Rathaus underground station (Cologne)
| town hall | |
|---|---|
 |
|
 Platform in the west tube with line 5 train |
|
| Basic data | |
| District | Old town north |
| Opened | 2012 |
| Tracks (platform) | 2 (central platform) |
| Coordinates | 50 ° 56 '19 " N , 6 ° 57' 35" E |
| use | |
| Stretch) | North-South light rail |
| Line (s) | 5 |
The Rathaus underground station is a station of the Cologne city railway below the Alter Markt square in the old town. It was opened on December 9, 2012 as the first completely new station of the north-south light rail and served as the southern terminus of line 5 until December 15, 2013.
Due to the collapse of the Cologne city archives , the opening of the entire line to the Marktstraße stop, originally planned for 2011, has been delayed until at least 2022. Therefore, the Cologne City Council decided to open the northern section of the route early. Initially, only the western platform is used, the eastern tube and its entrances are closed. For this purpose, a curved track was added north of the underground station in order to lead the trains in the direction of the cathedral / main station to the respective opposite track. At the 2013 timetable change, this single-track operation was extended to the next Heumarkt underground station . After the north-south light rail has been fully commissioned, the Rathaus underground station will in future also be served by line 16, which currently still runs through the inner city tunnel and Neumarkt.
The northern exit currently ends in a provisional facility and is to be integrated later into the "Red House" that used to be at this point and will be rebuilt in the future. The existing elevator will then also be extended to the higher town hall forecourt in order to enable barrier-free access to the underground station from there.
history
The first plans for a subway in Cologne were made around 1912 ; this should have traveled through Cologne city center on a north-south line, which would have been similar in its route to the current north-south subway. However, because of the First World War , this subway was not built. Until the Second World War , several tram lines drove to the Alter Markt . A large part of Cologne's tram network was destroyed during the war and only partially rebuilt, especially in the city center. The old market and the town hall next to it could only be reached by a 400 meter long walk from the main station. The first Cologne underground tunnels (inner city tunnel) opened in 1968/69 led from the main train station via Appellhofplatz / Zeughaus to Friesenplatz (at that time still above ground) and from the main train station via Appellhofplatz / Breite Straße, Neumarkt, Poststraße to Barbarossaplatz or Severinstraße and touched the So not the old market. However, through the construction of an approximately 200-meter-long underground branch line from the Dom / Hauptbahnhof underground station to the south, an advance payment was made to which the Rheinuferbahn was originally to be threaded. At first it remained open whether this route would later lead further south or open up the districts on the right bank of the Rhine by crossing under the Rhine. This branch line was used from 1968 as an underground track triangle for turning.
In 2002 , the construction of the underground north-south light rail system began, accompanied by extensive archaeological excavations, including on Kurt-Hackenberg-Platz not far from the Alter Markt and the Rathaus subway station. The city hall tower was lowered by a few millimeters as a result of the underground construction. The originally mentioned opening year 2011 of the north-south light rail, including the Rathaus subway station, could not be held due to the collapse of the Cologne City Archives. On December 9, 2012, the Rathaus metro station went into operation (partially), almost exactly 100 years after the initial plans. The platform to the west was opened in 2012; the platform to the east is unused until the entire route is completed and is covered by a wall.
For a detailed overview of the construction processes, see also the main article North-South light rail .
construction
The Rathaus underground station is the first of the Cologne light rail system to be built as a narrow shaft structure between two tubes created with tunnel boring machines . While the underground stations of the tunnel in Cologne-Mülheim, also built with these drilling machines, occupy the entire width of both tunnel tubes, which are interrupted in the platform area, only a stairwell was built between the tubes at the town hall. At the foot of the stairs, the segment rings were separated and connected by six crosscuts. The platforms are built into the tunnel tubes.
