig, which is a stop on the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn...  – Ludwigshafen – Mannheim – Stuttgart Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof is the Hauptbahnhof of the city of Stuttgart, the capital of the Land of Baden-Württemberg, in southwestern Germany. It is the largest regional and long-distance railway station in Stuttgart, the main node of the Stuttgart S-Bahn network, and, together with the halt at Charlottenplatz, the main...	A pair of trains Mon–Fri

Regional and suburban transport

Line	Table	Route	Name	KBS	Operator
	S 1/2	Homburg (Saar) – Kaiserslautern – Neustadt (Weinst) – Schifferstadt – Ludwigshafen – Mannheim – Heidelberg – Eberbach – Mosbach Mosbach Mosbach is the capital of the Neckar-Odenwald district in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 58 km east of Heidelberg. Its geographical position is 49.21'N 9.9'E....  – Osterburken Osterburken Osterburken is a town in the Neckar-Odenwald district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 28 km southwest of Tauberbischofsheim, 50 km northeast of Heilbronn, 90 km east of Heidelberg, 60 km southwest of Würzburg and 30 km east of Mosbach...	Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn	665.1-2	DB Regio DB Regio DB Regio AG is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates short and medium distance passenger train services in Germany, and operates light and heavy rail infrastructure in the United Kingdom.-Germany:...  RheinNeckar
	S 1/2	Kaiserslautern – Neustadt (Weinst) – Schifferstadt – Ludwigshafen – Mannheim – Heidelberg – Eberbach (– Mosbach)	Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn	665.1-2	DB Regio RheinNeckar
	S 3/4	Germersheim Germersheim Germersheim is a town in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, of around 20,000 inhabitants. It is also the seat of the Germersheim district. The neighboring towns and cities are Speyer, Landau, Philippsburg, Karlsruhe and Wörth.-Coat of arms:...  – Speyer Speyer Speyer is a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities...  – Schifferstadt – Ludwigshafen – Mannheim – Heidelberg – Bruchsal Bruchsal station Bruchsal station is the centre of the rail transport in the city of Bruchsal in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.-History :The original station of the baroque town of Bruchsal opened on 10 April 1843 as part of the Karlsruhe–Heidelberg section of the old Baden main line, which eventually...  – Karlsruhe Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof is the central railway station in the German city of Karlsruhe. The station is classified as one of the major Category 1 stations in Germany, due to its function as a hub connecting several railway lines with each other.- History :...	Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn	665.3-4	DB Regio RheinNeckar
	S 3/4	Germersheim – Speyer – Schifferstadt – Ludwigshafen – Mannheim – Heidelberg – Bruchsal	Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn	665.3-4	DB Regio RheinNeckar
	R 44	Mainz Mainz Hauptbahnhof is the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Mainz in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is used by about 80,000 travellers and visitors each day and is therefore one of the busiest 21 stations in Germany...  – Worms Worms Hauptbahnhof is, along with Worms Brücke station and Worms Pfeddersheim station, one of three operational passenger stations in the Rhenish Hesse city of Worms, Germany. The station with is its pedestrian underpass is also an essential link between the eastern and the western parts of central Worms...  – Ludwigshafen – Speyer – Karlsruhe	Mainz–Ludwigshafen railway	660	DB Regio RheinNeckar
	R 44	Mainz – Worms – Ludwigshafen – Mannheim – Mannheim-Friedrichsfeld	Bahnstrecke Mainz–Ludwigshafen	660	DB Regio RheinNeckar
		Ludwigshafen BASF BASF BASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik . Today, the four letters are a registered trademark and the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock...  – Ludwigshafen – Schifferstadt – Kaiserslautern / Germersheim – Wörth (Rhein) Wörth am Rhein Wörth am Rhein is a municipality in the southernmost part of the district of Germersheim, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Rhine, approx. 10 km west of the city center of Karlsruhe and just north of the German-French border....	BASF-Werkzüge	670 677	DB Regio RheinNeckar