Limburg Süd station

• SFS Cologne-Rhine/Main (km 110.5 ) ( KBS 472)

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The Limburg Süd station in the central Hessian county town of Limburg an der Lahn is located in the town of Limburg ICE at kilometer 110.5 of the high-speed line Cologne-Rhine/Main. South Limburg is the only railway station in Germany devoted to the exclusive hold ICEs.

• 2.1 Long-distance passenger traffic
• 2.2 Transportation
• 2.3 Parking

• 3.1 Background
• 3.2 variant discussion
• 3.3 planning
• 3.4 Construction and commissioning
• 3.5 Operation

Infrastructure

Station building

The 300 square meters of space comprising reception building located on platform 1 ( trains to Frankfurt) and houses the tourist center of the web, waiting benches and a beverage and a candy vending machine. Public toilets are in the station itself is not, but in the adjacent parking garage. In the forecourt is alternatively a paid toilet cubicle.

The 180 sq. ft. space on the second floor was largely empty since the opening of the station. There is now a control room of DB Energie be set up (in January 2013).

Railway system

The railway system is expanded to four tracks. The middle two tracks serve as transit tracks and are carried out in slab track. By propelled ICEs can pass through the station it without speed reduction of up to 300 km / hr while stopping train hit the two outer platforms at 100 km / h over turnouts. A bridge that can be reached from two platforms, each with a staircase and an elevator, spanning the track system and provides access to platform 4 ( trains to Cologne).

The 405 m long and 3.4 m wide platforms are roofed over a length of 300 m.

A 11 m high and 36 m wide roof spans all four tracks.

North of the platform system allows a track change (two points) the change from the western to the eastern direction of the track. Two kilometer from Frankfurt ( range 113.0 Km ), outside the railway station, the control center About Lindenholzhausen allows the track change in a northwesterly direction (50 ° 22 '3 " N, 8 ° 7' 12" O50.36758.12 ). The crossovers are accessible on the diverging track at 100 km / hr. Also a sub-center of the electronic interlocking system and a sub-station (which is also linked to the public network ) were established in the area of ​​the station.

Transport links

Long-distance passenger traffic

The greater part of the South Limburg trains running past the station without stopping. In Frankfurt and Cologne is an approximately two hourly traffic offer with a range of densities. All holding in Limburg Süd ICE also keep in Montabaur and partly also in Siegburg / Bonn.

Transportation

The Limburg ( Lahn) station in the Limburg city center is reachable by buses and, if necessary, by calling collective taxis. After opening the ICE railway station was between two stations adjustable level of ICE schedule shuttle buses, but this was later adjusted for cost reasons. Outside the station, there is also a taxi rank.

9.1 percent of traveling via the train station commuters took advantage of the shuttle as a feeder ( as of 2004).

Although the station is in the area of the Limburg district Eschhofen, a direct road link to Eschhofen does not exist.

Parking

In addition to receiving building a car park with 306 parking spaces located. For long-term parking that has separately designated parking spaces. A car park with 573 car and 18 bicycle parking spaces for commuters is also in close proximity. After 19 months of construction, the park opened with six levels, charging station and toilet facility in September 2011.

For commissioning of the station were approximately 300 parking spaces available. Between the town of Limburg and Deutsche Bahn are currently in talks about setting up additional sites for long-distance travelers.

History

Background

Already planned in the 1970s, new Cologne - great- Gerau envisaged a railway station between Limburg and Diez in its right bank route alternative. South of the Lahn, west of the existing station and transversely to the Lahn Valley Railway, the existing line should be linked from the direction of Wetzlar in Cologne as well as from the direction Niederlahnstein towards the Rhine / Main here. The four-track system should, in addition to the two continuous route tracks, get two platform tracks with external platforms and a double track change (four points) in both Bahnhöfsköpfen. The plant was a "predominantly regional importance " awarded, bringing " a limited number of train stops only " is justified.

After completion of the line determination process, the Federal Cabinet decided today's route of the high-speed line along the A3 motorway, on a proposal from the Minister of Transport on 20 December 1989. In this case, inter alia, also a foothold in space Limburg was decided. Trassierungsvarianten through the Rhine Valley were thus finally off the table. The state of Hesse held as Rhineland-Palatinate Montabaur, at a railway station in the territory of the country firmly. In an agreement of March 1990 the prime ministers of the two countries as well as the Federal Transport Ministers noted beyond mutual agreement "that a foothold in space Limburg indispensable" is.

