History
In mid-1840 the Magdeburg-Leipzig Railway – initiated by city councillor, Matthäus Ludwig Wucherer, who supported the building of a railway from Magdeburg to Leipzig via Halle – built the first station in Halle, which was subsequently (1845 to 1847) rebuilt again to form a junction with the Thuringian Railway. The unusual feature of the route between Magdeburg and Leipzig was that it was the first cross-border railway link (from Prussia through Anhalt-Köthen to Saxony).
As further routes were added the station soon became too small, but could not be expanded because the various railway companies could not agree an overall concept. Not until 8 October 1890, after the nationalisation of one company and a five-year construction period could the new passenger station be opened. The station hall was largely destroyed during the Second World War and the wooden platform roofing replaced after the war with steel coverings.
In 1967 the S-Bahn was opened and hence a new platform added on the western side. In 1967/68 the station hall was clad by corrugated aluminium sheeting which matched the architecture and ideology of the time, and gave the station a typical modern, socialist appearance. As early as 1984 this covering was removed again however and the dilapidated domed roof was renovated. In 2002 the station, like many others in German cities, was comprehensively refurbished, rebuilt and provided with a range of shops.
In about 2016 the station will be linked to the planned, new Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway. By 2008 the southern approach had been rebuilt over a length of 5 kilometres and now runs under the new Saale-Elster viaduct (to which a connection is being built) towards Erfurt.
Read more about this topic: Halle Central Station
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