Berlins new railway station

8585 Views 44 Replies 12 Participants Last post by neil_s_wood, Jun 15, 2006

neil_s_wood

Discussion Starter · May 26, 2006

I saw this article on the BBC website. This is Berlins newly completed railway station. It's a beaut.

"Featuring vast glass panels it is Europe's largest station and will handle more than 1,100 trains a day."

"As Germany prepares for the football World Cup, the wraps come off a new landmark - Berlin's central railway station."

"The station has 54 escalators and 34 lifts - some offering views over the city, looking out at the Bundestag."

"It is located next to the River Spree, a few metres west of the no-man's-land where the Berlin Wall once stood."

"A sound and light show will crown a weekend of celebrations to mark the opening."

"Deutsche Bahn chief executive Hartmut Mehdorn has described it as "the most beautiful station in the world"."

I wonder how much space that would take up in HO scale?

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The Barlow shed at St Pancras is having all its glass restored, which should make it lighter and brighter than we've known it for many years. Can't say I particularly like the flat canopies in front of it over the extended platforms, however - doesn't go with the curved roof of the old station.
Regards,
John Webb

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John Webb

· #20 · May 30, 2006

Thanks for those. Certainly has more character than the Berlin one, in my opinion. I rather like the effect on the roof in the daytime aerial shot (2nd picture) of what look like several pairs of tracks running parallell to the real ones.
Strikes me as a cross between the supporting structures at Stansted airport, in Essex, part of the stands at Lord's Cricket ground and something of the 'Eurostar' section of Waterloo station in London.

It does seem to me that as the railways compete for airline passengers, the stations are being made to look more like airport buildings, perhaps to make convertees feel more at home?

Regards,
John Webb

PS Does anyone else beside me detest the huge rise in references to 'Train Stations' rather than 'Railway Stations' - ugh!

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John Webb

· #27 · May 31, 2006

At least the Spencer Street station is still recognisable as a station and has some degree of character to differentiate from the adjacent office blocks, which I don't think the Berlin one does.

But who is going to be the first to model either one of them.....

Regards,
John Webb

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John Webb

· #36 · Jun 8, 2006 (Edited by Moderator)

The (London) Evening Standard has a paragraph in it tonight (June 8th) about the lack of loos. I quote:

Station bosses caught short
The biggest railway station in Europe only has one public lavatory. Berlin's £480 million Hauptbahnhof opened last month. But the 30,000 passengers who use it each day are already complaining about the lack of facilities. Station spokesperson Holger Auferkamp said: "we realise there is a problem and are now planning to build a second set of toilets."

Is it really the 'biggest in Europe'? It only seems to have 6 platforms, which looks rather less than Waterloo, Clapham Junction or even York. (Don't think the curve at Berlin is quite as sharp as York!) Or do they count the volume of the blocks over the station as part of the station, even if they are offices?

Regards,
John Webb

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