Cologne West Köln West
Through station
Station building
General information
Location	Hans-Böckler-Platz 2, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia Germany
Coordinates	50°56′37″N 6°56′2″E / 50.94361°N 6.93389°E / 50.94361; 6.93389
Owned by	Deutsche Bahn
Operated by	DB Netz DB Station&Service
Line(s)	West Rhine Railway Innenstadt tunnel
Platforms	4
Other information
Station code	3324
DS100 code	KKW[1]
IBNR	8003363
Category	4[2]
Fare zone	VRS: 2100[3]
Website	www.bahnhof.de
History
Opened	1891 [4]
Services
Preceding station DB Regio NRW Following station Köln-Süd towards Trier Hbf RE 12 Köln Hbf towards Köln Messe/Deutz Köln-Süd towards Gerolstein RE 22 RB 24 Preceding station National Express Germany Following station Köln-Süd towards Bonn-Mehlem RB 48 (Rhein-Wupper-Bahn) Köln Hbf towards Wuppertal-Oberbarmen Preceding station Trans Regio Following station Köln-Süd towards Mainz Hbf RB 26 Köln Hbf towards Köln Messe/Deutz
Other services
Preceding station Cologne Stadtbahn Following station Piusstraße towards Görlinger-Zentrum Line 3 Friesenplatz towards Thielenbruch Piusstraße towards Bocklemünd Line 4 Friesenplatz towards Schlebusch Gutenbergstraße towards Sparkasse Am Butzweilerhof Line 5 Friesenplatz towards Heumarkt
Location
Cologne West Location in North Rhine-Westphalia Show map of North Rhine-Westphalia Cologne West Location in Germany Show map of Germany Cologne West Location in Europe Show map of Europe

Köln West (Cologne West) station is located in the northwestern edge of the Innenstadt of Cologne in the district of Neustadt-Nord in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on Venloer Straße (street). The station is a stop for regional services on the Cologne ring railway (part of the West Rhine Railway). It is also served by lines 3, 4 and 5 lines of the Cologne Stadtbahn, which run through the Hans-Böckler-Platz/Bf. West underground station. The surface station has two platform tracks on a 303-metre-long island platform^[5] and eight tracks without platforms, which are used by intensive freight traffic.

History

The opening of Central Station (Centralbahnhof, now called the Hauptbahnhof) in 1859 required the building of a connecting line to the West Rhine Railway (German: Linke Rheinstrecke), running around the city to the west.^[6] The Prussian government built a new line of fortifications around Cologne and the new district of Neustadt (new town) inside the fortifications from 1881, requiring the reorganisation of the railway lines. On 9 January 1883, the City Council approved the relocation of the line on an embankment, which was built further from the centre than previously. This embankment ran on the inside of the new inner ring of fortifications through the new town and underpasses were built for all roads running to exits in the fortifications. Along the new line two stations were built under the direction of Ernst Dircksen: Cologne West (Köln West, spelt Cöln West until 1914^[4]) and Cologne South (Köln Süd). Both stations were opened in 1891. The front of the station building, which largely corresponds to its original appearance has been preserved until today, but there was formerly a waiting room located on the embankment, which spanned the platform area and the passenger tracks.

Lines

Platform with lifts to the Stadtbahn

The passenger tracks separate from each other immediately north of the station. While the north-bound track runs relatively directly towards Cologne Central Station (Hbf), the south-bound track runs in a wide arc north of the operations station (Betriebsbahnhof, where trains coming from or going to Cologne Hbf are assembled, disassembled or parked), meaning that it is almost 500 m longer than the other track. The freight train tracks separate at an at-grade junction at the northern end of West Cologne station; one line connects to the Ehrenfeld district and on to the Cologne–Aachen high-speed railway and another runs to Cologne-Nippes and on to the Lower Left Rhine Railway. In addition, sidings branch from the so-called Schlundgleis (gullet track) that runs through the dismantled Köln Gereon freight yard and pass through several underpasses to the operating station.

Because of the dense traffic on the freight tracks the platform is populated by railway enthusiasts in good weather.

Surface station

The platform of Cologne West is 38 centimeters-high^[5] and is thus the lowest of all passenger stations in Cologne. New LCD destination displays were installed in the autumn of 2007. There are two lifts on the platform, both of which lead to Venloer Straße and to the platforms of the Stadtbahn station.

Stadtbahn station

The Stadtbahn station

At right angles to Cologne West surface station is the Hans-Böckler-Platz/Bf. West underground station of the Cologne Stadtbahn, which is served by lines 3, 4 and 5. As well as staircase access from the station forecourt there are two lifts that directly connect with the underground station. At the western end of the station, line 5 separates from lines 3 and 4 at a grade separated-junction. The remaining 30 cm-high platform sections were once used by line 5, but they have been operated by high-floor cars since 2002 and only the 90-cm high sections of the platform are now used. Since almost all stations towards the city centre are now converted to high-level platforms, passenger operations with low-floor trains are no longer possible.

Notes