History Ulm Hauptbahnhof

1 history

1.1 1850–1866: opening , connecting other railway lines
1.2 1867–1891: first , second phase of expansion
1.3 1891–1913: planning , construction of marshalling yard
1.4 1914–1939: world war , electrification
1.5 1939–1949: destruction in second world war , reconstruction
1.6 1949–1981: new construction , expansion of reception building
1.7 since 1982: planning of high-speed lines , modernisation

history

as 1834, there plans railway between cannstatt, ulm , friedrichshafen. in august 1835, citizens of ulm joined formed initiative promote construction. on 21 december 1835, ulm railway company (ulmer eisenbahngesellschaft) founded; had spent 80,000 guilders on day of incorporation. on 18 april 1843, construction of section stuttgart through swabian alb (swabian jura) range ulm approved rather planned, longer variantion via aalen. however, there arguments location of ulm station. military architect moritz karl ernst von prittwitz , city , cathedral architect ferdinand thrän favoured option station north of centre on east–west alignment. because option have meant extension of line friedrichshafen have run through bavarian territory, württemberg engineers instead planned railway station aligned north-south @ current location west of city. although price of land higher , 9 roads disrupted, compared disruption of 3 roads under northern option, north-south option chosen. ulm’s western suburbs separated inner city result.

in race against bavaria , baden complete first rail connection lake constance, württemberg began building southern railway friedrichshafen via biberach, major work beginning in summer of 1847. first earthworks , foundation works ulm station in august 1848 , work began on buildings in march 1849. contracts excavation, blasting , construction awarded royal württemberg state railways small contractors. because of possible landslides on kuhberg (hill), before ulm station, danube moved , southern railway built on reclaimed land on old river bed. economy of ulm benefited construction, particularly establishments supplying meals workforce. first locomotive trial ran biberach ulm on 17 may 1850.

1850–1866: opening , connecting other railway lines


map of ulm station in 1850



first ulm station 1850 , post office in 1855

ulm station officially opened last section of southern railway biberach ulm on 1 june 1850. on 29 june 1850, railway geislinger steige pass on swabian alb between geislingen , amstetten completed, allowing württemberg east railway (fils valley railway), running stuttgart via göppingen, taken operation, through trains run heilbronn friedrichshafen. thus, first railway line across württemberg completed. climb on geislinger steige technical masterpiece time , attracted attention throughout europe. 3 trains ran each day through 3 tracks of station towards stuttgart , friedrichshafen. travel time between ulm , stuttgart 4 hours , between ulm , friedrichshafen 3 hours , 15 minutes. station building, designed architect ludwig friedrich gaab in style combining gothic revival , neoclassical elements, opened in december 1850. consisted of two-story central building, had three-storey side towers @ each end, , contained on ground floor entrance hall, 2 waiting rooms, station restaurant, luggage room, room service staff, room porter , 2 cash rooms anterooms. upstairs there storage rooms , living areas. ashlar, brick , crushed stone used materials. 2 entrance halls station building built in 1851. built roundhouse, carriage house, goods shed, water station , several other buildings. railway telegraph connected station on 16 april 1851 , ulm station opened porter service on 9 october 1851.

railway bridge on danube in 1855

on 25 april 1850, kingdom of bavaria signed treaty kingdom of württemberg extend railway line between munich , augsburg ulm , connect württemberg railway network. in march 1852, construction began on railway bridge on danube. first train arrived @ neu-ulm station after 25 december 1853; officially opened on 26 september neu-ulm–burgau section of bavarian maximilian’s railway. since danube bridge had not yet been completed, droshky service operated between ulm , neu-ulm station. danube bridge, beginning designed 2 tracks, completed on 1 may 1854. consisted of keuper sandstone , 123 metres long , 8.55 metres wide. called wilhelm-maximilian bridge in honour of reigning kings of württemberg , bavaria , had iron gates @ both ends. on 1 june, entire maximilian’s railway ulm augsburg opened munich , ulm station became railway junction. 4 trains ran daily each way on new line, express trains taking 3 hours 30 minutes , ordinary passenger trains taking 5 6 hours. station border station , interchange station between bavaria , württemberg separate station facilities operated 2 kingdoms. royal bavarian state railways’ operations in southern part of station in own wing of station building, had bay platforms. became known bayerischer bahnhof (bavarian station). since bavarian time ten minutes ahead of württemberg time, there 2 different times used @ station. @ end of 1856, line between ulm , neu-ulm duplicated.

