Railway station types in Germany

The railways in Germany use several abbreviations to differentiate between various types of stations, stops, railway facilities and other places of rail service.

Places with a set of points

Bf – Bahnhof (railway station), defined as a place where trains may start, terminate, stop, overtake, meet or change directions, and that has at least one set of points. It can be additionally named after its purpose:
- Hbf – Hauptbahnhof, the main or central station of a town or city. Also the only abbreviation commonly found on station timetables and signs.
- Pbf – Personenbahnhof (passenger station), usually used to differentiate in places that have several types of stations, but only one passenger station.
- Fbf – Fernbahnhof (long distance station)
- Gbf – Güterbahnhof (freight station)
- Bbf – Betriebsbahnhof, a station only for operational tasks like train overtakes.
- Rbf – Rangierbahnhof (marshalling yard)
- Ubf – Umschlagbahnhof (transshipment station)
- Werkbf – Werkbahnhof, a station serving a factory or plant.
- Postbf – Postbahnhof (mail station)
Bft – Bahnhofsteil (part of a station), used when a station consists of distinct facilities, for example a Pbf and a Gbf.
Abzw – Abzweigstelle (a junction without platforms)
Üst – Überleitstelle (crossover)
Anst – Anschlussstelle (industrial siding outside station limits), trains using the Anschlussstelle must not be passed by trains running on the main line.
Awanst – Ausweichanschlussstelle (refuge siding), an industrial siding outside station limits where trains can run on the main line while another train is shunting at the Ausweichanschlussstelle, in contrast to an Anschlussstelle.
Hst – Haltestelle, the term for a Haltepunkt (see below) at the same location as an Abzweigstelle, Überleitstelle or Anschlussstelle/Ausweichanschlussstelle.
Ldst – Ladestelle, a simplified freight station used to transship goods, nowadays mostly part of a station or categorized as Awanst.

Places without a set of points

Hp – Haltepunkt (halt), a passenger stop that does not fit the requirements to be a Bahnhof. Defined as a place where trains can stop, start or terminate, but which has no sets of points in the vicinity.
Bk – Blockstelle (block post), a signal box outside station limits, where there is a long distance between stations and/or junctions/crossovers, with just one signal in each direction, to allow more trains following each other (only called Bk if it is staffed, otherwise it is called Sbk – selbsttätige Blockstelle (automatic block post)).
Dkst – Deckungsstelle, a signal box outside station limits which protects rail operation at danger spots like moveable bridges with its signals.

Other railway facilities

Bush – Bushaltestelle (bus stop)
Est – Einsatzstelle (office of the staff, locomotive depot; old/colloquial abbreviation: Bw for Bahnbetriebswerk)
BZ – Betriebszentrale/ESTW (head office of computer-based interlocking)
Gp – Grenzpunkt, border to another railway infrastructure manager (domestic and foreign).
LGr – Landesgrenze, border between German federated states.
Schstr – Schutzstrecke, neutral section in an overhead line to separate two electrical supplies.
Slst – Schiffslandestelle (ship dock)
Strw – Streckenwechsel, change of VzG line.
Tank – Tankanlagen (filling stations)
Uw – Unterwerk (traction substation)
Werk – Werk (repair shop; old/colloquial abbreviation: Aw or Raw for Ausbesserungswerk)

Classification of railway facilities

Railway facilities in Germany are divided into three categories:

Bahnanlagen der Bahnhöfe (railway facilities of the stations): e.g. station buildings, platforms, loading docks, signal boxes, goods sheds
Bahnanlagen der freien Strecke (railway facilities outside station limits): Abzw, Anst, Awanst, Bk, Dkst, Hp, Hst, Üst
Sonstige Bahnanlagen (other railway facilities): e.g. electrical substations, depots, repair shops