Münster Hauptbahnhof

Münster Hbf
Station hall seen from street
Operations
Category	2
Type	Crossing station
Daily entry/exit	65,000
DS100 code	EMST
Station code	4280
Construction and location
Opened	1 October 1890
Style of architecture	Dutch Renaissance Revival (original station) Post-war (new station)
Architect	Professor Raschdorff (original station) Theodor Dierksmeier (new station)
Location	Münster
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Country	Germany
Home page	bahnhof.de
51°57′24″N 7°38′6″E / 51.95667°N 7.635°E / 51.95667; 7.635
1930	renovated
1945	destroyed
1958	rebuilt
Route information
Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg (KBS 385/425) Münster–Rheda-Wiedenbrück (KBS 406) Münster–Enschede (KBS 407) Münster–Coesfeld (KBS 408) Münster–Rheine (KBS 410) Münster–Hamm (KBS 410) Münster–Preußen (KBS 411) Münster-Lippstadt
List of railway stations in North Rhine-Westphalia

Münster Hauptbahnhof (usually translated from German as Münster Central Station, short form: Münster Hbf) is the central station for the city of Münster in Germany.

History

The original Münster station was opened in 1848 by the Münster-Hamm Railway Company, when it opened by the Münster–Hamm railway to the then capital of the Prussian Province of Westphalia as a terminus of its branch line from Hamm, where it connected with Cologne-Minden trunk line. The railway was opened with a ceremonial run on 25 May 1848. The station building was erected in front of the Servatii-Tor (gate) between the modern streets of Wolbecker Straße and Albersloher Weg.

About a month after the opening passenger services were added to the freight traffic on the line. However, the new means of transport was not particularly successful in the early years. On average 100 passengers per train were recorded.

1855-1880

In 1855, the Münster-Hamm Railway Company was taken over in 1855 by the Prussian government-funded Royal Westphalian Railway Company (Königlich-Westfälische Eisenbahn, KWE). This led to a shortening of travel times, because through trains now ran from Warburg to Munster.

In 1856 the Münster–Rheine railway was opened. This line connected at Rheine with the Hanoverian Western Railway, connecting Löhne, Rheine and Emden.

The concession for the construction of the railway connection from the Ruhr area and Venlo via Münster to Hamburg was awarded in 1866 to the Cologne-Minden Railway Company (Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, CME). The Wanne–Munster section of this route was opened in 1870. It was extended to Osnabrück in 1871 /and to Hamburg in 1874. So Munster now had direct access to the German North Sea ports. The CME built its Münster station east of the KWE station. This station was designed as a stopgap, so that a single station could be built for both railways.

In western Münsterland, at the beginning of the 1860s there were efforts to promote the local economy by building a railway link from Münster via Gronau to Enschede. Construction began in June 1872, but the Münster-Enschede railway company ran into financial difficulties in 1874. The KWE therefore took over its management and on 30 September 1875 it opened the line to Enschede. This line used the KWE station.`

1880–1914

Münster Central Station 1890

After the nationalisation of the railways in 1881, all railways in Münster became part of the Prussian state railways. Already in 1875 the rural municipalities of St. Lamberti and Mauritz had been incorporated into Münster, so it now had planning authority for the station area. In 1885, the financial resources became available to build a central station. The opening of the news station took place on 1 October 1890.

Initially planned as a narrow gauge railway from Münster to Telgte, the line from Münster via Warendorf to Rheda was built as standard gauge. On 8 February 1886, the line between Munster and Warendorf. was opened.

Munster increasingly became a main railway station and the rail network was extended in 1903 over the Münster–Warstein line to Neubeckum and in 1908 over the Baumberge Railway via Coesfeld to Empel-Rees. However, the station did not reach achieve the significance the city sought, mainly because the main line connecting Cologne and the Ruhr with Hanover and Berlin bypassed Munster.

1920–1933

The station after the 1930 reconstruction

In 1920 the German state railways were incorporated in Deutsche Reichsbahn. The line to Lünen was opened in 1928 and the rail freight bypass was opened in 1930.

