Bensheim station is in the town ofBensheim on theMain-Neckar Railway, connectingFrankfurt andHeidelberg, in the German state ofHesse. The station is also the beginning and end of the single-track non-electrifiedWorms–Bensheim line (Nibelung Railway). 114 trains stop at Bensheim station every day, of which about one-third are long-distance services. It is classified byDeutsche Bahn as acategory 3 station.[1] Bensheim station is protected as a cultural monument under the Hessian heritage legislation.
Almost eleven years after theAdler locomotive began to run over theBavarian Ludwig Railway betweenNuremberg andFürth, the Main-Neckar Railway was opened in 1846. Bensheim station was opened in the same year. The building of this artery through three small states in theRhine valley stimulated trade and industry throughout the region. In 1851, the Auerbach district—then still a separate municipality—gained its own station.
In 1869, the Nibelungen railway, a section of theHessian Ludwig Railway (German:Hessische Ludwigsbahn, HLB) was put into operation between Bensheim and Worms. Bensheim now had two railway stations, operated by two railway companies, which were not connected by rail with each other until 1872. As early as 1869 there were plans to extend the Ludwigs Railway to theOdenwald via theLauter valley toLindenfels andReichelsheim to improve transport links. But further attempts to realise this project in 1895, 1925 and 1926 ultimately failed. Between 1910 and 1912, the railway was raised on an embankment through the city area.
In the mid 1990s Bensheim’s freight yard was closed and a few years later the dismantling of its tracks began.
TheRhine-Neckar S-Bahn was extended to run between Bensheim andMannheim in December 2018. This required the raising of the level of the platforms to the standard height of S-Bahn platforms (76 cm). The station was also renovated, at a cost of €7.5 million, including an extension of the platforms, so that even long-distance trains can stop at them. The station is now fully accessible with lifts and escalators.
The station building in 1845 was built to plans by Georg Moller in aneoclassical style on the eastern side of the line towards the city. The two-coloured facade of the two-storey, sandstone building had nine bay window around a central group of five windows. In 1900, the outer parts of the facade were replaced by two symmetrically arranged octagonal pavilions designed as porches with further lateral extensions. The eaves of the flathip roof is decorated with a spiral scroll-like frieze (volute). AfterFlorsheim station, it is the oldest completely preserved station building in Hesse.
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| Line | Route | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| ICE 15 | Binz –Pasewalk –Berlin –Halle –Erfurt –Frankfurt –Darmstadt –Bensheim –Stuttgart | Individual services |
| ICE 26 | Hamburg-Altona –Hamburg Hbf –Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe –Gießen – Frankfurt – Darmstadt –Bensheim –Heidelberg –Karlsruhe | Every 2 hours |
| EC/RJX 32 | Frankfurt – Darmstadt –Bensheim –Weinheim – Heidelberg – Stuttgart – Ulm –Friedrichshafen –Lindau-Reutin –Innsbruck –Salzburg –Wien –Wien Airport | 1 train pair |
| ICE 50 | Dresden –Leipzig –Erfurt – Fulda – Frankfurt – Darmstadt –Bensheim –Mannheim –Kaiserslautern –Saarbrücken | 1 train pair |
| ICE 62 | Frankfurt – Darmstadt –Bensheim – Stuttgart – Munich – Salzburg –Villach –Klagenfurt | Every 2 hours |
| IC 87 | Frankfurt – Heidelberg – Stuttgart –Singen | Individual services |
| Line | Route | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| RE 60 | Frankfurt –Darmstadt –Bensheim –Weinheim (Bergstraße) –Mannheim | Every 1 or 2 hours |
| RB 63 | Bensheim – Lorsch – Bürstadt – Worms | Hourly |
| RB 67 | Frankfurt – Darmstadt –Bensheim – Weinheim (Bergstraße) –Neu-Edingen/Friedrichsfeld (– Mannheim) | Hourly |
| RB 68 | Frankfurt – Darmstadt –Bensheim – Weinheim (Bergstraße) – Neu-Edingen/Friedrichsfeld – Heidelberg | Hourly |
| S6 | Bensheim – Weinheim (Bergstraße) – Neu-Edingen/Friedrichsfeld – Mannheim –Ludwigshafen Mitte –Ludwigshafen Hbf –Frankenthal –Worms –Mainz | Hourly |
The bus station is in front of the station building with seven bays and connections to the suburbs of Bensheim by Citybus, and toLautertal,Bürstadt,Heppenheim,Jugenheim andLorsch.
