Rail station ready for World Cup.

31 Mar, 2006

Berlins new Hauptbahnhof railway station will be inaugurated on 28 May, just before the World Cup football series kicks off in June. The gigantic new station, built over ten years and at a cost of 700 million, and described as a transport cathedral by its architect Meinhard von Gerkan, is the last mega-project in the urban renovation of post-unification Berlin. Built on the site of the Lehrter Bahnhof (Lehrter Station), the station will be Europes largest rail hub, with expected passenger flows of over 300,000 a day. Over 1,200 trains will stop at the Hauptbahnhof each day. The station will also have a 15,000 sqm shopping centre, where shops will be able to stay open late and on Sundays, as railway stations are not covered by Germanys strict opening-hours legislation.