Architecture and design
In the building designed by Joachim Schürmann and planned by Obermeyer Beraten + Planen , gray, partially perforated wall cladding and blue accents dominate. The intermediate level, which connects the two entrances from the surface of the square and from the Red House with the entrances to the platform level, is circular. On the platform level, on the wall opposite the platform, there is a wall frieze based on a design by Heimo Zobernig , which shows the lettering WANDGESTALTUNGNORDSÜDSTADTBAHNKÖLNHALTESTELLERATHAUSRICHTUNGSÜD.
business
The Rathaus station is currently only served by line 5:
| line | Line course | Tact |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Sparkasse Am Butzweilerhof - IKEA Am Butzweilerhof - Old Butzweilerhof Airport - Rektor-Klein-Straße - Margaretastraße - Iltisstraße - Lenauplatz - Nussbaumerstraße - Subbelrather Straße / Gürtel - Liebigstraße - Gutenbergstraße - Hans-Böckler-Platz / Bahnhof West - Friesenplatz - Appellhofplatz / Zeughaus - Dom / Hbf - Town Hall - Heumarkt | 10 min |
After the north-south light rail has gone into operation, the following light rail lines will operate:
- 5 Am Butzweilerhof - Neuehrenfeld - Friesenplatz - Cathedral / Central Station - Heumarkt - Severinstr. - Chlodwigplatz - Marktstraße - Bonner Str./Gürtel - Arnoldshöhe (- Menschenich - Rondorf)
- 16 Riehl Niehl - Ebertplatz - Breslauer Platz / Central Station - Heumarkt - Severinstr - Chlodwigplatz - Sürth - Godorf - Bonn Central Station - Bonn Bad Godesberg
Weak points of the system
- The platforms of the underground station are relatively narrow by modern standards. For example, the subway station is closed by the police during Carnival and during Christopher Street Day and the KVB does not go to it.
- The listed Red House was demolished during construction, with the condition that it was rebuilt true to the original. Until this plan has been implemented, no exit from the Rathaus underground station actually leads to Cologne City Hall: This is about 7 meters higher and can be reached via the existing flight of stairs from the Alter Markt.
The financing, planning and execution of the reconstruction of the Red House is still completely unclear and controversial. The original plan provides for the red house to be rebuilt in its original state, where the temporary wood-carved exit of the subway station is now, referred to in the press as the “Christmas market stall” and “Finnish sauna”. Ultimately, the entrance to the underground station in a building, the Red House, is based on the model of the London Underground. There is often the ground level entrance of an underground subway station in a house.
- Not all exits are fully equipped with escalators. Although this contradicts the concept of barrier-free accessibility of the Cologne underground stations, it takes into account the appearance of the old market.
Trivia
In 2014 , the Rathaus subway station was the scene and location of the Cologne crime scene “ Fainting ”. Crime scene inspector Max Ballauf, played by Klaus J. Behrendt , is pushed in front of an incoming subway on line 5 in the 911th crime scene episode and is run over by it, but survives because he lies flat on the concrete floor. The crime scene episode is, among other things, socially critical of the topic of moral courage.
| Previous station | Cologne light rail | Next station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cathedral / Central Station ← Sparkasse Am Butzweilerhof |
5 |
Heumarkt Heumarkt → |
||
See also
The Rathaus metro station of the north-south light rail system forms a triangle of tracks with the northern stations of the Dom / Hauptbahnhof and Breslauer Platz inner -city tunnel .
- Dom / Hauptbahnhof underground station
- Breslauer Platz / Hauptbahnhof underground station
- North-South light rail
Individual evidence
- ↑ Tim Attenberger: U-Bahn station officially opened. In: ksta.de. December 14, 2013, accessed December 15, 2013 .
- ↑ express.de: Cologne north-south subway will not be ready until 2023
- ↑ North-South Stadtbahn> Stops> Architecture
- ^ North-South Stadtbahn> Stops> Architecture> Architects
- ^ North-South Stadtbahn> Art> Artist Zobernig
Web links
| 1st construction stage |
Breslauer Platz / Hbf or Dom / Hbf • City Hall • Heumarkt • Severinstraße • Kartäuserhof • Chlodwigplatz • Bonner Wall • Marktstraße |
|
| 3rd construction stage |
Caesarstrasse • Bonner Strasse / Gürtel • Ahrweilerstrasse • Arnoldshöhe |