Donaueschingen station

Donaueschingen station is a junction station in the south of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is the only official Bahnhof (station) in the city of Donaueschingen. The city also has the Haltepunkte (halts, which is defined in Germany as a station having no sets of points) of Donaueschingen Allmendshofen, Donaueschingen Mitte/Siedlung, Donaueschingen Aufen and Donaueschingen Grüningen. The station is classified by Deutsche Bahn (DB) as a category 4 station and has five platform tracks. It is used daily by about 100 trains operated by DB long-distance, DB Regio and the Hohenzollerische Landesbahn.HistoryThe station was opened on 15 June 1868 with the completion of the Black Forest Railway from Donaueschingen to Immendingen. On 6 August 1869, this was followed by the commissioning of the line from Donaueschingen to Villingen. On 18 October 1892, a railway line was completed to Hüfingen but renovations were required for the tracks to be connected to the station. Therefore, the tracks were upgraded and a Bahnmeisterei (office of the director of track maintenance) was built. In 1884, the station received a crane to make the loading of freight easier. In 1893, three new electro-mechanical interlockings were also put into operation. A freight hall was created in 1899 to handle increasing freight volumes. Additionally the engine house was extended. In 1901, the station had to be rebuilt because of the extension of the Höllentalbahn (Hell Valley Railway). In 1902, the old station building was replaced by a new one and in the same year it gained a fourth signal box. The remaining renovations were completed in 1910 with the reconstruction of the platform canopies lasting until 1912. The station was substantially destroyed in the Second World War, so a new station was opened in 1959.