in 1855, separate winter , spring timetable introduced. on 17 may 1856, connection through ulm opened international trade, allowing transportation of wood, grain, tobacco, cement, bricks , coal steam engines rail. steam engines being installed because current of blau no longer sufficient supply increasing demand energy. ulm doubled exports between 1852 , 1855. post office opened in february 1856 , first hotel (hôtel de russie, later renamed zum russischen hof) opened @ station on 1 may 1857. on 12 october 1862, iller valley railway opened neu-ulm memmingen 4 trains running daily , extended kempten on 1 june 1863. same day, second track of fils valley railway ulm stuttgart taken operation after 4 years of construction. once royal bavarian railways office moved new ulm, on 1 january 1861, operations of existing württemberg , bavaria joint station transferred württemberg, exception of vehicle , locomotive operations, 1 december 1863. part of bahnhofstraße (station street), completed in 1867, built in january 1865, covering on blau. part of fortress wall built in middle ages demolished @ end of 1866 give station direct access city centre. in 1866, private entrepreneur philip berblinger built berblinger building 36 apartments @ end of karlstraße first building in ulm railway workers.

1867–1891: first , second phase of expansion

ulm station , workshop 1870



ulm station in 1876 during first phase



map of railways in ulm , neu-ulm

the station building rebuilt 1867 until 1880. added cast iron arches , corner pavilions, building 75.2 metres long , 13.7 metres wide, , iron, two-span train shed established 1872 1874. on 25 march 1867, construction of danube valley railway blaubeuren began demolition of walls of fortress of ulm @ kienlesberg (hill). danube valley railway opened blaubeuren on 2 august 1868. followed extension ehingen in 1869 , scheer on border of hohenzollern province in 1870. scheer–sigmaringen section opened in 1873. in 1874, following completion, 6 trains ran daily ulm stuttgart, 7 trains ran stuttgart ulm, 5 pairs of trains ran between ulm , friedrichshafen, 6 pairs of trains ran between ulm , augsburg, 4 pairs of trains between ulm , kempten , 5 pairs of trains ran between ulm , blaubeuren. 1868 1871, depot, had been located west of platforms moved north triangle former between danube valley railway , fils valley railway.

on 25 june 1875 first trial run operated on newly constructed brenz railway aalen via heidenheim ulm , opened on 5 january 1876. earlier opening not possible due brenz railway clause of 21 february 1861, pledged württemberg not build rail link twelve years between stuttgart-nördlingen railway (rems railway/ries railway) , ulm, otherwise route nördlingen lake constance have been shorter via württemberg via ludwig south-north railway through bavaria. on 24 january 1877, footbridge crossed station , connected zum russischen hof hotel completed; construction had started in july 1875. in august 1877, blaubeurer-tor bridge opened across tracks north of station, replacing existing karlstraße level crossing. bridge iron truss bridge, 225.6 metres long , ten metres wide. in october 1986, demolished , replaced ludwig erhard bridge opened on 26 october 1989. in 1879, post office located next station, rebuilt , extended. ulm stuttgarter tor station, north of inner city, today called ulm ost (east), opened on brenz railway on 20 september 1886.

the second phase of expansion of station began in 1888 , continued until 1891, involving expenditure of 2.6 million german gold marks. existing eastern storage sidings between wilhelmstrasse , fils valley railway north-east of ulm station, still exist, opened in 1888. on 26 march 1889, electric light installed @ station, using electricity station’s own steam-powered, power plant on schillerstraße. station building rebuilt again 1889 1890. cast-iron arches replaced lobby 42 metres long , 8 metres wide , used ticket office. in 1891, platform underpass built, replacing existing pedestrian level crossings. in same year, @ end of second construction phase, ulm station had 22 tracks, 4 of used passengers, 5 freight , 13 shunting.

