Sternschanze station

Sternschanze is a rapid transit station for the trains of Hamburg S-Bahn lines S2 and S5 and Hamburg U-Bahn line U3. The railway station is located in the quarter Sternschanze in the Hamburg borough of Altona, Germany. North of the railway station is a bus stop for the terminating HHA bus route 181.

History
A first Sternschanze station was opened on 1866-7-16, located a little east of the current station. That station was at-grade, with a number of level crossings at nearby streets. On 1903-5-15 a new, elevated station was built, including a massive station hall. The U-Bahn station followed on 1912-5-25. During the 1970s, the S-Bahn's station hall was dismantled.

Station layout
Sternschanze is a small cul-de-sac between station to the south and Sternschanzenpark to the north. The western, main entrance for the S-Bahn platform is located at the intersection of Sternschanze and Schanzenstraße. A common entrance for U-Bahn and S-Bahn is located at the S-Bahn's eastern entrance, some 150 m further down Sternschanze.

The island platform and tracks for the S-Bahn are elevated on a rail dam, along with tracks for regional and long-distance trains that run past the station south of it. The S-Bahn platform is handicap-accessible through a lift. The station is unstaffed, but there are emergency and information telephones, ticket machines and a shop.

The underground platform of the U3 is situated at the east side of the railway station and has only one entrance at the platform's southern end. The underground station is not fully accessible for the disabled. At this location, a pedestrian tunnel underneath the rail dam provides access to Hamburg Messe and Congress Center Hamburg (CCH). Hence the station is also known by the name Sternschanze (Messe).

Service
The lines S2 and S5 of Hamburg S-Bahn and the line U3 of Hamburg U-Bahn call at Sternschanze station.