Hamburg-Altona station

Hamburg-Altona
Location	Scheel-Plessen-Str. 17 22765 Hamburg[1] Germany
Coordinates	53°33′07″N 09°56′06″E / 53.55194°N 9.93500°ECoordinates: 53°33′07″N 09°56′06″E / 53.55194°N 9.93500°E
Line(s)	Deutsche Bahn ICE and regional rail Hamburg S-Bahn: Hamburg-Altona link line Hamburg City S-Bahn
Platforms	6 island
Other information
Station code	2517[2]
DS100 code	AA (main line) AAS (S-Bahn)
Category	1[2]
History
Opened	1898
Rebuilt	1950, 1979
Services Preceding station   Deutsche Bahn   Following station Terminus ICE 20 Hamburg Dammtor towards Basel SBB ICE 22 Hamburg Dammtor towards Stuttgart Hbf ICE 25 Hamburg Dammtor towards Munich Hbf ICE 28 EuroCity Hamburg Dammtor toward Budapest Preceding station   Hamburg S-Bahn   Following station Bahrenfeld toward Wedel Königstrasse toward Poppenbüttel or Hamburg Airport (Flughafen) Bahrenfeld toward Blankenese Holstenstrasse toward Poppenbüttel Terminus Königstrasse toward Bergedorf Diebsteich toward Pinneberg Königstrasse toward Stade Terminus Holstenstrasse toward Neugraben
Location
Hamburg-Altona Location within Hamburg

Hamburg-Altona or Altona is a railway station in Hamburg, Germany. It is situated west of the city's main station, Hamburg Hauptbahnhof, in the district of Altona, and is the usual terminus for southbound long-distance trains.

The main line station Hamburg-Altona is a terminal station, and most InterCityExpress (ICE) services to southern Germany begin and terminate there. The underground station is named Altona and is used by the rapid transit trains of the Hamburg S-Bahn.^[3] The station is managed by DB Station&Service.^[2]

History

The first station with wings built in 1890 seen from the south

Altona Bahnhof (railway station) in 1971. Buses, trams, trains and S-Bahn trains all met at this spot.

The original Altona station was built at the end of the line from Kiel, some 300 metres south of the current station by the Altona-Kiel Railway Company and opened in 1844. Altona was then an independent city within the Duchy of Holstein, but is now the Borough of Altona and the old station is used as its town hall. In 1866 the link line was opened, allowing trains to run through to Klosterthor station (near the current Hamburg Hauptbahnhof) and on to Berlin or Hanover. In 1867 the Altona-Blankenese railway was opened to the towns on the right bank of the river Elbe, now used by lines S1 and S11 of the S-Bahn.

Between 1893 and 1898 the Altona Hauptbahnhof (Altona Central Station) was opened at the current location. The 1898 station was badly damaged during World War II, but was rebuilt. It was demolished in the late 1970s during the construction of the City-S-Bahn, despite protests, because there was considered to be a danger that the tunnelling would lead to its collapse. It was replaced by the current two-storey, low-rise, grey, precast concrete structure, opened in 1979.

Future

According to the German newspapers Hamburger Morgenpost and Die Welt in September 2009, the Deutsche Bahn AG plans to close the long distance train station at Altona and to build a new station at the area of Diebsteich station. Die Welt stated, that the Hamburg government has preliminary studies for the area to build flats and a park, that the area seems to be contaminated, and the date for opening of the new station is 2016.^[4][5]

Station layout

The platforms and tracks of the station today

The new station was opened in 1979. Regional and long distance trains start and terminate at Altona at street-level bay platforms within the terminal. There are two underground island platforms for the city trains of Hamburg S-Bahn, accessible by stairs, escalators and lifts. In front of the station there is a bus station with connections to many parts of Hamburg.

Station services

Trains

Long distance

Altona is the terminus for ICE lines 25 and 28 to Munich, line 22 to Stuttgart and line 20 to Basel. ICE trains are run by Germany's national railway company, Deutsche Bahn.

Regional trains

The regional routes radiating from here include number R60 to Husum and Itzehoe and R70 to Neumünster and Kiel. Line R70 continues to Hamburg Hauptbahnhof.

S-Bahn (Rapid transit)

The trains on the Blankenese line from the city's western districts, S1 and S11, call at Altona and continue on to Hamburg Hauptbahnhof via the City S-Bahn and the Link line to Hamburg Airport and the northern terminus at Poppenbüttel. Route S3 runs from Pinneberg in north-west of the city via the Pinneberg line and continues via Jungfernstieg station and the Hauptbahnhof and via the Harburg S-Bahn to Neugraben and Stade in the south. Route S31 starts here and runs via the Link line and Holstenstrasse station and Central Station and via the Harburg S-Bahn to Harburg and Neugraben.^[3]

Facilities

Several shops are located in the station. There are emergency and information telephones, ticket machines, toilets, lockboxes and personnel.^[1]

See also

• Hamburger Verkehrsverbund
• List of Hamburg S-Bahn stations

References

1. Staff, DB-Konzern - Hamburg-Altona (in German), Deutsche Bahn AG, retrieved 2008-01-24
2. "Stationspreisliste 2016" [Station price list 2016] (PDF) (in German). DB Station&Service. 1 December 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
3. Staff (2008-12-14), Rapid Transit/Regional Rail (Network plan, pdf) (PDF), Hamburger Verkehrsverbund, retrieved 2009-01-24
4. Thomas Hirschbiegel, Jessica Kröll (2009-09-03). "Wohnungsbau statt Sackbahnhof" [Flats building instead of terminal] (in German). Hamburger Morgenpost. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
5. Olaf Dittmann (2009-09-26). "Deutsche Bahn legt sich fest: Fernbahnhof Altona wird bis 2016 verlegt" [German Rail predefined: Long distance station Altona transferred until 2016] (in German). Die Welt. Retrieved 2009-10-09.

External links

• DB station information (German)
• Picture of the Hamburg-Altona station (German)
• Network plan HVV (PDF, 560 KiB)