the east–west direction south of Hanover to relieve lines north of Hanover of freight. This freight would then pass through the stations of Elze and Nordstemmen towards Hildesheim. Reception building and its planned renovation The station building was originally built from 1853 to 1854 by the building manager Bahr to the design of the architect Julius Rasch and later by the architect Conrad Wilhelm Hase. Julius Rasch at the time was the director of works of the Royal Hanoverian State Railways. Conrad Wilhelm Hase planned the entrance building in a mixture of medieval Brick Romanesque and Brick Gothic architecture in an historicist style. He used bricks in multiple colours with the primary colours of red and yellow. The floor plan of the building is designed to be symmetrical on the longitudinal axis and the transverse axes. A broad one-storey central block with a gable roof on a rectangular plan is bounded on the north and south by larger multi-storey corner pavilions with a tent roof on a square plan. The two corner pavilions have protruding shop facades on their front sides and blind gables that are surrounded by pillars and towers that extend beyond the gables. Overall, the station building has a length of 63.38 m, a width of 15.8 m, a surface area of 1,080 m² and a construction volume of 12,000 m³. In 1977, Deutsche Bundesbahn moved its offices into the Elze station. The station building was no longer needed and it was closed to passengers in 1988. The furnishings, the windows and the original glass is no longer available. In 2000, the distinctive chimneys that shaped the image of the station building were removed because of the danger of collapse. The windows and doors were blocked with chipboard to prevent vandalism. In July 2001, a fire was lit in the middle part of the building. Only parts of the roof were destroyed. In 2002 and 2003 the building from surveyed for its physical integrity and the degree of damage it had suffered. It was found that the conservation status of the building had been affected by the spread of Serpula lacrymans (dry rot), causing serious deterioration to the roof and other parts of the wooden structure; almost the whole building is affected. Subsequently, the previously closed windows were fitted with grills, supporting the ceilings, which were in danger of collapsing, and new coverings were installed over the