Since the traffic volume had increased further at the end of the1920s, the construction of another station platform was necessary. In 1928/30 the station building was rebuilt as a "gateway to the modern city" and the reconstruction was completed at the end of September 1930 for Katholikentag.

1933–1945

Münster was included in the Blitzzug ("Lightning Train") network. From 6 October 1935, Münster was included on the Cologne–Hamburg route of this network.

The situation changed fundamentally with the start of the Second World War. Discounts for travel were abolished in January 1940 and a reduced timetable was introduced. Further reductions of services followed.

In 1941/42, an underground bunker was built at Münster station for 2,000 people. This was captured in 1945, but without injury.

There were 102 air raids on the Münster rail facilities by Allied bombers. The air attacks on the station area destroyed wagons and locomotives as well as 75 to 80% of the tracks. The station building was completely destroyed.

Since 1945

On 2 April 1945, Allied troops marched into Münster. In late April, the lines to the west were reopened. In the summer of 1945 reconstruction began of tracks and signal boxes. After the repair of damaged bridges in the area of Schleuse Münster, trains could also run to Osnabrück again. Because in the platform area the platforms, stairs and pedestrian tunnels were unusable, they had to be hastily repaired before the commencement of passenger operations.

In 1949, a connection was built to the city’s port railway which allowed the passenger trains of the Westfälische Landes-Eisenbahn (Westphalian State Railway) to approach the station from Lippstadt. For this, the Westfälische Landes-Eisenbahn built a fifth platform on the east side of station, which was used only by its own trains. This platform has been closed since the abandonment of passenger service on the line to Lippstadt in the winter timetable of 1975.^[1]

At the beginning of the 1950s, the station was rebuilt in several phases. The station hall was completed in 1958 and work at the station was completed 1960. The plans for the work at the station and adjacent areas were prepared by the Munster-born chief architect of Deutsche Bundesbahn, Theodor Dierksmeier.

From 8 June 1960 in Münster was connected to the Trans Europ Express network. The TEA Parsifal express ran from Hamburg to Paris and stopped in Münster.

In September 1968, the whole line was between the Ruhr and Hamburg was electrified; the line between Münster and the Ruhr had already been electrified for two years. The line was electrified to Emden in 1981.

Train services

The following services currently call at Münster Hauptbahnhof:

Long Distance

The Münster hauptbahnhof is used by numerous IC lines, and some ICE trains. Starting on August 15, 2010 the private railway company Locomore wants to provide three intercity train pairs daily along route Hamburg - Münster - Cologne.^[2] The French rail company SNCF is also thinking about a new TGV lines, including a route from Strasbourg to Frankfurt, Cologne and Münster to Hamburg. A realization of these plans could take place in 2011.^[3]

