European Railroad Discussion > Upstairs, Downstairs: Berlin Hauptbahnhof Part 2

Following up on my previous post, I spent a short while at Berlin Hbf a few days later after visiting a musuem and while waiting for my wife to join me downtown.

Photo 1: The station's upper level is comprised almost entirely of glass panels and framework, making for what I expected would be a dramatic daytime presentation. I was right. There was a building under construction behind me, and the square that I was standing in was in the process of having a Christkindlmarkt set up, so there wasn't any way to get a wider shot to show the glass train shed, which runs from left to right across the photo. But if you peer through the wndows, you can make out the line of it inside.

Photo 2: Ostdeustche Eisenbahn GmbH train RE2 to Wittenberg departs from track 13. Unlike the lower levels, the six upper level Stadtbahn tracks are a little more organized, and run directionally. Tracks 11 and 12 in this photo are the west and east-bound S-Bahn metro tracks, and share a platform. Tracks 13 and 14 straddle the platform I am on, and most all trains I saw on those tracks were headed westbound as well, toward Charlottenburg. Tracks 13 and 14 straddle another platform, and flow eastbound out of the station as well, toward Berlin Ostbahnhof and beyond.

Photo 3: Intercity train IC144 is on its way toward Wolfsburg and on to Amsterdam Centraal, with a class 101 electric on the point. The Adtranz (now Bombardier) class 101 motors were the basis for New Jersey Transit's ALP-46 electric locomotives. They were also the basis for Bombardier's TRAXX platform. Interestingly, I saw this same train terminating in Amsterdam earlier in my trip with a Nederlandse Spoorwegen class 1700 electric on the point; apparently they swap motors somewhere around the border.

More photos to come!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/08/20 08:34 by F7sForever.

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Photo 4: Another ODEG RE2, headed the opposite direction toward Cottbus, on track 15. A lot of the ODEG trains that I saw were recently delivered Stadler KISS sets. I rode on several, and found them to be very comfortable.

Photo 5: A DB Regio RE1 train bound for Magdeburg heads into the station.

Photo 6: Another former East German class 112 pushes on the other side of the same train.

More photos to come!

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Photo 7: I decided to go downstairs and see what there was to see, but since I didn't have a lot of time, I didn't think that the lower level had much to offer me that I hadn't seen a few nights previous. I did catch this relatively new Intercities cab car on a recenlty arrived IC train that terminated in the station, but decided to head back up in hopes of catching an ICE-1 on the long curves entering or leaving the station.

Photo 8: A quick look at the lineup on the station board revealed that I was out of luck on the ICE train - the next arrival was after I had arranged to meet up with my wife. But I did get a treat in the form of this FLIXTRAIN arriving in Berlin from Stuttgart. Owned by the same company that runs FLIXBUS discount bus service in Europe and the US, FLIXTRAIN is a newer, low-cost entry in the German railroad market that started up in 2018. The company operates trains and locomotives leased from other parties - in this case a Siemens EuroSprinter ES64 locomotive owned by Mitsui Rail Capital Europe and cars leased from Deutsche Bahn. The trains run several routes in Germany a few times a day. FLIXTRAIN has expressed an interest in expanding into other markets to provide low-cost service using the same model.

Photo 9: A look at some of the older DB coaches that FLIXTRAIN has wrapped for their service.

A few more photos yet to come.

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/20 20:26 by F7sForever.

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Photo 10: A DB-owned Siemens EuroSprinter ES64 pushes on a Brandenbug-bound RE1 regional train. The ES64 was the basis for the ACS-64 that Siemens produced for Amtrak, its first locomotive sale in the North American market, and the later model for SEPTA.

Photo 11: a former East German class 143 motor leads an RB14 train toward Berlin Schoenfeld Airport station. The train originated in Nauen, east of Berlin proper. Like the class 112 motors, the class 143s were built in the 1980s for Deutsche Reichsbahn, the East German Railways, but proliferated all over West Germany after reunification and the formation of DB.

Photo 12: Time was about up, but I spied this ICE-T train on the lower levels as I headed down to meet my wife. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to investigate further, as her train arrived and I needed to head over and meet her. The ICE-T will be the subject of a later Inside and Out feature, as we rode one from Hamburg to Berlin on our way from Copenhagen.

Berlin was a uniform wintery clouds when I visited the station during the day, but the glass top of the station made for some dramatic photos. I can only imagine what it's like when the sun is out.

I hope you enjoyed this two-part look at Berlin Hauptbahnhof. It was certainly an interesting place to spend a few hours.

Jody



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/20 20:25 by F7sForever.

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Great photos on your threads. I’ve been here and it’s a fantastic station. The multi- levels are incredible. I believe the train shed was designed to cover the platforms full length, but eventually ran out of money. Thanks, Chris uk.

These are great reports, thanks.

F7sForever Wrote:
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> Photo 3: Intercity train IC144 is on its way from
> Wolfsburg to Amsterdam Centraal, with a class 101
> electric on the point.

The train hasn't reached Wolfsburg yet. That's three stations to the west of Hbf. It's probably listed on the platform indicator because it's the most prominent "next" stop. The train originated at Ostbahnhof, the "Hauptbahnhof" of East Berlin.

Thanks for the pictures.  That's a great place to see and image tains.  Gerry

Both of your posts cover the rail service in Berlin very well. I enjoyed every photo remembering when I was there in 2002. 

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

Sure beats the current Penn Station New York!

Brian

I too was totally enchanted by the Berlin Hbf when I visited Berlin in 2011. And I like Jody spent hours at the station photographing from all the platforms -- incidentally no one never approached me questioning what I was doing. 

Jody's first photo shows the entrance to the station (south side I believe). One of my favorite photos at the station is this one just inside the south entrance. (I may have posted it before but it's worth reposting)

WP17

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There was lots of controversy about the design and some missteps along the way such as falling glass panels. But it turned out to be one of the worlds great railway stations. Never bored spending a few hours there. Lots of food and shopping alternatives as well to help kill the time.

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F7sForever Wrote in part:
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>
>
> Berlin was a uniform wintery clouds when I visited
> the station during the day, but the glass top of
> the station made for some dramatic photos. I can
> only imagine what it's like when the sun is out.
>
> I
> Jody

Jody:

here is a photo from my 2011 trip that shows how bright the upper level is on a clear sunny day. It's almost like the glass canopy has disappeared. 
This photo shows an S_Bahn train on its two dedicated tracks.

WP17

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Thanks a bunch for these postings.  Served in the Army 53-55 in Berlin.  Would love to have the money to go back for a long visit.

Thanks for all of the comments. It does look like I was misreading the signs that I used for reference on the trains. My mistake there. All in all, Berlin was a less interesting city than I was expecting - I am sure in large part because a lot of what I find interesting elsewhere was leveled during WWII. The train stations in Paris and the rest of France have this lovely revivalist architecture that leaves me in awe. Likewise there are a wonderful assortment of gothic cathedrals and other wonders to enjoy all over Europe. Berlin HBf was a shining star in that regard. There were a few other things that we really enjoyed in Berlin, but the station was so much different from everything else that we visited that it really stood out as well.

The trip was largely a success, and I am looking forward to another visit in the future, especially in exploring some of the outlying areas in the German countryside.

That was a fantastic series of your trip to europe.
I would love to get over there one of these days to take it all in!
Thank you for sharing this with us !!! :):):)

Great shots!
Thanks for sharing...