Frankfurt Hauptwache station

Frankfurt (Main) Hauptwache station Bahnhof Frankfurt (Main) Hauptwache
Underground through station
Map of the station area
Location	Frankfurt, Hesse Germany
Coordinates
Line(s)	Frankfurt City Tunnel
Platforms	6 (4 U-Bahn, 2 S-Bahn)
Other information
Station code	1864
DS100 code	FHAU
Category	3
Website	www.bahnhof.de
Traffic
Passengers	181,000 daily

Frankfurt (Main) Hauptwache station (German: Bahnhof Frankfurt (Main) Hauptwache) is a major metro station in the city centre of Frankfurt, Germany.

With 181,000 passengers per day, Hauptwache station is the third busiest rapid transit station in Frankfurt after Frankfurt Central Station and Konstablerwache station and a major hub for commuter transport in the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region. It is served by eight S-Bahn lines (S1–S6, S8, S9) and six U-Bahn lines (U1-U3, U6-U8).

Name

The underground station is named after a baroque building which stands on a plaza above the station. The Hauptwache building was constructed in 1730 and was used as a prison, therefore the name that translates as "main guard-house". Today the square surrounding the building is also called "Hauptwache" (formal: An der Hauptwache).

Location

Hauptwache station is situated at the western end of Frankfurt’s main shopping street, the Zeil. Konstablerwache station is located at the eastern end of the Zeil.

History

In 1961 the Frankfurt city council agreed to build a U-Bahn network. Construction began in 1963 on a line between the Nordweststadt (a new housing estate in the north-western suburbs) and the city centre. The first section opened in 1968 from Nordweststadt to Hauptwache, which was the terminus of the line until 1973, when it was extended south to Theaterplatz, now Willy-Brandt-Platz. This line (known as route A) is now used by trains on lines U1–U3. In 1986 the east-west route C opened, which is used by trains on lines U6 and U7.

Deutsche Bundesbahn committed to build an S-Bahn network in 1962, but no new line was opened until 28 May 1978, when the first section of the City Tunnel from the central station to Hauptwache was opened. Hauptwache was the terminus of the S-Bahn until 1983, when the line was extended to Konstablerwache, at the other end of the Zeil shopping street. In 1986 the tramline serving Hauptwache was closed.

Shopping arcade and entrance to the station

Operational Usage

Preceding station		Rhine-Main S-Bahn		Following station
Taunusanlage toward Wiesbaden Hbf		S1		Konstablerwache toward Rödermark-Ober Roden
Taunusanlage toward Niedernhausen		S2		Konstablerwache toward Dietzenbach
Taunusanlage toward Bad Soden		S3		Konstablerwache toward Darmstadt Hbf
Taunusanlage toward Kronberg		S4		Konstablerwache toward Langen
Taunusanlage toward Friedrichsdorf		S5		Konstablerwache toward Südbahnhof
Taunusanlage toward Friedberg		S6
Taunusanlage toward Wiesbaden Hbf		S8		Konstablerwache toward Hanau Hbf
		S9
Preceding station		Frankfurt U-Bahn		Following station
Eschenheimer Tor toward Ginnheim		U1		Willy-Brandt-Platz toward Südbahnhof
Eschenheimer Tor toward Bad Homburg-Gonzenheim		U2
Eschenheimer Tor toward Oberursel Hohemark		U3
Alte Oper toward Praunheim Heerstr.		U6		Konstablerwache toward Frankfurt Ost
Alte Oper toward Hausen		U7		Konstablerwache toward Enkheim
Eschenheimer Tor toward Ginnheim		U7		Willy-Brandt-Platz toward Südbahnhof