The Eurobahnhof (or Eurostation) is the name for the Saarbrücken 21 project to modernise the Hauptbahnhof. The existing station and surrounding land was rebuilt. In June 2007 an important milestone during the work was passed with the opening of the Paris-Eastern France-Southern Germany (POS) high-speed route, with its branches to Stuttgart and Frankfurt, the latter from Saarbrücken.
Key changes included a new southern façade for the station building, a newly-designed entrance hall and pedestrian underpass, new lifts and a new access to the station from the north from the district of Rodenhof. The costs of about €31 million were divided between the state capital of Saarbrücken, the Saarland and Deutsche Bahn AG.
The extensive network of tracks north of the station was largely removed; east of the station tracks were relaid in a different layout and modernised. New train maintenance and storage facilities were constructed within a relatively compact space. The area freed up is intended to be used for car parking and a new industrial estate, the "Eurostation Estate" or Quartier Eurobahnhof. The construction of access roads to the site and attracting business are proving to be protracted processes, and will take a long time yet. The large Servicepoint (tickets and catering) set up by DB AG at the north entrance was closed after a short time due to lack of customers.
The first sod was tured on 5 May 2006 and the official opening ceremony of the modernised station took place on 15 December 2007. A year later, however, the station was still not ready; containerised shops and building materials cluttered the station forecourt, and rats were also frequently seen there, much to the consternation of the local population and passengers.
Read more about this topic: Saarbrücken Central Station