Frankfurt (Main) Süd station
Frankfurt Süd or Frankfurt Südbahnhof is one of three railway stations for long-distance train services in Frankfurt, Germany. Unlike Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof it is not a terminus but a through station, and has nine tracks with five platforms. It is a stopping station for some long-distance routes and for regional traffic. It is also one of the major rapid-transit railway hubs in the city with S-Bahn and U-Bahn services.
Environment
The station is located in the district of Sachsenhausen south of the Main. From the station forecourt, the Diesterwegplatz, five streets radiate: Hedderichstraße to the southwest and northeast, Diesterweg to the northwest, leading to Schweizer Platz, Stegstraße to the north and Brückenstraße to the northeast. On Diesterwegplatz there is a market on Tuesdays and Fridays.A block west of the station runs the Schweizer Straße, the main axis of Sachsenhausen. Immediately northeast of the station forecourt, between Hedderichstraße and Textorstraße was the old Sachsenhausen Tram Depot, which was closed in 2003 and has since been gutted and rebuilt. It now contains a large supermarket and an office of the Frankfurt city library.
The southern exit from the station leads to the Mörfelder Landstraße.
History
The government of the Electorate of Hesse had begun building the Frankfurt–Bebra railway from Bebra in North Hesse to Fulda, Hanau and Frankfurt before its annexation by Prussia after the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. The project was completed by the Prussian state railways on 15 December 1868. Until the opening of the line south of the Main, trains from Bebra to Frankfurt had to use the North Main line and the Frankfurt City Link Line. On 15 November 1873 the new line south of the Main between Hanau and Frankfurt via Sachsenhausen and Offenbach was opened, including South Station and Offenbach Hauptbahnhof. The South Main line is still the most important rail link connecting Frankfurt with Leipzig, Berlin and Hamburg.
After the completion of South Main line, the Frankfurt-Sachsenhausen station at Darmstädter Landstraße of the Frankfurt-Offenbach Local Railway became a terminus, with trains only operating towards Offenbach. The track formerly connecting it to the Main-Neckar Railway to the west was removed. In 1876 it was renamed Lokalbahnhof; the Frankfurt Lokalbahnhof S-Bahn station is named in its honour, although it is about 250 metres south of the old station, which closed in 1955.
The current building was opened in 1914. In its simplified Art Nouveau style, it is similar to the Höchst station opened the same year. During the building of the U-Bahn station, almost the entire station building was demolished and rebuilt after the completion of the tunnelling. It now includes a community centre. The former steel train shed was demolished during the U-Bahn construction and not rebuilt.
Operations
Long-distance services
Regional services
The following Regional-Express and Regionalbahn services stop at Frankfurt South station:| Line | Route | Frequency |
| Frankfurt Hbf – Frankfurt South – Offenbach Hauptbahnhof – Hanau – Fulda | 60 min | |
| Frankfurt Hbf – Frankfurt South – Offenbach – Hanau Hbf – Langenselbold – Gelnhausen – Wächtersbach | 60 min | |
| Frankfurt Hbf – Frankfurt South – Maintal Ost – Hanau | 120 min | |
| Frankfurt Hbf – Frankfurt South – Offenbach – Hanau | 120 min | |
| Frankfurt Hbf – Frankfurt South – Maintal Ost – Hanau – Aschaffenburg | 60 min | |
| Frankfurt Hbf – Frankfurt South – Offenbach – Hanau – Babenhausen – Groß-Umstadt Wiebelsbach | 120 min | |
| Bad Soden – Frankfurt Hbf – Frankfurt South – Langen – Darmstadt Hbf | 30 min | |
| Kronberg – Frankfurt Hbf – Frankfurt South – Langen | 30 min | |
| Friedrichsdorf – Bad Homburg – Frankfurt Hbf – Frankfurt South | 15 min | |
| Friedberg – Groß Karben – Bad Vilbel – Frankfurt Hbf – Frankfurt South | 15 min |