Frankfurt western stations


The Frankfurt western stations were a group of three stations on the western edge of the former city walls of Frankfurt am Main, Germany between the modern Willy-Brandt-Platz, then the location of Gallustor and Taunustor. They were replaced by Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof in 1888.

Stations and lines

Three lines came together on the western outskirts of Frankfurt, the Taunus Railway from Wiesbaden, the Main-Neckar Railway from Heidelberg and the Main-Weser Railway from Kassel, then terminated at three adjacent western stations :
Between 1846 and 1848, prior to the completion of the rail bridge over the Main, the first Main-Neckar station was just south of the Main at Mainspitze station, with trains reversing to the old Sachsenhausen station at Sachsenhausen.
In 1888, this group of three stations was replaced by Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, which was about half a kilometre further west. The eastern rim of the Am Hauptbahnhof square traces the former link line between the Main-Neckar and the Main-Weser lines.

Current situation

The redundant infrastructure of the western stations was demolished. The International Electrotechnical Exhibition was built on the site. In the period up to World War I the Bahnhofsviertel district was built on the site. The former connecting lines to the western stations were converted into streets and squares. The part of the former Main-Weser line between Bockenheim station and Am Hauptbahnhof square became Bahnstraße and is now called Hamburger Allee, Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage, Platz der Republik and Dortmunder Straße. The Main-Neckar railway bridge over the Main was converted into a road bridge, then called Wilhelm bridge, now called Friedensbrücke. Further south the line became Stresemannallee.