Series	Train Type	Route	Material	Frequency
EC7	DB	Hamburg-Altona - Hamburg Dammtor - Hamburg Hbf - Hamburg-Harburg - Bremen Hbf – Diepholz - Osnabrück Hbf - Münster Hbf – Dortmund Hbf – Bochum Hbf - Essen Hbf - Duisburg Hbf - Düsseldorf Hbf – Köln Hbf - Bonn Hbf – Koblenz Hbf - Mainz Hbf – Mannheim Hbf - Karlsruhe Hbf - Baden-Baden - Freiburg Hbf - Basel Bad Bf - Basel SBB - Liestal - Sissach - Aarau - Lenzburg - Zürich HB - Thalwil - Wädenswil - Pfäffikon (Schwytz) - Ziegelbrücke - Sargans - Bad Ragaz - Landquart - Chur	DB Class 101, DB Class 120 and IC stock	2x per day
ICE	DB	Hamburg-Altona - Hamburg Dammtor - Hamburg Hbf - Hamburg-Harburg - Bremen Hbf – Osnabrück Hbf - Münster Hbf – Dortmund Hbf - Hagen Hbf – Wuppertal Hbf - Sollingen Hbf – Köln Hbf – Siegburg/Bonn - Frankfurt/Main Flughafen Fernbahnhof - Mannheim Hbf - Stuttgart Hbf - Ulm Hbf - Augsburg Hbf - München-Pasing - München Hbf	ICE 1	1x per day
IC30	DB	Hamburg-Altona - Hamburg Dammtor - Hamburg Hbf - Hamburg-Harburg - Bremen Hbf – Osnabrück Hbf - Münster Hbf – Dortmund Hbf – Bochum Hbf - Essen Hbf - Duisburg Hbf - Düsseldorf Hbf – Köln Hbf - Bonn Hbf – Koblenz Hbf - Mainz Hbf – Mannheim Hbf - Heidelberg Hbf - (Wiesloch-Walldorf) - Vaihingen (Enz) – Stuttgart Hbf	DB Class 101, DB Class 120 and IC stock	Every 2 Hours
IC30	DB	Greifswald - Stralsund Hbf - Velgast - Ribnitz-Damgarten West - Rostock Hbf - Bützow - Schwerin Hbf - Hamburg Hbf - Hamburg-Harburg - Bremen Hbf – Osnabrück Hbf - Münster Hbf – Dortmund Hbf – Bochum Hbf - Essen Hbf - Duisburg Hbf - Düsseldorf Hbf – Köln Hbf - Bonn Hbf – Koblenz Hbf - Mainz Hbf – Mannheim Hbf - Heidelberg Hbf - Wiesloch-Walldorf - Vaihingen (Enz) – Stuttgart Hbf	DB Class 101, DB Class 120 and IC stock	1x per day
IC30	DB	Westerland (Sylt) - Niebüll - Husum - Heide - Itzehoe - Hamburg Dammtor - Hamburg Hbf - Hamburg-Harburg - Bremen Hbf – Osnabrück Hbf - Münster Hbf – Dortmund Hbf – Bochum Hbf - Essen Hbf - Duisburg Hbf - Düsseldorf Hbf – Köln Hbf - Bonn Hbf – Koblenz Hbf - Mainz Hbf – Mannheim Hbf - Heidelberg Hbf - Vaihingen (Enz) – Stuttgart Hbf	DB Class 101, DB Class 120 and IC stock	1x per day
IC31	DB	Westerland (Sylt) - Niebüll - Husum - Heide - Itzehoe - Hamburg Dammtor - Hamburg Hbf - Hamburg-Harburg - Bremen Hbf – Osnabrück Hbf - Münster Hbf – Dortmund Hbf – Bochum Hbf - Essen Hbf - Duisburg Hbf - Düsseldorf Hbf – Köln Hbf - Bonn Hbf – Koblenz Hbf - Mainz Hbf - Frankfurt/Main Flughafen Fernbahnhof - Frankfurt (Main) Hbf	DB Class 101, DB Class 120 and IC stock	1x per day
IC31	DB	Hamburg-Altona - Hamburg Hbf - Hamburg-Harburg - Bremen Hbf – Osnabrück Hbf - Münster Hbf – Dortmund Hbf - Hagen Hbf – Wuppertal Hbf - Sollingen Hbf – Köln Hbf – Bonn Hbf – Koblenz Hbf – Mainz Hbf – Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof – Frankfurt (Main) Hbf	DB Class 101, DB Class 120 and IC stock	Every 2 Hours
IC35	DB	Norddeich Mole - Norddeich - Norden - Emden Hbf - Leer - Papenburg - Meppen - Lingen (Ems) - Rheine - Münster Hbf - Recklinghausen Hbf - Wanne-Eickel Hbf - Gelsenkirchen Hbf - Oberhausen Hbf - Duisburg Hbf - Düsseldorf Hbf - Köln Hbf - Bonn Hbf - Remagen - Andernach - Koblenz Hbf - Cochem - Bullay - Wittlich Hbf - Trier Hbf - Wasserbillig - Luxembourg	DB Class 120 and IC stock	Every 2 Hours
IC77	DB	Münster Hbf – Osnabrück Hbf - Minden - Hannover Hbf - Wolfsburg Hbf - Stendal - Berlin-Spandau - Berlin Hbf - Berlin Ostbahnhof	DB Class 101, DB Class 120 and IC stock	1x per day

