Bebra became part of the German railway network on 29 August 1848, with commissioning of the first section of the
Frederick William Northern Railway to
Guxhagen. On 25 September, the line was extended to
Gerstungen. On the same day the
Thuringian line to
Halle was also extended to Bebra. In 1866 this was followed by the first section of the
Frankfurt–Bebra railway to
Bad Hersfeld and in 1875 by the
line to Göttingen. The present station building was built in 1869 on an island surrounded by rail tracks. It experienced a small decline in importance with the opening of the
Berlin curve in 1914, connecting between the Frankfurt–Bebra line and the Thuringian line and avoiding the reversal previously required in Bebra. After
World War II traffic in the area Bebra shifted more in a north–south direction as traffic heading east was disrupted by the nearby
Inner German border. Bebra was, however, a border station for interzone trains to
East Germany and transit trains and military trains of the Western powers to
West Berlin. In Bebra, locomotives of the
West German and
East German railways were exchanged. From the summer 1973 timetable this was done in
Gerstungen. The "Berlin curve" was not used while Germany was divided. The electrification of the railways serving the station started in 1963. In 1990, the
Berlin curve was rebuilt and put back into operation. Bebra is now served by several regional lines. The marshalling yard is also one of
Deutsche Bahn’s 13 cargo centres. == Rail services==