lines to Berlin, Frankfurt (Main), continuing to Stuttgart and Munich, and Bremen, continuing to the Ruhr Area and Cologne. To the north ICE trains connect Hamburg with Aarhus and Copenhagen in Denmark and Kiel in Schleswig-Holstein. There are also several InterCity- and EuroCity- passenger train connections. The station is a hub for international travel, and most passengers to or from Scandinavia must change in Hamburg. Regional trains There are numerous RegionalExpress and RegionalBahn services to Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Bremen. Rapid transit Beside the inter-urban rail services, the Hauptbahnhof is also the central intersection for two of the three rapid transport systems in the city: the Hamburg S-Bahn (suburban railway) and the Hamburg U-Bahn (underground network). The S-Bahn platforms are located inside the station itself (platforms 3 and 4, going eastwards to Barmbek, Harburg and Bergedorf) and in a separate tunnel, adjacent to the station building (platforms 1 and 2, going westwards to Altona, Wedel and Eidelstedt). The U-Bahn is split in two stations: Hauptbahnhof Süd (south) and serving the lines U1 and U3. This part of the station had been included in the 1900 planning for the new station (the construction for the subway started in 1906, the "ring" was opened in four stages between February and June 1912. Until 28 September 1968, this station was simply called Hauptbahnhof without any suffix. There were two lines: the original Ring (opened in 1912) and the southeastern branch line (opened on 27 July 1915) leading to Rothenburgsort, the tracks and stations of which have been destroyed in the Operation Gomorra on 28 July 1943 and never been rebuilt. The station Hauptbahnhof Nord (north), opened on 29 September 1968, serves the lines U2 and U4. Neighbourhood The station is located on the Wallring in Hamburg's city centre, between the districts Altstadt and St. Georg. Directly nearby are the Deutsches Schauspielhaus theatre in the St. Georg quarter, one of Hamburg's a state theatres, the Kunsthalle, an art gallery, and the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, a museum for applied arts. The Hamburg Rathaus is down Mönckebergstraße, centre of a busy shopping district. See also Hamburger Verkehrsverbund Public transport association in Hamburg Hamburger Hochbahn Operator of the Hamburg U-Bahn (Underground) S-Bahn Hamburg Operator of the Hamburg S-Bahn (Suburban Train) References Notes Further reading External links DB station information Picture of the Hamburg Hauptbahnhof shopping center Wandelhalle Hamburg Hauptbahnhof Hauptbahnhof Hauptbahnhof Hauptbahnhof