Aachen Hauptbahnhof (German for Aachen main station) is the most important railway station for the city of Aachen, in the far west of Germany near the Dutch and Belgian border. It is the largest of the four currently active Aachen stations, and is integrated into the long-distance network.
Aachen ![]() | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hbf | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() Station forecourt and main entrance | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
General information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | Bahnhofplatz 2a 52064 Aachen Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 50°46′03″N 6°05′28″E | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line(s) |
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Platforms | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Construction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Architect | Friedrich Mettegang | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Architectural style | Art Nouveau | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Station code | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DS100 code | KA[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
IBNR | 8000001 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Category | 2[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fare zone | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Website | www.bahnhof.de | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 1905; 117 years ago (1905) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Location | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() ![]() Aachen Hauptbahnhof Location in North Rhine-Westphalia Show map of North Rhine-Westphalia![]() ![]() Aachen Hauptbahnhof Location in Germany Show map of Germany![]() ![]() Aachen Hauptbahnhof Location in Europe Show map of Europe |
A station at Aachen was first opened in 1841, when the Rheinische Eisenbahngesellschaft opened its line from Cologne. The line first was extended to Herbesthal (near the Belgian border) and on 15 October 1843 to Antwerp. The first station was built outside of the city walls, however the city soon grew and the station eventually became surrounded by new buildings. The Prussian state railways deemed that rather impractical and decided to build a new station situated on a hillside. Embankments and new bridges were built from 1901 onward, and on 21 December 1905 the station opened at its new location.
The station remained largely undisturbed until suffering from damage in 1944, when German troops were retreating. However, since the rail link was highly valued by the Allied forces, damage was cleared up rather quickly and in 1950 all war damage had been removed from the site. Since 2002 the Cologne–Aachen high-speed railway line allows connections to Cologne with speeds up to 250 km/h (160 mph).
In 1966, Aachen Hauptbahnhof was electrified. Due to its proximity to Belgium, it was decided to implement the switching point from the Deutsche Bahn's 15 kV AC to the 3000 V DC used by the NMBS/SNCB in the station. Tracks 6 to 9 therefore have a switchable catenary and are used for international Thalys, ICE and Regional-Express services.
The station hall was renovated from 2000 to 2006. In 2007 a new electronic signal box was built, enabling more streamlined operations and automatic switching of the correct voltages. The cost estimate for the revamp was around €40 million. The main changes were:
The following services currently call at Aachen Hbf:
Series | Operator | Route | Material | Frequency | Notes | |
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ICE 80 | Thalys | Paris Nord – Brussels-South – Liège-Guillemins – Aachen Hauptbahnhof – Cologne – (Düsseldorf – Duisburg – Essen – Dortmund) | Thalys PBKA | 5x per day | high speed service | |
