hand because it was already the busiest station in Dresden. From 1891 to September 1893, the Weißeritz was relocated and the current Mitte station was opened provisionally for through traffic on 1 August 1896. The inauguration of Haltestelle Wettiner Straße (Wettiner Straße halt) took place on 1 October 1897. Following the example of many Berlin S-Bahn stations, this station received a 100-metre-long and 36 metre-wide concourse that spanned all six tracks. Tracks 1 and 4 were reserved for suburban traffic and tracks 2 and 3 for long-distance through traffic. Tracks 5 and 6 were reserved for freight; trains running to the south could reach both Dresden-Friedrichstadt and the Hauptbahnhof. The station hall was flanked by four turrets ornamented with pillars, which supported the train shed. Large arched windows adorned the long sides of the train shed. Located at the entrance to the elevated tracks at street level were ticket counters, baggage handling facilities, waiting rooms and restaurants, as are found at Dresden-Neustadt station. The fact that a local railway station had such extensive facilities is an indication of its importance for professional and commercial activity. Remodeling plans and demolition of the train shed The conversion of the station into Dresden Hauptbahnhof was subsequently considered several times. In the late 1930s the Nazis planned the reconstruction of Dresden, which would have included a new central station in place of Wettiner Straße station. The proposed station would have had enormous dimensions, the new station would have been 300 metres long and 200 metres wide with an oversized courtyard and spacious streets intended for rallies and marches. Nearby between Freiberger Straße and Ehrlichstraße there would have been another area for rallies called the Reichsbahnbogen (Reichsbahn bow). With the outbreak of the Second World War, however, these plans quickly became obsolete. During the Bombing of Dresden in 1945 the structure of the train shed was greatly affected. However, the damage was not so severe that it would have justified the demolition of the train shed, including three corner pylons, that was completed in 1953. Just one of four pylons was preserved, because it contained the flue for the station's heating system. Previously, reconstruction of the station as a central station had been discussed again. The large-scale destruction of Dresden would have allowed a far-reaching reorganisation of the railway systems and so in 1946 and 1947 several plans were drawn up over a few years