Bonn-Mehlem station is a through station in the

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

district of Lannesdorf in the German state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

. It has three platform tracks and is located on the

Left Rhine line The West Rhine railway (German: ''Linke Rheinstrecke'', literally 'left (bank of the) Rhine route') is a famously picturesque, double-track electrified railway line running for 185 km from Cologne via Bonn, Koblenz, and Bingen to Mainz. It ...

south of

Bonn Hauptbahnhof Bonn Hauptbahnhof (''Bonn Central Station)'' is a railway station located on the left bank of the Rhine along the West Rhine Railway, Cologne–Mainz line. It is the principal station serving the city of Bonn. In addition to extensive rail servi ...

. The station also is served by buses and has parking spaces. It is classified by

Deutsche Bahn (, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). DB was fou ...

as a category 4 station.

History

On 21 January 1856, the section of the Left Rhine line between

and Rolandseck was opened to traffic. The station in the then independent city of Mehlem was opened at this time. Due to the incorporation of

Bad Godesberg Bad Godesberg () is a borough () of Bonn, southern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. From 1949 to 1999, while Bonn was the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany, most foreign embassies were in Bad Godesberg. Some buildings are still used as br ...

in the city of Bonn, Mehlem station was renamed Bonn Mehlem in 1971. Mehlem had been part of Bad Godesberg since 1935. A slightly recessed platform in the station served from 1949 as the location for travel and receptions of the American High Commissioner

John J. McCloy John Jay McCloy (March 31, 1895 – March 11, 1989) was an American lawyer, diplomat, banker, and high-ranking bureaucrat. He served as United States Assistant Secretary of War, Assistant Secretary of War during World War II under Henry L. Stims ...

and his successors to 1955 and the subsequent U.S. ambassadors. A class VT 06

railbus A railbus is a lightweight passenger railcar with an automotive engine. It shares many aspects of its construction with a bus, typically having a bus (original or modified) body and four wheels (2 axles) on a fixed base instead of on bogies. O ...

was continuously stationed here for this service. After 1963, the permanent stationing of trains at Bonn-Mehlem station for the American Embassy was terminated for financial reasons, but when required railbuses of classes VT 08-8 and VT 33.8 came from their base in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, then the most important base for American troops in Germany. Once a year, possibly more often, a special train carried the U.S. ambassador via the

Brunswick–Magdeburg railway The Brunswick–Magdeburg railway is an German main line railway. It is with the Berlin–Lehrte railway and the Hanover–Berlin high-speed line one of the most important east-west lines between Hanover and Berlin. Important intermediate stat ...

through

Helmstedt Helmstedt (; Eastphalian: ''Helmstidde'') is a town on the eastern edge of the German state of Lower Saxony. It is the capital of the District of Helmstedt. The historic university and Hanseatic city conserves an important monumental heritage o ...

on the established transit route to Berlin-Lichterfelde West. The last such journey of an ambassador at Bonn-Mehlem took place on 18/19 December 1990 during the tenure of Vernon A. Walters.

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

ended the role of Bonn-Mehlem station as a station of the American Embassy.

Services

The Bonn-Mehlem has three platform tracks, each over 200 metres in length. The edge of platform 2 is 76 cm high and is accessible from the street. Platform tracks 1 and 3 are on an island platform, which does not have lift access, and have a height of 38 cm, appropriate for long-distance, although there are no longer any long-distance services at the station. The station is served by the following three lines: It is served by four bus routes, operated by SWB Bus und Bahn: 613 (at 10- to 20-minute intervals), 614 (20), 619 (20) and 852 (6 times a day). It is also served by two bus routes operated by Regionalverkehr Köln (both at 60-minute intervals): 856 and 857.

References

{{Authority control Railway stations in Bonn Railway stations in Germany opened in 1855 1855 establishments in Prussia