ICE 79 | DB | Brussels-South – Brussels-North – Liège-Guillemins – Aachen Hauptbahnhof – Cologne – (Siegburg/Bonn – Montabaur – Limburg –) Frankfurt Airport – Frankfurt | ICE 3M - Class 406 | Every 2 hours | high speed service | |
IC 2222 | DB | Aachen Hauptbahnhof – Mönchengladbach – Krefeld – Duisburg – Essen – Bochum – Dortmund – Hamm – Gütersloh – Bielefeld – Herford – Hannover – Wolfsburg – Berlin-Spandau – Berlin Hbf – Berlin Ostbahnhof | DB Class 120 and IC stock | 1x per day | ||
FLX 30 | Flixtrain | Aachen Hauptbahnhof – Cologne – Düsseldorf – Duisburg – Essen – Dortmund – Bielefeld – Hannover – Berlin-Spandau – Berlin Hbf – Berlin Südkreuz – Lutherstadt Wittenberg – Leipzig | Siemens Vectron BR193 + railway coaches | 8x per week | ||
NJ 425 | ÖBB Nightjet | Brussels-South – Brussels-North – Liège-Guillemins – Aachen Hauptbahnhof – Cologne – Bonn-Beuel – Koblenz – Mainz – Frankfurt Airport – Frankfurt South – Nuremberg – | Augsburg – Munich – Kufstein – Wörgl – Jenbach – Innsbruck | Compartment coaches, Couchette cars, Sleeping cars | 2x per week | Night Train |
NJ 50425 | Regensburg – Passau – Wels – Linz – Amstetten – St. Pölten – Wien Meidling – Vienna | |||||
RE 1 NRW-Express | DB Regio NRW | Aachen Hauptbahnhof – Eschweiler – Düren – Horrem – Cologne – Düsseldorf – Duisburg Hbf – Mülheim (Ruhr) – Essen – Bochum – Dortmund – Hamm | DB Class 146 + 6x Double-deck Coach | 1x per hour | ||
RE 4 Wupper-Express | DB Regio NRW | Aachen Hauptbahnhof – Herzogenrath – Rheydt – Mönchengladbach – Neuss – Düsseldorf – Wuppertal – Hagen – Witten – Dortmund | DB Class 111 + 5x Double-deck Coach | 1x per hour | ||
RE 9 Rhein-Sieg-Express | DB Regio NRW | Aachen Hauptbahnhof – Eschweiler – Düren – Horrem – Cologne – Troisdorf – Siegburg/Bonn – Hennef – Au (Sieg) – Siegen | Talent 2, DB Class 111 + 5x Double-deck Coach | 1x per hour | ||
RE 18 LIMAX | Arriva Nederland | Aachen Hauptbahnhof – Aachen West – Herzogenrath – Eygelshoven Markt – Landgraaf – Heerlen – Valkenburg – Meerssen – Maastricht | Stadler FLIRT 3 | 1x per hour | ||
RB 20 Euregiobahn | DB Regio NRW | Alsdorf-Annapark – Alsdorf-Busch – Herzogenrath-August-Schmidt-Platz – Herzogenrath-Alt-Merkstein – Herzogenrath – Kohlscheid – Aachen West – Aachen Schanz – Aachen Hauptbahnhof – Aachen-Rothe Erde – Eilendorf – Stolberg (Rheinland) – | Eschweiler-West – Eschweiler Talbahnhof – Eschweiler-Nothberg – Eschweiler-Weisweiler – Langerwehe – Düren | DB Class 643 | 2x per hour | |
Stolberg-Schneidmühle – Stolberg-Mühlener Bahnhof – Stolberg-Rathaus – Stolberg-Altstadt | 2x per hour | |||||
RE 29 euregioAIXpress | SNCB/NMBS | Spa-Géronstère – Pepinster – Verviers Central – Verviers-Palais – Dolhain-Gileppe – Welkenraedt – Hergenrath – Aachen Hauptbahnhof | SNCB AM62 | 1x per hour | ||
RB 33 Rhein-Niers-Bahn | DB Regio NRW | Essen - Mülheim (Ruhr) - Mülheim-Styrum - Duisburg – Duisburg-Hochfeld Süd – Rheinhausen Ost – Rheinhausen – Krefeld-Hohenbudberg Chempark – Krefeld-Uerdingen – Krefeld-Linn – Krefeld-Oppum – Krefeld – Forsthaus – Anrath – Viersen – Mönchengladbach – Rheydt – Wickrath – Herrath – Erkelenz – Hückelhoven-Baal – Brachelen – | Lindern – Geilenkirchen – Übach-Palenberg – Herzogenrath – Kohlscheid – Aachen West – Aachen Schanz – Aachen Hauptbahnhof | DB Class 425 | 1x per hour | |
Heinsberg – | 1x per hour | |||||
S19 Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn | DB Regio NRW | Aachen Hauptbahnhof – Aachen-Rothe Erde – Stolberg (Rheinland) – Langerwehe – Düren – Horrem – Cologne – Cologne/Bonn Airport station – Troisdorf (–Hennef(Sieg)) | DB Class 423 | 2x per night | ||
Aachen Hauptbahnhof is served by the following lines:
Cologne-Aachen high-speed rail line (KBS 480) | ||
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Stations |