Köln Hauptbahnhof

Template:Db station Köln Hauptbahnhof (English: Cologne Central Station, abbr.: Köln Hbf) is the central railway station in Cologne, Germany.

The station is an important local, national and international hub, with many ICE, Thalys and InterCity trains calling there, as well as regional RegionalExpress, RegionalBahn and local S-Bahn trains. EuroNight and DB NachtZug night services also call at the station. It has frequent connections to Frankfurt by way of the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line, which starts in southern Cologne. On an average day, about 250,000 travellers frequent the station, leaving it tied with Hanover and Düsseldorf for fifth busiest station in Germany.

The station is situated next to the Cologne cathedral.

There is another important train station in Cologne, the Köln Messe/Deutz railway station across the river Rhine, just about 400 metres away from Köln Hauptbahnhof. The stations are linked by the Hohenzollernbrücke, a six-track railway bridge with passenger walkways on each side. Frequent local services connect the two stations as well.

Operational usage

Köln Hbf seen from Deutz

The station hall

Nigth view from Cathedral

The station has to cope with a very high daily load; even though some ICE services now call at the Köln-Deutz station, though its platforms are divided into three sections each, are still remarkably crowded all over the day, and a major extension of the station is impossible because of its unique surroundings. Connections to the local Cologne network Stadtbahn are made by two subterranean stations, Dom/Hbf and Breslauer Platz/Hbf at the respective ends of the station. The station has 11 main line passenger track platforms, of which two are used for S-Bahn services; the two subterranean Stadtbahn stations have two tracks each. Its IATA code is QKL.

The station's building also hosts a large shopping mall, the Colonaden.

Long distance trains

Preceding station		Thalys		Following station
Template:Thalys stations toward Template:Thalys stations		Template:Thalys lines		Terminus
Preceding station		DB		Following station
Template:DB-ICE stations toward Template:DB-ICE stations		Template:DB-ICE lines		Template:DB-ICE stations toward Template:DB-ICE stations
Template:DB-ICE stations toward Template:DB-ICE stations
Template:DB-ICE stations toward Template:DB-ICE stations		Template:DB-ICE lines train route splits here and rejoins in Dortmund Hbf		Template:DB-ICE stations toward Template:DB-ICE stations
				Template:DB-ICE stations toward Template:DB-ICE stations
Template:DB-ICE stations toward Template:DB-ICE stations		Template:DB-ICE lines reverses out		Template:DB-ICE stations toward Template:DB-ICE stations
Template:DB-ICE stations toward Template:DB-ICE stations		Template:DB-ICE lines reverses out		Template:DB-ICE stations toward Template:DB-ICE stations
				Template:DB-ICE stations toward Template:DB-ICE stations
Terminus		Template:DB-ICE lines		Template:DB-ICE stations toward Template:DB-ICE stations
Terminus		Template:DB-ICE lines		Template:DB-ICE stations toward Template:DB-ICE stations
Template:DB-ICE stations toward Template:DB-ICE stations		Template:DB-ICE lines reverses out		Template:DB-ICE stations toward Template:DB-ICE stations
Template:DB-ICE stations toward Template:DB-ICE stations		Template:DB-ICE lines		Template:DB-ICE stations toward Template:DB-ICE stations
Template:DB-ICE stations toward Template:DB-ICE stations		Template:DB-ICE lines train route rejoins here		Template:DB-ICE stations toward Template:DB-ICE stations
				Template:DB-ICE stations toward Template:DB-ICE stations
Terminus		Template:DB-IC lines Köln		Template:DB-IC stations toward Template:DB-IC stations
Template:DB-IC stations toward Template:DB-IC stations		Template:DB-IC lines		Template:DB-IC stations toward Template:DB-IC stations
Template:DB-IC stations toward Template:DB-IC stations		Template:DB-IC lines		Template:DB-IC stations toward Template:DB-IC stations
Template:DB-IC stations toward Template:DB-IC stations		Template:DB-IC lines		Template:DB-IC stations toward Template:DB-IC stations
Template:DB-IC stations toward Template:DB-IC stations		Template:DB-IC lines		Template:DB-IC stations toward Template:DB-IC stations
Terminus		Template:DB-IC lines		Template:DB-IC stations toward Template:DB-IC stations
Template:DB-IC stations toward Template:DB-IC stations		Template:DB-IC lines train route splits here and rejoins in Dortmund Hbf		Template:DB-IC stations toward Template:DB-IC stations
				Template:DB-IC stations toward Template:DB-IC stations

Regional trains

Preceding station		DB		Following station
Template:RE-NRW stations toward Template:RE-NRW stations		Template:RE-NRW lines		Template:RE-NRW stations toward Template:RE-NRW stations
Template:RE-NRW stations toward Template:RE-NRW stations		Template:RE-NRW lines		Template:RE-NRW stations toward Template:RE-NRW stations
Template:RE-NRW stations toward Template:RE-NRW stations		Template:RE-NRW lines		Template:RE-NRW stations toward Template:RE-NRW stations
Template:RE-NRW stations toward Template:RE-NRW stations		Template:RE-NRW lines		Template:RE-NRW stations toward Template:RE-NRW stations
		Template:RE-NRW lines		Template:RE-NRW stations toward Template:RE-NRW stations
Template:RE-NRW stations toward Template:RE-NRW stations		Template:RE-NRW lines		Template:RE-NRW stations toward Template:RE-NRW stations
Template:RE-NRW stations toward Template:RE-NRW stations		Template:RE-NRW lines
Template:RB-NRW stations toward Template:RB-NRW stations		Template:RB-NRW lines		Template:RB-NRW stations toward Template:RB-NRW stations
Template:RB-NRW stations toward Template:RB-NRW stations		Template:RB-NRW lines		Template:RB-NRW stations toward Template:RB-NRW stations
Template:RB-NRW stations toward Template:RB-NRW stations		Template:RB-NRW lines		Template:RB-NRW stations toward Template:RB-NRW stations
Template:RB-NRW stations toward Template:RB-NRW stations		Template:RB-NRW lines		Template:RB-NRW stations toward Template:RB-NRW stations
Template:RB-NRW stations toward Template:RB-NRW stations		Template:RB-NRW lines		Terminus
Template:RB-NRW stations toward Template:RB-NRW stations		Template:RB-NRW lines		Template:RB-NRW stations toward Template:RB-NRW stations

S-Bahn trains

Several Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn lines call at the station:

• Template:S-Bahn-Linie Köln-Nippes — Köln Hbf — Langenfeld — Düsseldorf Hbf — Ratingen Ost — Essen Hbf
• Template:S-Bahn-Linie (Wuppertal-Vohwinkel —) Düsseldorf — Neuss — Dormagen — Köln Hbf — Bergisch Gladbach
• Template:S-Bahn-Linie Düren — Horrem — Köln Hbf — Troisdorf — Siegburg — Hennef — Au
• Template:S-Bahn-Linie (Horrem —) Köln Hbf — Bahnhof Köln/Bonn Flughafen (Cologne Airport) — Troisdorf

See also

• Köln Messe/Deutz railway station
• Hauptbahnhof

External links

• DB informational web site (German)

Template:Germany-rail-station-stub