1891–1913: planning , construction of marshalling yard

station plan 1890



forecourt station building, main post office , fountain in 1904



aerial view of station in 1905

on 1 august 1891, ulm general post office established railway post office in station forecourt. in march 1892, duplication of maximilians railway between augsburg , neu-ulm completed, whole line between munich , stuttgart via ulm duplicated. on 1 october 1893, platform tickets introduced entry platforms. on 3 november 1894, first petrol-powered railcar service ran ulm blaubeuren; powered daimler-otto engine maschinenfabrik esslingen. on 27 april 1897, ordinarischiff (“ordinary boat”, simple wooden boat, convey freight , passengers downstream , steered poles) left ulm vienna down danube last time, no longer compete against railway. on 15 may 1897, ulm tramway opened, first line running through station forecourt. in september 1898, fountain crowned atlas erected in forecourt; donated schwenk company, local cement manufacturer. in 1 year 1 april 1898 31 march 1899, ulm station used 1,211,199 passengers , fourth busiest station in württemberg. ulm handled total of 390,864 tons of freight, placed third in württemberg.

in 1899 , 1900, city of ulm considered lowering station 4 metres in order solve traffic problems on connections between inner city , western ulm. project supported several experts, not pursued because of high cost of @ least twelve million marks. instead, plan developed in 1901 , 1902 relocate passenger station along planned marshalling yard blaubeurerstraße aligned east-west , redevelop former railway land. lines augsburg , friedrichshafen connected new railway station tunnel through kuhberg , new ulm bypassed. new south station built on new line in söflingen district near today s königstraße. project rejected administration of state railway due high cost.

the münster hotel opened in 1901 station hotel on station forecourt opposite station building. mohrenkopf bridge, built in 1903 , 1904 on southern station tracks, completed on 1 october 1904; later renamed after governor of fortress, rudolf von zingler, zingler bridge. city , state railway had disputed years whether build overpass or underpass. opening of bridge, level crossing on ehinger straße closed. march 1906, city of ulm planned underpass under tracks between bahnhofstrasse in east , schillerstraße in west of station, never carried out.

steam locomotive in blaubeurer tor tunnel 1905

because old freight handling facilities not keep pace rising freight traffic, freight yard , marshalling yard situated east of ulm station on danube valley railway urgently needed. in 1899, royal württemberg state railways bought 67,259 square metres of fortress lands use yard. on 25 september 1902, württemberg king wilhelm ii granted state railway right expropriate required land, construction of marshalling yard begin in 1903. operations began on part of new rail yard in october 1906. on 28 april 1907, new ulm-söflingen station opened on danube valley railway @ western end of marshalling yard, replacing previous söflingen station opened in 1868. neutor bridge crossing fils valley , brenz railways north of ulm station completed in july 1907. 112 metres long, 11.6 metres wide , weighed 600 tons. while iron structures , pillars built state railways, roadway built city of ulm. first ticket machine installed in station vestibule on 7 january 1908. bahnhofsmission (a charity assists various social problems @ german stations) established in ulm in late summer of 1910. railway yard completed on 12 june 1911 , ulm station renamed ulm hauptbahnhof (ulm main station). duplication of danube valley railway ulm söflingen completed on 19 march 1912 , duplication of southern railway ulm friedrichshafen, begun in 1905, completed in 1913.

industrial tracks required connect yard industrial , commercial areas east , west of city. in 1907, 3.8 kilometre-long ulm-west industrial tracks built , 5 main tracks connected premises of 40 companies. 1.3 kilometre-long ulm-ost (east) industrial tracks, had been proposed in 1897, built 1910 1911, , stayed in operation until 9 may 1979, when closed , later dismantled.

