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Wuppertal-Oberbarmen station is located in the city of Wuppertal in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, it served as a significant railway junction, connecting to four railway lines. Presently, the station is served by two remaining lines: the Dortmund–Wuppertal main line and the branch line to Solingen.
The first station building was opened along with the Elberfeld–Dortmund line under the name of Barmen-Rittershausen by the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company on 9 October 1847. It was subsequently renamed Wuppertal-Oberbarmen in 1930.[5]
In 1910, the tracks and Rosenau street were relocated to accommodate the construction of a depot at Wuppertal-Langerfeld. The station area and the station building suffered significant damage during the Second World War. After a partial demolition carried out by Deutsche Bundesbahn in the post-war period, the station was reconstructed in the 1980s during the establishment of S-Bahn line S8. Today there is a square-shaped commercial building with a newsagent, a bakery shop and a McDonald's branch.
In its prime, Wuppertal-Oberbarmen boasted a triangular junction that interconnected the Elberfeld–Dortmund main line with the Opladen and Solingen lines, as well as a connection to the Düsseldorf-Derendorf–Dortmund Süd railway and the Wuppertal-Wichlinghausen–Hattingen line.
Furthermore, Wuppertal-Oberbarmen held significant importance as a freight terminal for an extended period. Nevertheless, the last freight tracks were dismantled in 2006, and the area was repurposed to accommodate a DIY store.
Long-distance passenger trains pass through Wuppertal-Oberbarmen without stopping. However, all regional trains running through Wuppertal stop. The Wupper-Express (RE 4), the Rhein-Münsterland-Express (RE 7) and the Maas-Wupper-Express (RE 13) stop at the station at hourly intervals. Services on S-Bahn lines S8 to/from Mönchengladbach and S 7 to/from Remscheid) stop every twenty minutes on the local platforms.[6] Services on line S 9 and one in three services on line S8 run to/from Hagen every 60 minutes.
Deutsche Bahn classifies the station as category 3.[1]
Wuppertal-Oberbarmen is also a major connecting point between the railway and other public transport services. The Schwebebahn has its eastern terminus here, and there is a bus station, which is served by many of the lines of Wuppertaler Stadtwerke (Wuppertal's operator of public utilities and transport) and Verkehrsgesellschaft Ennepe-Ruhr (the transport company of Ennepe-Ruhr).
Today, there are three platforms with a total of six tracks. Regional trains stop on tracks 2 and 3; they are also used for non-stop operations by long-distance trains. Services on S-Bahn lines S 7, S 8 and S 9 stop on tracks 5 and 6. The other platform tracks are not barrier-free for the disabled.
The following services stop at the station.[6]
Line | Line name | Route | Service interval | Platform track |
---|---|---|---|---|
RE 4 | Wupper-Express | Aachen – Mönchengladbach – Düsseldorf – Wuppertal – Hagen – Dortmund | hourly | 2/3 |
RE 7 | Rhein-Münsterland-Express | Krefeld – Neuss – Cologne – Solingen – Wuppertal – Hagen – Hamm – Münster – Rheine | hourly | 2/3 |
RE 13 | Maas-Wupper-Express | Venlo – Viersen – Mönchengladbach – Düsseldorf – Wuppertal – Hagen – Hamm | hourly | 2/3 |
RB 48 | Rhein-Wupper-Bahn | Bonn-Mehlem – Bonn – Cologne – Solingen – Wuppertal-Vohwinkel – Wuppertal – Wuppertal-Oberbarmen | 30 minutes | |
S7 | Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn | Solingen – Remscheid – Wuppertal | 20 minutes | 5/6 |
S8 | Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn | Hagen – Gevelsberg – Wuppertal – Düsseldorf – Neuss – Mönchengladbach | 20 minutes (to Mönchengladbach), 60 minutes (to Hagen) | 5/6 |
S9 | Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn | Hagen – Gevelsberg – Schwelm - Wuppertal – Velbert - Essen – Bottrop - Gladbeck - Recklinghausen | 60 minutes | 5/6 |