Löhne station
Löhne station is in the city of Löhne in the northeast of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It lies on the Hamm–Minden railway, which is part of the Cologne-Minden trunk line that was originally proposed by Friedrich Harkort as part of a line from Berlin to Cologne via Hanover.
In Löhne, line branch off to Rheine via Osnabrück and to Elze via Hamelin and, as a result, the station was long an important junction in northwestern Germany as an interchange station with its own marshalling yard.
History
Until the mid-20th century, Löhne station was a major hub for passenger and especially freight traffic in north-western Germany. The lines of the Cologne-Minden Railway Company, the Royal Hanoverian State Railways and the Hanover-Altenbeken Railway Company met with each other here.For many years, long-distance trains crossed here on their way from Berlin to Paris via Hanover and Cologne and Amsterdam to central Germany via Osnabrück and Hildesheim. The extensive rail facilities were built with many tunnels and flyovers so that a grade-separated crossing of the two main lines was possible. Even today, independent paths on the Hamm–Minden Railway and the Elze–Löhne and the Löhne–Rheine lines are possible.
The former significance of the station is lost today and it is only classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 4 station.
Rail services
Regional services as of 2025:| Line | Route | Frequency |
| Minden – Löhne – – Bielefeld – Hamm – Dortmund – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Neuss – Cologne – Cologne/Bonn Airport | 60 | |
| – Osnabrück – Herford – Löhne – Minden – Hannover – Braunschweig | 120 | |
| Rheine – – Osnabrück – Melle – Löhne | 120 | |
| Bielefeld – Herford – Löhne – Minden – Hannover – Braunschweig | 120 | |
| Herford – Löhne – Hamelin – Hildesheim | 60 | |
| Bielefeld – Löhne – Herford – Minden – Nienburg | 120 |
The station is covered by Der Sechser fares of the Zweckverband Verkehrsverbund OWL and the statewide NRW-tariff fares. The Niedersachsen-Ticket can also be used on the regional services to Lower Saxony.
The former marshalling yard has been demolished, but no use for the abandoned site has yet been found, so that it presents passengers with a large landscape of gravel. The site is difficult to access as it lies between the lines to Bielefeld and Osnabrück.