Munich Central Station - Station Layout

Station Layout

Apart from Lindau Hauptbahnhof, München Hauptbahnhof is the only major terminal station in Bavaria. There are 32 tracks, split over the original three stations:

• Holzkirchner Bahnhof,München Hbf Gleis (tracks) 5-10

This section mainly has regional services to Mühldorf and Salzburg.

• Hauptbahnhof (main train shed)

Starting and ending point for all InterCityExpress (ICE), Intercity (IC)/EuroCity (EC) long-distance services and DB NachtZug and CityNightLine services. RegionalExpress and RegionalBahn services also depart from here to Augsburg, Ingolstadt and Landshut, among other directions.

• Starnberger Bahnhof (München Hbf Gleis (tracks) 27-36)

Services call here for Lindau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Trains operated by Bayerische Oberlandbahn and Allgäu-Express depart from here as well. The S-Bahn line departs from this part of the station to Deisenhofen. In case of a closure of the S-Bahn tunnel below the station, some westbound S-Bahn services will depart from the Starnberger Bahnhof.

The subterranean Munich S-Bahn station is separated operationally from the mainline station and known as München Hbf (tief). To optimise passenger flow, separate platforms for entering and disembarking trains exist. The subway station is situated near the U-Bahn lines for the U1 and U2 trains, but if one wishes to change from the S-Bahn to U4/U5 trains, it is more practical to stay on the S-Bahn to Karlsplatz (Stachus), as the U4/U5 station is on the opposite side of the station.

Due to the station's size, walking from one platform to another may take a considerable amount of time. Deutsche Bahn recommends planning for a minimum walking time of 10 minutes from the central hall to Starnberger Bahnhof or Holzkirchner Bahnhof; 15 minutes between Starnberger and Holzkirchner Bahnhof; and 15 minutes between the S-Bahn station and Holzkirchner Bahnhof.

The two outlying parts of the station have shorter tracks than the main hall, which means passengers always have to walk down most of the length of either platform 11 or 26 when changing from there. Unlike Frankfurt Hbf, there is no passenger subway under the tracks.

The mainline station is only closed between 1:30 and 3:00. The S-Bahn stations operate almost 24/7, and the U-Bahn station closes only between 1:30 and 4:00 (2:30-4:00 on weekends).