Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof

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. On 10 June 2007, the Rhealys high-speed rail consortium established a service with a stop in Kaiserslautern, reducing travel time to Paris to two and a half hours.

Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof
Deutsche Bahn Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn
General information
LocationBahnhofstr. 1, Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate
Germany
Coordinates49°26′9″N 7°46′8″E / 49.43583°N 7.76889°E / 49.43583; 7.76889
Owned byDB Netz
Operated byDB Station&Service
Line(s)
Platforms13
  • 7 through tracks
  • 6 terminal tracks
Other information
Station code3082[1]
DS100 codeSKL[2]
IBNR8000189
Category2[1]
Fare zoneVRN: 800[3]
Websitewww.bahnhof.de
History
Opened1848
Services
Preceding station DB Fernverkehr Following station
Homburg (Saar) Hbf ICE 50 Neustadt (Weinstraße) Hbf
towards Dresden Hbf
Landstuhl EC/RJ 62 Neustadt (Weinstraße) Hbf
towards Graz Hbf
Saarbrücken Hbf
towards Paris Est
ICE/TGV 82 Mannheim Hbf
Preceding station DB Regio Mitte Following station
Landstuhl
towards Koblenz Hbf
RE 1
Südwest-Express
Neustadt (Weinstraße) Hbf
towards Mannheim Hbf
Terminus RE 6 Hochspeyer
Galgenschanze RB 64 Terminus
Terminus RB 65 Enkenbach
towards Bingen Hbf
Kaiserslautern Pfaffwerk RB 66 Terminus
Vogelweh
towards Kusel
RB 67
Kindsbach RB 70
Preceding station Vlexx Following station
Winnweiler
towards Koblenz Hbf
RE 17 Terminus
Preceding station Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn Following station
Kennelgarten S1 Hochspeyer
towards Osterburken
Terminus S2 Hochspeyer
Map
Location
Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof is located in Rhineland-Palatinate
Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof
Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof
Location in Rhineland-Palatinate
Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof is located in Germany
Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof
Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof
Location in Germany
Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof is located in Europe
Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof
Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof
Location in Europe

In 2003, the station building was renovated and it now houses among other things, a service point and several shops. The station provides step-free access to all platforms. The redesigned Kaiserslautern station forecourt includes a busy bus station, allowing a convenient transfer between bus and rail. Buses run to the University of Kaiserslautern, Betzenberg and the central bus interchanges at Schillerplatz and Rathaus, where there are connections to all bus routes.

Prior to the closure of the Einsiedlerhof marshalling yard, Kaiserslautern was a significant rail freight hub.

History

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Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof was opened in 1848 along with the Homburg–Kaiserslautern section of the Palatine Ludwig Railway. The Palatine Ludwig Railway is still the most important line serving the station.

On 16 May 1871 the Alsenz Valley Railway was completed from Bad Münster to Hochspeyer; its trains ran into Kaiserslautern. To shorten the route for long-distance traffic, a line was opened on 15 May 1875 between Kaiserslautern and Enkenbach (at the closest point on the Alsenz Valley Railway), allowing trains to run between Kaiserslautern, Bad Kreuznach and the Ruhr and between Kaiserslautern, Worms and Frankfurt without having to pass through Hochspeyer.

It received a new entrance building in 1879. The Lauter Valley Railway was opened on 15 November 1883 between Kaiserslautern and Lauterecken-Grumbach. In 1913 the Kaiserslautern–Waldfischbach line opened, completing the Biebermühl Railway to Pirmasens.

The second station building was badly damaged in the Second World War and demolished after the war. The current station building was completed in the early 1950s.[4] It was rebuilt in 2003.

Connections

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TGV on the way to Paris
 
InterCity train hauled by DB Class 120 locomotive in Kaiserslautern on the way to Saarbrücken

There are the following long-distance and local transport connections:

Long distance

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Line Route Frequency
ICE 50 DresdenLeipzigErfurt – Frankfurt – DarmstadtMannheimNeustadtKaiserslauternSaarbrücken 1 train pair
ICE 62

EC/RJ 62

Saarbrücken – Kaiserslautern – Mannheim – StuttgartUlmAugsburgMunich (– SalzburgGraz) 2 train pairs
ICE/TGV 82 Paris – Saarbrücken – Kaiserslautern – Mannheim – Frankfurt 5 train pairs

S-Bahn and DB regional

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Line Route Interval
S1 HomburgKaiserslauternNeustadtSchifferstadtLudwigshafenMannheimHeidelberg – Eberbach – Mosbach-Neckarelz – Osterburken 60 minutes
S2 Kaiserslautern – Neustadt – Schifferstadt – Ludwigshafen – Mannheim – Heidelberg – Eberbach – Mosbach-Neckarelz – Mosbach 60 minutes
RE 1 KoblenzTrierSaarbrücken – Homburg – Kaiserslautern (– Neustadt – Mannheim) 60/120 minutes
RE 6 Kaiserslautern – Neustadt – LandauWindenWörthKarlsruhe 120 minutes
RE 17 KaiserslauternWinnweiler – Rockenhausen – AlsenzBad Münster am Stein Bad Kreuznach Bingen (Rhein)Koblenz 120 minutes
RB 64 KaiserslauternSchopp – Waldfischbach – Pirmasens Nord Pirmasens 60 minutes
RB 65 Kaiserslautern – Enkenbach – Winnweiler – Rockenhausen – Alsenz – Bad Münster am Stein – Bad Kreuznach – Langenlonsheim – Bingen 60 minutes
RB 66 Kaiserslautern – Lampertsmühle-Otterbach – Olsbrücken – Wolfstein – Lauterecken-Grumbach 60 minutes
RB 67 KaiserslauternLandstuhlGlan-MünchweilerAltenglanKusel 60 minutes
RB 70 Kaiserslautern – Landstuhl – Hauptstuhl – Bruchmühlbach-Miesau – Homburg – Limbach – Kirkel – Saarbrücken 60 minutes

Sources

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b "Stationspreisliste 2024" [Station price list 2024] (PDF) (in German). DB Station&Service. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  2. ^ Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas) (2009/2010 ed.). Schweers + Wall. 2009. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.
  3. ^ "Wabenplan" (PDF). Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar. February 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  4. ^ Engbarth 2007, p. 24.

References

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  • Emich, Hans-Joachim; Becker, Rolf (1996). Die Eisenbahnen an Glan und Lauter [The railways on the Glan and the Lauter] (in German).
  • Engbarth, Fritz (2007). Von der Ludwigsbahn zum Integralen Taktfahrplan – 160 Jahre Eisenbahn in der Pfalz [From the Ludwig Railway to the Integral Timetable—160 years of Railways in the Palatinate] (in German).
  • Sturm, Heinz (2005). Die pfälzischen Eisenbahnen [The Palatine Railways] (in German). Ludwigshafen am Rhein: pro MESSAGE. ISBN 3-934845-26-6.
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