New life in old walls

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In 2015, the Bodelschwingh House Foundation bought the Wolmirstedt station building at auction. The ground-breaking ceremony for the conversion took place on 26 April 2021. Since then, the building has gradually regained its original character as a prestigious entrance to the station. The state of Saxony-Anhalt has invested around €2.24 million as part of the Revitalisation Programme (REVITA). Under the framework agreement with DB Station&Service AG on the station programme, further construction measures, in particular for barrier-free access to the station, will be carried out to the tune of around €15.4 million.

What will set Wolmirstedt station apart from other stations in the future is the Bodelschwingh House Foundation's special use concept for the reception building. For example, the restaurant and bicycle workshop will provide 15 jobs for people with disabilities. Commuters can leave their bicycles there on departure and have them repaired and cleaned when they return. An integration meeting place will bring people with and without disabilities together, the first Deutsche Bahn video travel centre in Saxony-Anhalt provides ticket sales, and a waiting area and public toilets will enhance the quality of passengers' stay.

"Mobility means freedom. Freedom also includes a real choice of means of transport. We want the people of Saxony-Anhalt to be able to choose freely between all forms of mobility. This requires a well-developed infrastructure: safe roads, including bridges, cycle paths and, of course, public transport. We are working on this. Every day. The investment here in Wolmirstedt is a living example of that" said Sven Haller, State Secretary at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Digital Affairs. "The more attractive a station and its surroundings are, the more attractive public transport becomes. I am sure that this unique concept of the Bodelschwingh-Haus will be very well received by the residents of Wolmirstedt and the surrounding communities," he added.

Alongside the extension of the reception building, Deutsche Bahn has improved the accessibility of the station with two lifts and a step-free design. A new pedestrian underpass has also been built to improve connections between platforms. The access to Glindenberger Strasse will be completed by this summer, and the old passenger tunnel has already been filled in. DB has also built new staircases on the platforms and a new cycle park. Some of the platform flooring has been replaced.

Martin Walden, DB Group Representative for Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia: "Wolmirstedt is an excellent example of what we can achieve together. With the Bodelschwingh Foundation and the town shaped a modern, attractive and barrier-free station as a calling card for the town of Wolmirstedt."

Sven Pazina, Bodelschwingh-Haus: "At the beginning we had a lot of ideas about what to do with the empty station building. We are all the more pleased that we have been able to develop and implement a concept that satisfies everyone involved".

With the opening of the reception building, the containers on the forecourt are a thing of the past. In the southern part of the reception building, the barrier-free video travel centre shines in new splendour.

The station square will also be renovated from 2024 as part of the government's interface funding programme. Bus stops, bicycle stands and parking spaces will be rebuilt. The scope and timing of the interface measures in the area of the platform access from Glindenberger Strasse will have to be re-agreed with Deutsche Bahn AG. This is because the level crossing is to be replaced by a railway overpass as part of the Eastern Corridor North railway project.