Herford station

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Herford station is a major railway hub in Herford, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It has four platforms and seven tracks on the electrified Hamm–Minden main line. The line to Altenbeken goes south from here, and the Ravensberg Railway heads north to Bünde and Rahden, with a connection to the Löhne–Rheine line. Deutsche Bahn classifies it as a category 2 station. The station is in Radewiger Feldmark, about 300 metres from the city center, near the MARTa Herford museum and several parking areas.

History in brief
- Opened in 1847 as part of the Cologne-Minden Railway. The first station building was brick and opened in 1851.
- Additional tracks opened in the 1850s; the station was rebuilt and extended in the late 1800s.
- A new station building was completed in 1902. The line to Kirchlengern opened in 1904.
- Freight tracks were added in the early 20th century, and the line was raised so roads could pass underneath.
- The main line was electrified in the mid-1960s; electric trains began running in 1968. Electrification to Altenbeken followed in the 1970s.
- The station buildings and facilities were modernized in the 1970s, and the wooden platform roofs were replaced with steel roofs.
- The station building was heritage-listed in 1987. Intercity trains began stopping here in 1988, and general freight operations ended in 1997.

Today
Herford is a key stop for long-distance and regional trains. Intercity services connect to major cities, while Regional-Express and Regionalbahn trains link to nearby towns and cities such as Bielefeld, Minden, Löhne, Rahden, Paderborn, Hildesheim, and Braunschweig. The station is also a hub for local bus services, with around a dozen bus routes serving the area.