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Bensheim station is in the town of Bensheim on the Main-Neckar Railway, connecting Frankfurt and Heidelberg, in the German state of Hesse. The station is also the beginning and end of the single-track non-electrified Worms–Bensheim line (Nibelung Railway). 114 trains stop at Bensheim station every day, of which about one-third are long-distance services. It is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 3 station.[1] Bensheim station is protected as a cultural monument under the Hessian heritage legislation.

Bensheim
Through station
General information
Location	Amershamplatz 1, Bensheim, Hesse Germany
Coordinates	49°40′57″N 8°37′0″E
Owned by	Deutsche Bahn
Operated by	DB Station&Service
Line(s)	Main-Neckar Railway (49.5 km) (KBS 650 Nibelung Railway (23.9 km) (KBS 653)
Platforms	4
Construction
Architectural style	Neoclassical
Other information
Station code	488[1]
DS100 code	FBH[2]
IBNR	8000031
Category	4[1]
Fare zone	VRN: 35[3] : 4510 (VRN transitional tariff)[4]
Website	www.bahnhof.de
History
Opened	1846
Services
Preceding station   DB Fernverkehr   Following station Darmstadt towards Hamburg-Altona ICE 26 Weinheim (Bergstr) towards Karlsruhe Darmstadt towards Frankfurt IC/EC 62 Weinheim (Bergstr) towards Salzburg Preceding station   DB Regio Mitte   Following station Bickenbach (Bergstr) toward Frankfurt (Main) Hbf RE 60 Main-Neckar Railway Heppenheim (Bergstr) toward Mannheim Hbf Terminus RB 67 Main-Neckar Railway Bensheim-Auerbach toward Frankfurt (Main) Hbf RB 68 Main-Neckar Railway Heppenheim (Bergstr) toward Heidelberg Hbf Lorsch toward Worms Hbf RB 63 Nibelungenbahn Terminus Preceding station Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn Following station Heppenheim (Bergstr) towards Mainz Hbf S6 Terminus
Location
Bensheim Location in Hesse Show map of Hesse Bensheim Location in Germany Show map of Germany Bensheim Location in Europe Show map of Europe

History

Almost eleven years after the Adler locomotive began to run over the Bavarian Ludwig Railway between Nuremberg and Fürth, the Main-Neckar Railway was opened in 1846. Bensheim station was opened in the same year. The building of this artery through three small states in the Rhine valley stimulated trade and industry throughout the region. In 1851, the Auerbach district—then still a separate municipality—gained its own station.

In 1869, the Nibelungen railway, a section of the Hessian Ludwig Railway (German: Hessische Ludwigsbahn, HLB) was put into operation between Bensheim and Worms. Bensheim now had two railway stations, operated by two railway companies, which were not connected by rail with each other until 1872. As early as 1869 there were plans to extend the Ludwigs Railway to the Odenwald via the Lauter valley to Lindenfels and Reichelsheim to improve transport links. But further attempts to realise this project in 1895, 1925 and 1926 ultimately failed. Between 1910 and 1912, the railway was raised on an embankment through the city area.

In the mid 1990s Bensheim’s freight yard was closed and a few years later the dismantling of its tracks began.

Entrance building

The station building in 1845 was built to plans by Georg Moller in a neoclassical style on the eastern side of the line towards the city. The two-coloured facade of the two-storey, sandstone building had nine bay window around a central group of five windows. In 1900, the outer parts of the facade were replaced by two symmetrically arranged octagonal pavilions designed as porches with further lateral extensions. The eaves of the flat hip roof is decorated with a spiral scroll-like frieze (volute). After Florsheim station, it is the oldest completely preserved station building in Hesse.

Plans

There are plans for the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn to run between Mannheim and Darmstadt over the Main-Neckar line by 2018, providing connections to the two nearest metropolitan areas of the Rhine-Neckar and the Rhine-Main every half-hour. These plans require the raising of the level of the platforms to the standard height of S-Bahn platforms (76 cm). It is also planned to renovate the station, at a cost of €7.5 million, including an extension of the platforms, so that even long-distance trains can stop at them. The station will also have lifts and escalators, making it accessible for the disabled.

Platforms

• Tracks 1 and 2 serve long-distance and regional services (Frankfurt am Main and Heidelberg/Mannheim)
• Track 3 serves regional services towards Mannheim (hourly service)
• Platform 4 is used for regional services on the Nibelungen line towards Worms (hourly)
• Track 5 was used as the passing track for the freight yard (now overgrown and abandoned)

Train services

Long-distance services

Line	Route	Frequency
ICE 15	Binz – Pasewalk – Berlin – Halle – Erfurt – Frankfurt – Darmstadt – Bensheim  – Stuttgart	Individual services
ICE 26	Stralsund – Hamburg – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Gießen – Frankfurt – Darmstadt – Bensheim – Heidelberg – Karlsruhe	Every 2 hours
ICE 50	Dresden – Leipzig – Erfurt – Fulda – Frankfurt – Darmstadt – Bensheim – Mannheim – Kaiserslautern – Saarbrücken	One train pair
IC 62	Frankfurt – Darmstadt – Bensheim – Stuttgart – Munich – Salzburg	Every 2 hours

Regional services

Line	Route	Frequency
RE 60	Frankfurt (Main) Hbf – Darmstadt Hbf – Bensheim – Weinheim (Bergstraße) – Mannheim Hbf	Every 2 hours
RB 63	Bensheim – Lorsch – Bürstadt – Worms Hbf	Hourly
RB 67	Frankfurt (Main) Hbf – Darmstadt Hbf – Bensheim – Weinheim (Bergstraße) – Neu-Edingen/Friedrichsfeld – Mannheim Hbf	Individual services
RB 68	Frankfurt (Main) Hbf – Darmstadt Hbf – Bensheim – Weinheim (Bergstraße) – Neu-Edingen/Friedrichsfeld – Heidelberg Hbf	Hourly

Bus Station

The bus station is in front of the station building with seven bays and connections to the suburbs of Bensheim by Citybus, and to Lautertal, Bürstadt, Heppenheim, Jugenheim and Lorsch.

Notes

References

• Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Hessen, ed. (2005). Eisenbahn in Hessen. Kulturdenkmäler in Hessen. Denkmaltopographie Bundesrepublik Deutschland (in German). Vol. 2. Stuttgart: Theiss Verlag. p. 72. ISBN 3-8062-1917-6.

External links

• "Bensheim station heritage listing" (in German). Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Hessen. Retrieved 2 December 2011.

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