Variant discussion

As part of the coordination between the federal government and the two countries three variants were tested in the Limburg:

• Construction of a railway station Limburg- season, in connection with a railway station in Montabaur. The additional stop in Montabaur should compensate not only possible in this variant link to the Lahn Valley Railway, which was especially demanded by the State of Hesse, and the authorities in the Limburg / casting. Instead, the Koblenz area should be connected via the Montabaur station by car (motorway Dernbach, junction Montabaur ). The Montabaur station also offered the possibility of a joint for Westerwaldbahn after Siershahn. The cost of this variant in 1991 estimated at 30 million D-Mark.

• Was also discussed the establishment of a railway station in Limburg- Eschhofen. A height difference of about 40 meters would be between Lahntalbahn and new line of passengers changing flights have been overcome. The town of Limburg saw the best ways to link to the road network of the community as well as for the urban development of this variant. The estimated costs were (price level 1991) at 90 million marks.

• Was tested also the establishment of a railway station between Diez and Limburg, west of the above two variants, which pass on the east metropolitan area of ​​Limburg. A link from Lahntalbahn and new line would have been possible here with short distances. The disadvantage the former German Federal Railroad was the necessary construction of a 1.5 km long viaduct over the Lahnauen and greater landscape fragmentation by the abrückende from the highway route. The cost of this variant were estimated at about 65 million marks. This variant was not least due to the fragmentation of Dier Steiner Aue and a necessary high as possible traverse is of Massenkalkablagerungen to exclude contamination of drinking water, discarded.

With the introduction of new routes, track alignment, the Executive Board of the Federal Railroad spoke in favor of the first option on March 8, 1991. The decision for the present location meant a relatively low cost at the expense of a missing link to the transport network and a secluded position; Furthermore, it required the construction of the 2.4 kilometer long tunnel Limburger by a water protection zone. The station was built about 2.5 kilometers southeast of the city center, close to the A3, new "green meadow ". The traffic forecast was assumed that 90 percent of rail passengers would use in pre-and post cars.

Prior to the decision of the right bank route through the Federal Cabinet, the then Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate Wagner had brought in July 1989 for a short time a so-called variant S for the routing of the high-speed line from this week. This provided for a right bank management with a swing from Dernbach through tunnels and a bridge across the Rhine in Koblenz, which should swivel to the desired pure rechtsrheinische route tions Frankfurt to another Rhine crossing again. The estimated additional costs of this detour variant were 1.3 to 2.8 billion marks ( about 0.7 to 1.4 billion euros ). Federal Transport Minister Zimmermann spoke of a " provincial farce " and suggested, as a compromise solution, the establishment of a high-speed railway station in Limburg prior to tie Koblenz. In addition to the establishment of the station of the compromise proposal provided a package of other railway infrastructure in Rhineland- Palatinate. The then Federal Railroad accepted initially Routing over Vilich and Limburg- season to prevent further delays to the project.

Planning

The run for the area from the regional council casting planning procedures for the section was introduced in January 1991 and completed in July 1994. To ensure that the station level in Limburg was determined. The variant Eschhofen, which provided a Ostkurve around the city, was incorporated into the planning approval process. The station was doing on the planning approval section 31.3, which ranged from Limburg tunnel to the city limits. Late 1994, the facility was designed with five tracks. The zoning decision was issued on 25 June 1997. Here, a design by the Berlin architects Weinkamm was found.

After the planning status of 1995, a stop in South Limburg and Montabaur was intended for one of the top five on the new line Cologne-Rhine/Main ICE lines.

For the design of the station and its environment praised the German railway, the town of Limburg and the State of Hesse in 1997 a competition. In early 1997, the jury chose the design from 35 proposals received from the design " flying carpet " of Düsseldorf architectural offices Schuster. As a " flying carpet " was thereby refers to a 16 m wide bridge over the tracks, stay on the travelers and should look into the distance. The jury praised the design as creatively and economically convincing. The design was modified to the start of construction in some points.

