Neunkirchen Hauptbahnhof is a railway station in the district town of Neunkirchen in the German state of Saarland. Here the Nahe Valley Railway (Nahetalbahn) intersects with the Homburg–Neunkirchen railway and the Fischbach Valley Railway (Fischbachtalbahn). It is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 3 station. History In July 1850, construction of the first Neunkirchen station started during the construction of the Saarbrücken Railway from Bexbach to Saarbrücken. On 15 November 1850, the station was opened for freight traffic by the Palatine Ludwig Railway (Pfälzische Ludwigsbahn). The first passenger trains ran daily from April 1851 to Ludwigshafen and back. The station itself was officially opened on 15 or 16 November 1852 together with the Neunkirchen–Saarbrücken line. Eight years later, on 25 May 1860, the double-track Rhine–Nahe Railway (Rhein-Nahebahn) was completed to a new station building, the so-called Nahebahnhof ("Nahe station") built in its current location. The old station, dating from 1850, was completely demolished in the process. As early as 7 September 1850, the first coal train ran on the branch line from Heinitz via Neunkirchen. In 1872, this was followed by the line to the König ("king") colliery. On 15 October 1879, the single-track line to Wemmetsweiler (now part of the Fischbach Valley Railway), was opened; this line was duplicated in 1891. The station's tracks were remodelled between 1910 and 1922. A new marshalling yard was built in 1912 in the district originally called Schlawerie (now Sinnerthal). In December 1914, the underpasses and the five platforms were finished. The outbreak of war on 1 August 1914 delayed the construction of the station building considerably. The building was completed only in 1923; it was regarded as the most beautiful station built by the Deutsche Reichsbahn railway division of the Saarland. In 1937, daily traffic amounted to more than 3,000 carriages. At the same time it had 17 sidings. On 27 May 1944, the station was severely damaged in an air raid. The station building was severely damaged. Only the right pavilion was largely undamaged. On 21 March 1945 Neunkirchen was taken by American troops. Reconstruction began and rail traffic was resumed. On 31 May 1945, the first scheduled passenger trains ran between Neunkirchen and Türkismühle. Since the line between Saarbrücken and Homburg (the Palatine Ludwig Railway) was heavily damaged, the less damaged lines from Saarbrücken to Neunkirchen (the Nahe Valley Railway via Sulzbach and the Fischbach Valley Railway) was repaired