Delay in Oldenburg Main Station's Historic Train Hall Renovation for Two Years
Prolonged refurbishment of Oldenburg's train hall extension spans an additional two years - Delay in Completion of Oldenburg's Railway Station Stretches Over Two Additional Years
Get ready for temporary inconveniences, folks! Due to some freakin' messy corrosion damage, the renovation of our beloved historic train hall at Oldenburg's main station is delayed by a couple of years. Yep, you heard it right; the work that was originally scheduled to finish by the end of 2027 will now wrap up by the end of 2029, as Deutsche Bahn (DB) recently announced. Expect some platform closures during the construction.
The train hall dates back to 1915 and has been aching for some love due to the shoddy foundations of the structure. Since last year, a steel construction company in East Frisia's Westoverledingen (district of Leer) has been working on the steel supports for the renovation project.
So, what's the skinny on the unexpected damage?
DB's overall project manager Felix Burckhardt shed some light on the situation: "The inspections and testing procedures on the steel components of the hall ship at platform 7/8 have unfortunately revealed severe corrosion damage." They've got issues at the connection points and in areas of the steel supports previously hidden beneath attachments, which means the repair effort for the other two hall ships over tracks 3/4 and 5/6 will also be more complicated.
DB is dropping around 80 million euros on the renovation. Despite the extended timeline, they plan to stick to this cost framework. Most of the cash goes towards dismantling, refurbishing, and reinstalling the three hall ships, plus the glass roofs and supporting elements.
Now, let's take a peek at what's on Oldenburg's wish list.
The city was sweating about the future of the listed building, as DB had tossed around the idea of demolishing the Jugendstil and Jugendheim-style hall for budget reasons and building individual platform roofs in its place. Thankfully, the station, which serves around 25k passengers a day, remains in DB's possession.
Oldenburg's head of urban planning, Christine-Petra Schacht, has high hopes for the future: "We're expecting to soon flaunt one of the most stunning and captivating main stations in the republic with the renovated train hall—though we're bummed about the additional two-year delay."
According to DB's renovation plan, the hall ship at platforms 5/6 should be completed first, aiming for mid-2027. Other areas of the station will see some work during this time. For example, the foundations of the hall ship 7/8 are currently being refurbished, while platform 5/6 will also be extended by roughly 50 meters. The hall ship 3/4 will be torn down from late summer. Stay tuned for more updates on this historic beautification project!
- Oldenburg
- Construction project
- Renovation
- Main station
- DB
- Lower Saxony
- Deutsche Bahn
- Leer
Despite the unexpected two-year delay in the renovation of the historic train hall at Oldenburg's main station, the city of Oldenburg remains optimistic about the future, envisioning a captivating and stunning main station once the renovation is completed. As part of the renovation, the city anticipates improvements in the lifestyle of its residents through community aid in the form of vocational training opportunities in home-improvement and home-and-garden sectors, as the refurbished train hall could be repurposed for such purposes. Vocational training for these sectors is expected to be a crucial component of the renovation plan, ensuring the continued growth and development of the community.
