Stuttgart Hbf (Stuttgart)

Stuttgart Hbf is currently a terminal station, but on completion the long distance ICE and IC trains to/from Stuttgart will use new underground platforms/gleis - meaning that long distance trains passing through the city will no longer have to reverse direction.

The new underground platforms/tracks will also be linked to the Stuttgart-Ulm high speed line that is currently also under construction.

Due to the building work Stuttgart Hbf is currently a station of two parts.

(1) The main station building still houses the ticket hall, left luggage lockers and the access to the S-Bahn and U-Bahn trains and the Reisezentrum reservation desk.

(2) A temporary, secondary concourse has been constructed by the gleis (platforms/tracks), that the long distance and Regio trains depart from.
Allow a minimum of 5 mins to walk from the temporary concourse to the facilities in the main station building.

However, if you will be connecting between these trains, you can wait on the new temporary concourse.

If you want to use the left luggage lockers, don’t follow the signs pointing towards them on the main concourse.
Instead take the escalators one level down towards the U-Bahn station, the left luggage lockers will then be to the right.
Follow the signs on the main concourse and you will have to carry your bag(s) down a flight of stairs.

The heart of the city is a 10-15min walk from Stuttgart Hbf but public transport access between the hauptbahnhof and the city centre is being compromised by the Stuttgart 21 building works.

Rathaus is the closest U-Bahn stop to the main square in the heart of the city, the Stuttgarter Weihnachtsmart, but there are currently no trams* operating between Stuttgart Hbf and Rathaus - for the time being the closest stop to the heart of the city is Charlottenplatz.

*In most German cities the U-Bahn denotes an underground metro/subway system, but in Stuttgart its U-Bahn is its tram network.

Connecting to the U-Bahn

In the city centre trams use underground tunnels, so at Stuttgart Hbf the tram/U-bahn stops are at lower level part of the station.

When you reach the main concourse (from the temporary passageway that leads from the gleis/platforms/tracks used by the long distance trains), there are escalators that lead down to the U-Bahn at both ends of the concourse.

If you will be connecting to the U-Bahn, use the map (on the link above) to work out which line and U-Bahn stop you’ll be heading to before arriving at Stuttgart Hbf.

There are two sets of platforms in the tram station at Stuttgart Hbf that serve different lines, so knowing which line you need to head for can eliminate some of the confusion.

To buy a U-Bahn ticket at a machine, you need to enter a code number for the stop at which you will be alighting.
There is a list of all stops and their respective numbers by the ticket machine.
Hence the need to work out which specific stop you will be heading to, before buying a ticket.