Initial situation Before the current Hauptbahnhof was built on the
Galgenfeld (gallows field), the
three western stations, the termini of the
Taunus Railway (
Taunusbahn), the
Main–Weser Railway (
Main-Weser-Bahn) and the
Main-Neckar Railway (
Main-Neckar-Bahn) were located on the outskirts of the city, the
Gallusanlage, the area of today's
Bahnhofsviertel ("station district").
Plans Due to the increased volume of travellers at the end of the 19th century, the capacity of the three western railway stations became increasingly inadequate, but changes were made more difficult by the territorial affiliations of the states surrounding the
Free City of Frankfurt. After the annexation of Frankfurt,
Nassau and
Hesse-Kassel by
Prussia in 1866, these obstacles were largely removed, so that planning for a central station was taken seriously. The inadequacy of the situation became apparent particularly during the
Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71, when troop movements were noticeably hampered by the scattered stations. Like the three western stations before it, the new station was to be built as a terminal station. First, a large station with 34 platform tracks was planned. Because of the huge dimensions, however, a variant with "only" 18 platform tracks was used. Mail and goods handling was to take place under the station hall, local traffic was to be handled outside, which was realised by the main freight yard built later. The town council, which only got a say in 1875, also wanted the railway facilities relocated from the Anlagenring (the ring of roads and parklands on the demolished walls surrounding the inner city) to the former gallows field. A new district with Kaiserstraße as the main axis was to be created on the area of the track fields of the Western stations that would be released from railway operations. This option also had the great advantage that operations could be carried out largely undisturbed during the construction phase, since the new station hardly affected the old lines. From 1880, the
Bauakademie (Prussian Building Academy) held a competition involving all the major architects to design a "monument that challenged the highest artistic standards". In 1881, the winner of this architectural competition was that of the agricultural inspector and university master builder
Hermann Eggert from
Strasbourg in Alsace, from among the 55 designs submitted. He was commissioned with the planning and construction of the entrance building. The Berlin architect
Johann Wilhelm Schwedler, who specialised in steel construction, scored second place. He became the designer of the three new station halls made of iron with a -high
barrel vault, each of which had three platforms with six tracks.
Realisation On 18 August 1888, after only five years of construction, the
Centralbahnhof Frankfurt (Frankfurt Central Station) was inaugurated. In the next few years, the station district developed to the east of the entrance building and was fully developed by around 1900. Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof was the largest station in Europe until
Leipzig Hauptbahnhof was built in 1915.
Railway operations The station was designed for regular services. The entry and exit tracks of each line lay next to each other. On the evening of the opening day, a train was unable to stop in time and ran over the buffer stop. The locomotive and the pavement of the transverse platform were damaged. This was the beginning of a whole series of such incidents, which caused some ridicule in the press. The "highlight" was the "sweeping" crossing of the locomotive of the Ostend-Wien-Express on 6 December 1901. The locomotive and tender only came to a stop near the first and second class waiting room. Many engine drivers therefore drove very carefully into the station and came to a stop some distance from the buffer stops. This in turn meant that the last carriages of the trains came to a stop away from the platforms, which the management did not like either. The engine drivers were warned to "drive as close as possible to the buffer stops".
Extensions and conversions In 1924 the building was extended with two outer halls in
Neoclassical style. The number of tracks increased to 25 (tracks 1 to 24 and 1a).