1914–1939: world war , electrification

map of ulm station

in first world war 1914 1918, troops, military supplies, prisoners of war , cars transported through station. passenger services on lines in württemberg closed due lack of coal on 19 october , 5 15 november 1919 first time. on 1 april 1920, royal württemberg state railways , other german state railways absorbed deutsche reichsbahn. in january , february 1922, there again restrictions on rail traffic due lack of coal , strikes. in 1923, station forecourt redesigned. july 1930, d 208 express made fastest train run in württemberg, taking 78 minutes on 104 kilometre route ulm friedrichshafen.

in september 1931, electrification of railway line stuttgart augsburg via ulm, tracks lowered below zingler, neutor , wallgraben bridges minimum clearance height had increased 1.2 metres installation of overhead line. in same month double-track tunnel on fils valley railway had passed under fortress wall had roof removed. ulm ost (east) station established @ 1 of old tunnel portals in april 1932. station footbridge station forecourt schillerstraße had raised in february 1932 1.2 metres installation of overhead line. in april 1933, station building replastered prepare official inauguration of electrification. on 25 april 1933, electrification of maximilian’s railway augsburg ulm inaugurated , passenger train 906 hauled locomotive e 32 31 operated first electric train augsburg ulm. on 5 may 1933, electrification inaugurated on fils valley railway stuttgart ulm arrival of first electric train stuttgart. official inauguration of electrification of whole railway line stuttgart augsburg, however, held on 30 may 1933. blaubeurer-tor bridge north of station, built in 1877, demolished in june 1932 , replaced new steel bridge, opened on 13 july 1933. largest bridge in ulm length of 226 metres, width of 17.7 metres , weight of 1600 tons.

on 10 november 1933, test runs conducted on 86-kilometre augsburg–ulm route , on 71-kilometer section of fils valley railway ulm plochingen, 2 sections of line completed, each @ speeds of 152 km/h, in 54 minutes. in january 1935, test runs on stuttgart–ulm railway carried out first new unit ac electric multiple units, reached 100 km/h instead of normal 35 km/h on geislinger steige , result fils valley railway covered in hour without stopping. in 1937, duplication started on söflingen–herrlingen section of danube valley railway, completed in 1939. 1 november 1937 31 march 1941, deutsche reichsbahn express bus ran stuttgart ulm on new autobahn. on 17 december 1938, renovation work @ station building, had been started in summer, finished. third class restaurant replaced 13-metre-wide passage platforms , second class restaurant rebuilt toilet block. on 14 april 1939, under order issued ministry of transport in 1936, bahnhofsmission replaced station services of national socialist women s league.

1939–1949: destruction in second world war , reconstruction

after start of world war ii on 1 september 1939, ulm jews “deported” first time on 1 december 1941. february 1945, deutsche reichsbahn had transported 116 ulm jews concentration camps in 7 deportations, of them being sent theresienstadt concentration camp. private rail travel became less , less tolerated 23 march 1942. on 16 march 1944, first air raid carried out on ulm station, inflicting damage in southern part of station , killing 2 railway employees. followed other attacks in months of july, august , september, did not lead cessation of railway operations. on 17 december 1944, heaviest air raid on ulm carried out dropping of 65 explosive , 3,500 incendiary bombs on railway. result, tracks, station building of 1850 , outbuildings destroyed train operations not possible , operations had moved marshalling yard. passenger operations restored 9 january 1945. on 25 february 1945 there air raid on station, destroyed wallstraßen bridge, , 8 more followed 19 april. on 19 april 1945, next major air raid took place on station , marshalling yard, led complete cessation of operations. on 23 april 1945, railway staff left pars of station , went laupheim. on 24 april 1945, railway bridge on danube between ulm , neu-ulm blown during invasion united states army. objects united states air force had targeted destruction had been destroyed.