Regional Services

The following regional services (Regional-Express and Regionalbahn) call at Münster Hbf:

• Rhein-Münsterland-Express Rheine - Münster - Hagen - Wuppertal - Cologne - Krefeld
• Rhein-Haard-Express Münster - Dülmen - Recklinghausen - Essen - Duisburg - Düsseldorf

Series	Train Type	Route	Material	Frequency
RE15 Emsland-Express	DB	Emden Hbf - Leer - Papenburg - Aschendorf - Dörpen - Lathen - Haren (Ems) - Meppen - Geeste -Lingen (Ems) - Leschede - Salzbergen - Rheine - Emsdetten - Greven - Münster Hbf	DB Class 111	1x per hour
RB42 Haard - Bahn	DB	Essen Hbf - Gelsenkirchen Hbf - Wanne-Eickel Hbf - Recklinghausen Süd - Recklinghausen Hbf - Marl-Sinsen - Haltern am See - Sythen - Dülmen - Budern - Nottuln-Appelhülsen - Bösensell - Münster-Albrachten - Münster Hbf
RB50 Der Lünener	Eurobahn	Dortmund Hbf - Dortmund-Kirchderne - Dortmund-Derne - Preußen - Lünen Hbf - Werne - Capelle - Ascheberg - Davensberg - Münster-Amelsbüren - Münster Hbf
RB63 Baumberge-Bahn	DB	Coesfeld - Lutum - Billerbeck - Havixbeck - Münster Hbf
RB64 Euregio-Bahn	DB	Enschede - Enschede De Eschmarke - Glanerbrug - Gronau - Ochtrup - Metelen Land - Burgsteinfurt - Borghorst - Nordwalde - Altenberge - Münster-Häger - Münster Zentrum Nord - Münster Hbf	DB Talent	1x per hour
RB65 Ems-Bahn	Westfalenbahn	Rheine - Rheine-Mesum - Emsdetten - Reckenfeld - Greven - Münster-Sprakel - Münster-Zentrum Nord – Münster Hbf		1x per hour
RB66 Teuto-Bahn	Westfalenbahn	Osnabrück Hbf - Hasbergen - Natrup-Hagen - Lengerich - Kattenvenne - Ostbevern - Westbevern - Münster Hbf		1x per hour
RB67 Der Warendorfer	NordWestBahn	Münster Hbf - Telgte - Raestrup-Everswinkel - Warendorf - Beelen - Clarholz - Herzebrock - Rheda-Wiedenbrück - Gütersloh Hbf - Brackwede - Bielefeld Hbf
RB68 Emsauenbahn	DB	Rheine - Rheine-Mesum - Emsdetten - Reckenfeld - Greven - Münster-Sprakel - Münster-Zentrum Nord – Münster Hbf	DBAG Class 425	1x per hour (Monday - Friday)
RB69 Ems-Börde-Bahn	Eurobahn	Münster Hbf - Münster-Hiltrup - Rinkerode - Drensteinfurt - Mersch (Westf) - Bockum-Hövel - Hamm - Heesen - Ahlen - Neubeckum - Oelde - Rheda-Wiedenbrück - Gütersloh Hbf - Isselhorst-Avenwedde - Brackwede - Bielefeld Hbf
RB89 Ems-Börde-Bahn	Eurobahn	Münster Hbf - Münster-Hiltrup - Rinkerode - Drensteinfurt - Mersch (Westf) - Bockum-Hövel - Hamm (Westf) - Welver - Borgeln - Soest - Bad Sassendorf - Lippstadt - Dedinghausen - Ehringhausen(Kr Lippstadt) - Geseke - Salzkotten - Scharmede - Paderborn Hbf - Altenbeken - Willebadessen - Warburg (Westf) - Hofgeismar - Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe	Stadler FLIRT	2x per day to Kassel

