Train Station of the Year: Award ceremony in Darmstadt on Sept 14

Darmstadt. After the early celebrations in Berlin’s main station on September 1, for the people of Darmstadt it is now official: Germany’s most customer friendly train station is located in state of Hesse. Together with the Pro-Rail Alliance, friends of the railways and prominent politicians from the state capital Wiesbaden on Tuesday marked the occasion with a winner’s ceremony. In the presence of the state transport minister, Dieter Posch (FDP), the jury members unveiled a brass plaque on the wall of the heritage listed building, which is made of grey natural stone. The manager of Darmstadt’s station Benjamin Schmidt and Darmstadt’s mayor Walter Hoffmann (SPD) received a certificate for their exemplary cooperation during the ten years it took to modernise Darmstadt’s main station.

“The people of Darmstadt not only have Germany’s greenest station,” praised Jury member Christian Schultz from passenger organisation DBV. “They also have a prime example of how to very effectively connect up the different modes of transport.” Schultz pointed to the forecourt in front of the main entrance with its imaginatively designed tram stops. “Users of public transport are not immediately confronted with car traffic. They can transfer to trams and buses in peace and quiet,” said Schultz. The entrance on the west side has a car park which is easily accessible for traffic, and cyclists can reach the station from all sides. “This is what a modern, multi-modal train station looks like,” added Schultz.

Dirk Flege, managing director of the Pro-Rail Alliance, emphasised above all the station’s “feel-good factor”. “During our incognito check of the main station in Darmstadt when were left feeling cheerful and relaxed,” said Flege, and praised the service in the travellers’ centre, the mix of shops in the station, and its successful modernisation, which wonderfully and harmoniously combines art nouveaux with modern elements. For the state of Hesse, Darmstadt marks the first winner in this competition. The awards, one for a small town and one for a city, have been made annually by the Pro-Rail Alliance since 2004. Baden-Baden is this year’s winner in the small town category, which means that the state of Baden-Württemberg now has three winning stations to its name.

Special prize: Eschwege station: “The lost child”.

A special prize for the reinstatement of a station to a town is being awarded to Eschwege in Hesse. After 24 years of being sidelined, Eschwege opened a new line, including station, in December 2009. “We would like to commemorate this return of a ‘lost child’,” said Flege, “especially since the small station is very well integrated with the town and also because it has otherwise passed all the expert checks.” Flege also said that the committed search for investors in the project was worth adopting. The sum of 16 million Euros required for reactivating the line and constructing the station was raised by the transport ministry in the Wiesbaden and the Hessische Landesbahn Basis AG. The district town of Eschwege was responsible for obtaining funding for parking spaces and the bus station. “Stations are a joint responsibility. This has been exemplified in Eschwege,” said Flege.

Photographic exhibition: Train Station of the Year 2004 -2010

The chairman of DB Station&Service, André Zeug, on Tuesday opened the tour of the photographic exhibition, which shows all winning stations since 2004. The exhibition will remain in Darmstadt until September 19. It will then go on a tour of all the large stations that have won the award in recent years.

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