in may 1945, temporary wooden bridge built across danube, replacing demolished railway bridge. same month, christian aid station established in temporary shed @ station , handled daily average of 3000 travellers until mid-1946. total of 28,200 people stayed @ shed april 1949 until middle of december 1952, when demolished. on 16 may 1945, first military trains ran again french , americans between friedrichshafen , ulm , on 8 june 1945, deutsche reichsbahn operated on line kornwestheim via stuttgart , ulm augsburg. 29 june, electric trains operate ulm neu-ulm, but, on 30 june, civilian travel between french , american occupation zones forbidden, affecting, among other lines, southern railway. on 21 august 1945, 24 passenger trains ran daily via ulm hauptbahnhof, of them serving occupying authorities , military. on 3 september, civilian freight traffic resumed. on 19 december 1945, private passenger services briefly discontinued due coal shortage vital food shipments continue and, on 1 april 1946 after resumption of services, fares increased 150 percent. on 29 april, ulm yard reopened along platform subway @ station. 1945 1959, result of location last town before border between american , french occupation zones , being major transportation hub, ulm main place in southern germany storing rolling stock. between 1945 , 1948, on 200,000 war veterans , 300,000 refugees eastern europe travelled through ulm station.

from 18 may 1946, bahnhofstraße opened traffic again after being cleared of debris. in summer timetable of 1946, ulm served 60 passenger trains day and, 16 june 1946, through trains ran on whole length of stuttgart–ulm railway. deutsche reichsbahn built, october december 1946, shed served station restaurant behind temporary shed served station building in station forecourt. here bricks of war-damaged zum russischen hof hotel used building material. in 1947, city of ulm made plans move station, failed. managed, however, prevent reichsbahn’s planned extension of railway facilities east. in march 1947, bahnhofhotel-gaststätte (station hotel-restaurant), housed in makeshift building, opened replacement destroyed bahnhofshotel (station hotel). in same month ulm rubble railway (trümmerbahn), operated steam locomotive, put service between inner city , friedrichsau, hauling 1.2 million cubic metres of rubble treatment plants before closed on 31 march 1955. in april 1948, ruins of general post office cleared station forecourt , shed post office built 12 december 1948 on unused loading track. on 23 may 1949, platform footbridge had been completed in 1877 demolished. had been damaged @ end of war , difficult, still passable. intended replace extending platform underpass schillerstraße on west side of tracks. plan abandoned in favour of new platform footbridge.

1949–1981: new construction , expansion of reception building

on 7 september 1949, deutsche bundesbahn founded successor of deutsche reichsbahn in territory of federal republic of germany. in october 1949, wooden beams of temporary bridge on danube river built in 1945 replaced steel beams. on 7 november 1950, new bundesbahn hotel (called bubaho people of city) 130 rooms opened after construction period of 18 months. in 1950, ulm hauptbahnhof sold 1.16 million tickets. on 6 april 1951, radio system controlling shunting commissioned in ulm station. on 21 march 1952, railroad transportation office established u.s. soldiers. in december 1952, temporary sheds on station demolished construction of new station building begin. on 19 december 1953, deutsche bundesbahn employees moved new station building. in 1955, freight processing , loading facilities rebuilt. on 16 may 1955, new general post office completed in station forecourt; construction had begun on 6 october 1952 , opened on 9 july 1955. construction of station pedestrian bridge, had begun in 1954, completed on 5 august 1955. after hungarian revolution put down, station handled trains carrying hungarian refugees several weeks 30 november 1956. construction of railway bridge on danube, had begun on 24 november 1955, opened on 31 october 1957. bridge on danube handled 160 trains per day @ time , 1 of busiest bridges in southern germany.

the bahnhofhotel-gaststätte hotel, built in 1947, demolished in april 1959 replaced bundesbahnhotel. on 28 july 1960, ulm city council decided build road tunnel south of ulm station (the ehinger-tor underpass) , zingler bridge little further south. ulm postal station opened on 13 october 1962 loading , unloading of post. final stage of entrance building began on 11 january 1964 extension of north wing, last 2 years. however, construction work stopped in april due financial , structural problems. after lying south of station, ulm central bus station taken operation provisionally on 22 december 1961; completed in september 1964. because of high traffic density ulm station classified on 1 july 1966 belonging highest level of deutsche bundesbahn’s station categories, category 1. interior of entrance building renovated in december 1966. construction of neuen straße (new street), including ehinger-tor underpass, south of station completed on 22 september 1966; construction had started in november 1964. ulm tramway used run on zingler bridge transferred run through underpass, services starting on 29 may 1967.