Reliefs with motifs of the
Wandervogel movement were installed at the southern entrance. During the Second World War, the station was the target of
Allied air raids, for instance on 11 December 1944, when almost 1000 tons of multi-purpose bombs were dropped on the station. However, it had already been damaged by air raids on Frankfurt am Main. Above all, the glazing of the platform halls was destroyed. In order to protect the passengers from rain, the former glass surfaces were partly closed with wood, a temporary solution that remained in place for almost 60 years. Offices that did not necessarily have to be on site for operational purposes were outsourced, the lost and found office for example to the Frankfurt-Höchst station. The station was fully electrified in 1956. A 22 meter high
signal box tower was built between 1955 and 1957. In 1957, what was then the largest and most modern track signal box in Europe (with a train number signalling system) was put into operation. 16 operators controlled the 15,000 relay system. The building erected near tracks 9 and 10 is now a listed building. Also in 1957, nine steam shunting locomotives were replaced by seven diesel shunting locomotives. In the early 1960s, Germany's largest express freight handling facility was set up under the station. 15 million pieces of luggage and express goods alone were handled annually in these years. The facilities also included a supply centre for the station and the dining cars, with its own confectionery, large bakery and butcher's shop. Two railway post offices were also part of the extensive facilities, as were 70 freight lifts. As a result of growing inner-city traffic congestion, the idea of an
inner-city connecting railway was taken up again in the 1960s, despite the fact that it was not economically justifiable. The construction of the underground railway systems began in 1971 with the
B-Tunnel of the
Frankfurt U-Bahn in the central city. A large shopping arcade (B level) was created as a distribution level, from which two four-track stations each—an underground station (C level) and an S-Bahn station (D level)—and a three-storey underground car park (part of which can also be used as a
fallout shelter), is accessed through numerous corridors and stairs. These were the first public escalators in the city at the time. The tram stop on the square in front of the station,
Am Hauptbahnhof, could formerly only be reached from the escalator opened in 1978 and later rebuilt using the original facade cladding. The underground stations began operating in 1978. At the same time, a two-storey air raid shelter was built to offer railway employees protection in an emergency. All telephone operations could be handled from this bunker. It was also possible to operate the loudspeaker system. Even though stocks such as canned food are no longer stored today, the technical systems (air filter systems, power generators) are still fully operational. In the early 1970s, the platform ticket requirement was abolished and the platform barriers were dismantled. The two platforms on tracks 6 to 9 were widened, raised and lengthened for the introduction of ICE operations in June 1991. The space for the widening was gained by demolishing the baggage platforms, which were no longer used. From 2002 to 2006, the listed 80 percent of the costs were borne by the federal government. The facade was renovated in 2013. Other parts of the interior design of the station and entrance halls as well as the underground station were also modernised. In the meantime,
liquid-crystal displays have replaced the old
split-flap displays on the platforms. As in
Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof, seven cubic glass and steel pavilions have replaced the previous buildings on the transverse platform. In mid-2006, cubic and transparent lifts were also installed to connect the S-Bahn platforms to the U-Bahn and to the side platform of the train shed. Due to the frequent theft of luggage trolleys, which caused annual damage of up to €30,000, a security system was installed in the station to prevent the luggage trolleys from being removed from the railway premises. When crossing a red mark, the front wheel locked. This system was originally developed for shopping carts and adapted accordingly. The rental of luggage trolleys was later discontinued, and in view of the increased number of passengers, there was no longer any room for safe operation. Planning began in 1998, and implementation at the end of 2001, of a
computer-based interlocking of the
SIMIS C type, the four-stage commissioning of which was completed on 27 November 2005. It replaces the track control signal box from 1957, which handled a total of around 20 million trains and 100 million shunting trips. By the end of 2024, the entrance hall is to be renovated first, followed by the forecourt.
Other upgrades The capacity of some access routes is considered to be exhausted. Several lines (e.g.
ICE 13 and
RB 58) can no longer be routed via the station. For reasons of acceleration, only four platform tracks (tracks 6 to 9) are normally used for long-distance trains on the north-south axis. The costs were funded by the federal government. Operationally, the line is to be referred to as "Ffm Hbf–Mainzer Landstraße". By 2019, access from level B and the station forecourt are to be remodelled at a cost of €175m. Between the beginning of 2016 and the beginning of 2019, more than 1,000 square metres of new retail space are to be built for €134.5m. The city is contributing €27.5m. Previously unused basements are to be used for this purpose. On 21 December 2015, Deutsche Bahn and the city of Frankfurt signed a contract to modernise the underground distribution level and to create additional access points. Work was scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2016 and be completed in mid-2020. The city of Frankfurt is contributing €27.5m to the construction costs of €135m. The results of the feasibility study were presented to the public on 28 June 2021. The construction period is estimated at 10 years after the completion of planning. Construction is expected to start in the 2030s and operations would start in the 2040s. The construction costs are estimated at €3.6b. The upgrade of the node is one of 13 infrastructure projects of the proposed German clock-face timetable (
Deutschlandtakt) that, according to the coalition agreement of the
red-green-yellow federal government presented in November 2021, are to be "accelerated" and implemented "with high political priority". == Architecture ==