Elsterwerda railway station

Elsterwerda station is in the town of Elsterwerda in the German state of Brandenburg. It lies on the Berlin–Dresden railway. The station is known for a train crash in 1997, when a freight train with 22 petrol tankers derailed and exploded on the station premises.InfrastructureThe station has had three platform edges since its reconstruction in the 1990s: the main platform next to the station building, which is 300 m long and 55 cm high,an island platform, which is 300 m long and 38 cm high. An underpass that is reached by stairs connects the island platform with the main platform.HistoryFriedrich Jage, a master mason and later an honorary citizen of Elsterwerda, built the then three-storey station building according to the specifications of the Berlin-Dresden Railway Company in "American"-style timber construction. The station was opened with the Berlin-Dresden railway on 17 June 1875 without a public opening ceremony. The first railway station master was a Mr Bruttloff. Excursion trains ran from Berlin to Dresden for an industrial exhibition on 10 and 17 July 1875. The 22 kilometre-long Riesa–Elsterwerda railway was opened on 15 October 1875.In the following years, the railway became one of the strongest economic enterprises of the city and due to the good rail connections several industrial companies settled in Elsterwerda and nearby Biehla, causing significant population growth. The population increased from 1,739 in 1871 to 2,537 in 1895 and 4,224 in 1910.A highlight of the station was a visit by Wilhelm II, German Emperor on a special train on 27 August 1888, which stopped for about ten minutes at the station.