The Hanau Central Station is a not insignificant traffic junction in the eastern Rhine-Main area and also an important long-distance traffic stop.
background
The Hanau main station is actually a compromise solution. The original Hanau station is today's Hanau West station, right next to the city center, which was built as part of the Frankfurt-Hanau Railway (north Main).
In 1867, construction work on the Frankfurt-Hanau (southern Main) -Bebra railway line was in full swing. However, shortly before Hanau, the Main was still in the way, the necessary crossing of which precluded a route via the existing Hanau train station. So they felt compelled to build a new train station (at that time Hanau Ost) in the southeast far away from the buildings at that time. This station grew in importance with the connection of numerous other routes and was officially named Hauptbahnhof in 1927.
This also explains why the main train station is so far away from the city today - there are roughly 3 kilometers between the city center and the main train station. The problem arises, especially for the city bus routes, that it actually has to serve two nodes - the city center and the main train station - which has always been quite a balancing act.
The original station was built in the middle, between the tracks. The road to this old train station still exists today, but nothing is left of the former train station building, there is only a parking lot here. In 1966, today's station was built below the tracks with entrances in the east and west.
Today Hanau's main train station doesn't really invite you to linger. Large parts of the station building are empty and left to decay. The mainly industrial environment also quickly awakens the flight instinct in one. It should not go unmentioned that the apartments near the main train station are a constant controversy in city politics, because they should have been torn down long ago, but have been occupied mainly by Sinti and Roma for years with the corresponding consequences (completely dilapidated apartments, some without functioning Electricity and water supply).
getting there
In the street
Of the 
, which leads imposingly with a long bridge over the entire station apron, a departure leads directly to the main station. Further information on how to get there can be found in the article Hanau.
There are always taxis on the station forecourt, sometimes also in front of the employment office across from the main train station.
By bus
The bus station on the station forecourt is mainly used for inner-city traffic. Very few national lines run from here. However, the long-distance bus station with a single connection from Berlin is also located here.
Accessibility
Accessibility is a foreign word at Hanau Central Station and it will stay that way for the time being, as the railway only wants to carry out a barrier-free expansion when the north Main S-Bahn arrives - a project that has been in the planning for 40 years and according to the current status that things will probably be planned for another 100 years before the groundbreaking even begins.
There is an elevator only for the two S-Bahn tracks (tracks 1 and 2). Otherwise, climbing stairs is the order of the day, which is an insurmountable obstacle for wheelchair users. In fact, they cannot use the main train station or can only use the rail mobility service that has to be booked in advance.
Park
The parking situation at the main train station can rightly be described as "precarious". All parking spaces in and around the main train station are owned by Deutsche Bahn and are managed by its subsidiary Contipark, which is well known on the internet. There are some covered parking spaces for cyclists, but the offer is not exactly abundant (56 bicycle spaces ...)
A small strip next to the bus station serves as a short-term parking space. If you don't arrive in the middle of the night, it is completely booked out. An "insider tip" is parking on Industrieweg near the main train station or, if there is no other way, on the other side of the main cemetery (you have to go through the entire cemetery).
links
Hanau's main train station offers a large number of national and in some cases international connections.
Long-distance national transport
- hourly: Berlin, Braunschweig, Hildesheim, Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe, Mannheim
- Every two hours: Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, Freiburg, Munich, Hamburg, HH-Harburg, Bremen, Osnabrück, Münster, Dortmund, Essen, Duisburg, Cologne, Bonn, Koblenz, Mainz, Frankfurt Airport, Würzburg, Nuremberg, Regensburg, Plattling, Passau
Frankfurt Hbf is approached by ICEs at frequent intervals. For the connection, however, it is better to use local transport.
Long-distance international transport
All connections are every two hours.
- Switzerland: Basel SBB
- Austria: Wels, Linz, St. Pölten, Vienna Meidling, Vienna Hbf
Local transport
The following destinations can be reached directly from Hanau Hbf by local transport:
- S-Bahn: Offenbach Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Mainz
- Regional train: Erbach (Odenwald), Würzburg, Aschaffenburg, Gelnhausen, Schlüchtern, Fulda, Friedberg, Gießen
- Bimmelbahn: Schöllkrippen
kitchen
The culinary offer at the main train station is very limited. There is a bakery and a butcher in the station building, and a kebab shop outside on the station forecourt. For a few years now, a McDonald's branch has opened at the main train station. If you really want to go to the "Megges", you should go to the other branch in the industrial area, which is even within walking distance from the main train station.
If you feel really hungry, you should leave the station through the back exit (Auheimer Straße). There are several restaurants behind the gas station.
Waiting
Seating options are in short supply. There are people who use the flower pots on the station forecourt as a makeshift seat.
shop
There is a press shop in the station building where you can buy books and magazines.
- 1 Carpet domain, Röderseestrasse 4 (near the Auheimer Strasse exit). Certainly not the figurehead of German retail, but sometimes you can find one or the other bargain there too.
Practical advice
- Travel center Hanau Hbf, Opening times Mon-Fri 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Sat 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Sun closed
There are enough ticket machines of all stripes in the train station.
A ATM the Sparkasse is located on the station forecourt. There is also a mailbox there if you want to get rid of mail.
Help and health
You can find the to the right of the entrance on the station forecourt Federal Border Guard, although recently it has often happened that the service was not staffed due to a lack of staff. So don't be surprised if there is no BGS officer on site.
A chargeable one Toilet is located on the station forecourt. The toilet in the station building itself is much cheaper.