Preceding station		DB AG		Following station
Osnabrück Hbf toward Kiel Hbf		ICE 31		Dortmund Hbf toward München Hbf/Regensburg or Basel SBB
Osnabrück Hbf toward Hamburg-Altona		ICE 42		Dortmund Hbf toward München Hbf
Osnabrück Hbf toward Ostseebad Binz or Greifswald		IC/EC 30		Dortmund Hbf toward Stuttgart Hbf or Chur
Osnabrück Hbf toward Hamburg-Altona/Kiel Hbf/Puttgarden		IC/EC 31		Dortmund Hbf toward Passau Hbf
Terminus		IC/EC 32 Select trains		Recklinghausen Hbf toward Innsbruck Hbf
Rheine toward Emden Außenhafen or Norddeich Mole		IC/EC 35		Recklinghausen Hbf toward Konstanz, Stuttgart Hbf or Luxembourg
Osnabrück Hbf toward Szczecin		IC/EC 77 Select trains		Terminus
Terminus		RE 2 Rhein-Haard-Express		Münster-Albachten toward Düsseldorf Hbf
Greven toward Rheine		RE 7 Rhein-Münsterland-Express		Münster-Hiltrup toward Krefeld Hbf
Greven toward Emden Hbf		RE 15 Emsland-Express		Terminus
Terminus		RB 42 Haard-Bahn		Münster-Albachten toward Essen Hbf
Havixbeck toward Coesfeld		RB 63 Baumberge-Bahn		Münster-Zentrum Nord Terminus
Münster-Zentrum Nord toward Enschede		RB 64 Euregio-Bahn		Terminus
Münster-Zentrum Nord toward Rheine		RB 68 Emsauen-Bahn
Preceding station		eurobahn		Following station
Terminus		RB 50 Der Lünener		Münster-Amelsbüren toward Dortmund Hbf
		RB 69 Ems-Börde-Bahn		Münster-Hiltrup toward Bielefeld Hbf
		RB 89 Ems-Börde-Bahn		Münster-Hiltrup toward Warburg
Preceding station		NordWestBahn		Following station
Terminus		RB 67 Der Warendorfer		Telgte toward Bielefeld Hbf
Preceding station		Westfalenbahn		Following station
Münster-Sprakel toward Rheine		RB 65 Ems-Bahn		Terminus
Westbevern toward Osnabrück Hbf		RB 66 Teuto-Bahn

References

1. ^ Anja Gussek-Revermann, Heinz Kilian: Münster und die Eisenbahn. Ardey-Verlag 2003, p. 173
2. ^ newxtix Hamburg-Köln-Express GmbH gegründet (German)
3. ^ Westfälische Nachrichten vom 3. November 2009 (German)

External links

• "Münster station information" (in German). Deutsche Bahn. http://www.db.de/site/bahn/de/geschaefte/infrastruktur__schiene/personenbahnhoefe/bahnsteige/bahnsteige__filter,variant=details,recordId=4280.html?c270156=M%C3%BCnster. Retrieved 17 September 2011. 
• "Münster Hauptbahnhof track plan" (in German) (PDF). Deutsche Bahn. http://www.deutschebahn.com/site/bahn/de/geschaefte/infrastruktur__schiene/netz/netzzugang/dokumente/Bahnhof/SNB/E/EMST__NBS.pdf. Retrieved 17 September 2011. 
• "Münster Hauptbahnhof" (in German). NRW Rail Archive. André Joost. http://nrwbahnarchiv.bplaced.net/bf/8000263.htm. Retrieved 17 September 2011. 
• "Münster Hauptbahnhof (EMST) area operations" (in German). NRW Rail Archive. André Joost. http://nrwbahnarchiv.bplaced.net/esn/EMST.htm. Retrieved 17 September 2011.