Railway station types in Germany

The railways in Germany use several abbreviations to differentiate between various types of stations, stops, railway facilities and other places of rail service.

Places with a set of points

• Bf – Bahnhof (railway station), defined as a place where trains may start, terminate, stop, overtake, meet or change directions, and that has at least one set of points. It can be additionally named after its purpose:
  • Hbf – Hauptbahnhof, the main or central station of a town or city. Also the only abbreviation commonly found on station timetables and signs.
  • Pbf – Personenbahnhof (passenger station), usually used to differentiate in places that have several types of stations, but only one passenger station.
  • Fbf – Fernbahnhof (long distance station)
  • Gbf – Güterbahnhof (freight station)
  • Bbf – Betriebsbahnhof, a station only for operational tasks like train overtakes.
  • Rbf – Rangierbahnhof (marshalling yard)
  • Ubf – Umschlagbahnhof (transshipment station)
  • Werkbf – Werkbahnhof, a station serving a factory or plant.
  • Postbf – Postbahnhof (mail station)
• Bft – Bahnhofsteil (part of a station), used when a station consists of distinct facilities, for example a Pbf and a Gbf.
• Abzw – Abzweigstelle (a junction without platforms)
• Üst – Überleitstelle (crossover)
• Anst – Anschlussstelle (industrial siding outside station limits), trains using the Anschlussstelle must not be passed by trains running on the main line.
• Awanst – Ausweichanschlussstelle (refuge siding), an industrial siding outside station limits where trains can run on the main line while another train is shunting at the Ausweichanschlussstelle, in contrast to an Anschlussstelle.
• Hst – Haltestelle, the term for a Haltepunkt (see below) at the same location as an Abzweigstelle, Überleitstelle or Anschlussstelle/Ausweichanschlussstelle.
• Ldst – Ladestelle, a simplified freight station used to transship goods, nowadays mostly part of a station or categorized as Awanst.

Places without a set of points

• Hp – Haltepunkt (halt), a passenger stop that does not fit the requirements to be a Bahnhof. Defined as a place where trains can stop, start or terminate, but which has no sets of points in the vicinity.
• Bk – Blockstelle (block post), a signal box outside station limits, where there is a long distance between stations and/or junctions/crossovers, with just one signal in each direction, to allow more trains following each other (only called Bk if it is staffed, otherwise it is called Sbk – selbsttätige Blockstelle (automatic block post)).
• Dkst – Deckungsstelle, a signal box outside station limits which protects rail operation at danger spots like moveable bridges with its signals.

Other railway facilities

• Bush – Bushaltestelle (bus stop)
• Est – Einsatzstelle (office of the staff, locomotive depot; old/colloquial abbreviation: Bw for Bahnbetriebswerk)
• BZ – Betriebszentrale/ESTW (head office of computer-based interlocking)
• Gp – Grenzpunkt, border to another railway infrastructure manager (domestic and foreign).
• LGr – Landesgrenze, border between German federated states.
• Schstr – Schutzstrecke, neutral section in an overhead line to separate two electrical supplies.
• Slst – Schiffslandestelle (ship dock)
• Strw – Streckenwechsel, change of VzG line.
• Tank – Tankanlagen (filling stations)
• Uw – Unterwerk (traction substation)
• Werk – Werk (repair shop; old/colloquial abbreviation: Aw or Raw for Ausbesserungswerk)

Classification of railway facilities

Railway facilities in Germany are divided into three categories:

• Bahnanlagen der Bahnhöfe (railway facilities of the stations): e.g. station buildings, platforms, loading docks, signal boxes, goods sheds
• Bahnanlagen der freien Strecke (railway facilities outside station limits): Abzw, Anst, Awanst, Bk, Dkst, Hp, Hst, Üst
• Sonstige Bahnanlagen (other railway facilities): e.g. electrical substations, depots, repair shops

See also

• List of Deutsche Bahn station codes
• German railway station categories