in january 1968, old zingler bridge south of station demolished construction of new zingler bridge, opened on 5 december 1968. extension work on north wing of station building, had been abandoned in 1964, resumed in september 1969, but, stopped again due financial problems on 7 may 1971. in june 1970, unused sheds demolished facilities handle baggage. on 26 august 1969, construction began on pedestrian underpass under station forecourt, channel of kleine blau (little blau) under station had moved. in october 1970, remains of fortifications 14th , 16th century discovered. on 21 december 1970 underpass, connects station city centre , tram , bus station, opened.

work began on 18 august 1971 enlarge station building increase number of beds in bundesbahn hotel 1972 summer olympics held in munich. completed on 7 july 1972. in september 1971, construction work on northern part of entrance building resumed again following complaints railway workers union , north wing completed in february 1973. platform barriers abolished on 1 may 1973. on 16 may 1976, @ 11:15, last steam-hauled passenger train left station sigmaringen. in february 1978, platforms 1 3 raised 38 centimetres 76 centimetres, platform 3 extended 320 metres , fourth platform built, requiring platform underpass extended.

deutsche bundesbahn modernised fils valley railway between stuttgart , ulm 12 october 1981, introducing reversible working of tracks.

since 1982: planning of high-speed lines , modernisation

in july 1985, deutsche bundesbahn began planning high-speed line stuttgart munich. new line planned süßen günzburg bypass ulm north; have connected existing line in beimerstetten. these plans, however, met strong opposition residents of ulm , neu-ulm, transfer of main station , freight yard new line north of ulm in suburb of jungingen proposed. on 15 october 1990, deutsche bundesbahn said, however, realisation of ulm bypass unlikely and, on 7 september 1993, decided not implement ulm bypass. in october 1991, further variant of high-speed line between stuttgart , ulm proposed. besides previous version, called k route, , line ulm bypass omitted, there h route, new line long-distance traffic stuttgart hauptbahnhof via swabian alb ulm hauptbahnhof, running parallel 8 autobahn; fils valley railway continue serve regional , freight traffic. on 8 december 1992, deutsche bundesbahn board approved selection of h route.

intercity hotel in 2012

from may 1986, deutsche bundesbahn planned relocate central bus station underground , redevelop space vacated office complex. on 21 january 1992, city of ulm approved these plans. on 25 september 1986, baggage conveyor belt on stairs of platform tunnels placed in operation. commencement of intercity-express services in 1991, old bundesbahn hotel (which since 1982 had been called intercity hotel) demolished in april 1991 , new intercity hotel built 1992 , opened on 1 september 1992. passenger information system computer-controlled display of rail services put operation in station on 22 october 1992. trial of new tilting pendolino (class 610) trains ran between stuttgart , ulm on 11 december 1993. station forecourt redesigned , glass roof built on main entrance 4 december 1993.

new roof of platform b (view new station footbridge)

on 1 january 1994, deutsche bahn ag established successor of deutsche bundesbahn , east german railways (deutsche reichsbahn). on 29 november 1994, deutsche bahn opened new travel centre @ ulm station and, on 8 april 1995, ulm station became first station in baden-württemberg have tactile paving guide blind. 28 may, regional trains ran between stuttgart , ulm double-deck coaches. in august 1995, bicycle parking facilities @ station covered. on 31 december 1997 handling of freight closed , platforms postal operated closed on 23 january 1998. class 610 tilting trains took on scheduled operations of regional services on danube valley railway between ulm , sigmaringen 24 may 1998. construction work, including installation of new glass roof, began on platform b platform tracks 2 , 3 in march 2000 , completed in august 1998.

in 2005, ulm container terminal (ulm umschlagbahnhof or ulm ubf) opened on fils valley railway on northern border of city of ulm @ dornstadt 4 700 metre-long tracks, 100,000 teus can handled each year, making 1 of eleven yards serving unit trains in hub , spoke operations in germany. old station footbridge demolished in 2008 , replaced new structure, completed in summer 2011.