On 13 July 1998, the City Council of Limburg, 1.5 of the then planned 36 million Deutsche Mark ( about 18 million euros ) decided to take over construction costs. This was linked to two conditions: The station must be secured in the long term and Limburg are added to the Rhein- Main Transport Association. The decision on the actual design of the station and the associated costs was still out there. Was calculated with up to 36 million DM

The " construction and financing contract Limburg Süd station " was the middle of 2000 signed by representatives of Deutsche Bahn, the state of Hesse and the city of Limburg. It was planned to be hold at rush hour one train per hour in each direction at the station, otherwise a two-hour connection was provided. In addition, was intended to allow time maps of the RMV transport are on the trains.

On 31 January 2001, representatives of Deutsche Bahn and the mayor of the town of Limburg, Richard Martin, a contract for the development of the station environment. It was regulated under the exchange of land, land use planning and rerouting of in this area.

An initially planned complex variant of DM 42 million was reduced and halved the cost. According to the state of 2000 and 2001 of 28.5 million DM ( 14.6 million euros ) should be applied cost DM 12.5 million from the federal government, 8.5 million DM through the country, 6.0 million DM by the German railway and DM 1.5 million from the town of Limburg. In 2002, construction costs were given as 14.6 million euros.

Construction and commissioning

Mid-1999, ran to first construction measures on today's station area. With the start of construction was still expected in the same year.

In the course of archaeological preliminary exploration more than fifty archaeological monuments have been discovered in the area of ​​the future station. The up to 7000 years old discoveries have shown that over the centuries a lively trade in the area of ​​today's railway station was operated.

The construction of the station began with a groundbreaking ceremony on 24 September 2001. Shovel handles to new lines Project Bringfried Belter, of hessian Economy and Transport Minister Dieter Posch, the Limburg Mayor Richard Martin and DB - employee Rudolf Göbershahn. The station building should be completed by July 12, 2002. For the station building 9000 m² earth were dug and poured 2000 cubic meters of concrete or reinforced concrete.

On 1 August 2002, the traffic stop was put together with the new line in operation. More than 2,000 people, including the Hessian Minister President Koch, the arrival of the first ICE 3 persecuted the early morning of August 1, 2002, who arrived six minutes before the scheduled arrival in Limburg.

From commissioning of the new line were two locomotives of the series 218 to the station in readiness to possibly pull broken-down trains from the new line can. These were deducted for the year 2010/ 2011.

As part of the preprocessing operation on the new line Cologne-Rhine/Main South Limburg was initially served as one of the three intermediate stations between Cologne and Frankfurt Airport every third train; the other two drove through each. The station building was completed in November 2003.

Operation

Besides Montabaur was also the Limburg Süd station from the start due to high construction costs and initially lack of industrial estates in the station area in the criticism.

Mid- 2004, the German railway to the number of an incoming and outgoing passengers per day in 1300. The city had at that time from 1800 to 2000 passengers.

2005 about 2500 people daily use the station. Between 2003 and 2005 the number of passengers increased by 32 percent for rail information. The continued existence of the station as ICE stop was in 2007 as secured. A 2004 survey showed that 96 percent of the passengers on the platform 5-9 clock were commuters on their way to work.

The previous record (as of 2012) was determined in counts in 2008 with 2758 passengers. 2009 2694 passengers were counted at counting. Counts of working days in April 2012 showed an average of 2625 and exiting. The majority of the passengers is the direction of Frankfurt am Main on the go ( in each direction about 1000 per day). In a four-day traffic count in mid-April 2013 means 2737 and alighting per day were counted. Of these, around 1,000 were Commuters Frankfurt and around 300 commuters towards Cologne. A study carried out in a work week in February 2014 showed an average of 2343 passenger counting boarding and alighting per working day. This was compared with the previous year, a decrease of 14 percent. Frankfurt were counted an average of around 1000 local boarding, direction Köln around 300

A study by the University of Hamburg and the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2010, established for the period from 2002 to 2006, an additional economic growth of 2.7 percent in the catchment area of ​​the new Stations Limburg and Montabaur. This growth is clearly due to improved market access as a result of the stations.

Criticism

Critics of the lying at a distance of approximately 20 km stations Limburg and Montabaur the result of political blackmail. After Limburg late 1980s, a railway station was already promised, Rhineland -Palatinate had demanded a railway station in Montabaur for a smooth approval process for the new line.

Also, the Taxpayers Association, criticized in his Black Book 1998 Stations Limburg and Montabaur. Because politicians would be able to influence regional planning process, the train had to build both "provincial stations" at a distance of 20 km.