History
The original station of the Badische Hauptbahn (Baden mainline) from Heidelberg, opened in 1840, was a terminal station at the current Tattersall tram stop to the north of the current station. Plans for a bridge over the Rhine to Ludwigshafen (now the Konrad Adenauer Bridge), however, soon made it necessary to move the station.
The station building, some of which still survives, was built between 1871 and 1876. From around 1900, consideration was given to extending or relocating the station. In 1915 it was decided to expand the existing station. In 1927, the front of the station was demolished and rebuilt 10 m closer to the street, doubling the area of the station. During this restructuring there was debate on whether the facade should be restored to its original form. Ultimately, it was rebuilt in a simplified form. Due to the substantial destruction during World War II and the subsequent reconstruction of the facade it was simplified again and rebuilt without decorative elements, but reminiscent of its previous form.
In the summer 1939 timetable the station is shown as having 94 arriving and departing regular long-distance trains per day. Deutsche Reichsbahn ranked it as the 14th most congested node of its network.
Between 1977 and 1982 a new relay interlocking system (class SpDrS60) was installed, replacing the electro-mechanical interlocking at the eastern end of the station and three push button interlockings in the rest of the station area. In the mid-1980s, the new signal box controlled 74 km of line with 721 appliances (including 250 sets of points and derails as well as 66 main signals).
On 2 June 1985, the western approach of the Ried Railway (Riedbahn) to Mannheim was opened. This avoided the need for trains running from Frankfurt via Mannheim to Stuttgart and Karlsruhe to reverse in Mannheim station.
With a total of 269 arrivals and departures of scheduled long-distance trains each day in Mannheim station in the timetable for the summer of 1989, it was the tenth most important node in the Deutsche Bundesbahn network. With 308 such arrivals and departures each day in the timetable for the summer of 1996, it had become the sixth most important node in the Deutsche Bahn network.
In 1995, a parking garage was built under the station forecourt and the station building was comprehensively renovated and redesigned between 1999 and 2001. The platform-side buildings were extended and had their symmetry restored, while the entrance hall received a glass dome. The blend of tradition and modernism is considered successful.
With 332 arrivals and departures in the 2004 timetable, the station had become the fifth most important node in the Deutsche Bahn network.
On 18 July 2007, the new central bus station was officially opened adjacent to the station. The nine parking bays used by long-distance buses operated from the bus station are currently served by more than 30 bus routes, according to the operator, Mannheimer Parkhausbetriebe GmbH.
Read more about this topic: Mannheim Central Station
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