page_title: Blankenberg (Meckl) station
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Blankenberg (Meckl) station / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Blankenberg (Meckl). railway station building Deutsch: Blankenberg (Meckl). Bahnhofsgebäude der Bahnstrecke Bad Kleinen-Rostock
context_page_description: Blankenberg (Meckl) station is a railway junction in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The station was opened on 13 May 1850 and is one of the oldest railway stations in this state. It is at the intersection of the Bad Kleinen–Rostock and the Wismar–Karow railways. Regular passenger services run only on the former route. Most of the Wismar–Karow railway is closed, but between Blankenberg, Sternberg and Dabel there are occasional freight trains.
context_section_description: After the first railway in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the Berlin–Hamburg line, was opened in 1846, the Grand Duchy began planning to build its own railway network. The connection from Hagenow  to Schwerin was opened in 1847, which was extended to Wismar a year later. A line was built from Kleinen (later Bad Kleinen) to Rostock in 1850 with a branch from Bützow to Güstrow. When choosing the route different options were tested. The shortest route from Schwerin via Sternberg to Bützow would have had to cross Lake Schwerin (Schweriner See) on an embankment near the Paulsdamm (a road embankment completed in 1842). Another option, with a route via the town of Brüel, failed due to the opposition of the local council. So the railway was built through the small village of Blankenberg between the two towns of Brüel and Warin. Besides Schwaan and Bützow, Blankenberg was one of only three stations that were opened with the line. Two pairs of trains ran daily between Rostock, Blankenberg and Kleinen at the beginning of operations.
  The Wismar–Karower railway, which crossed the main line at Blankenberg station, was opened on 14 November 1887. It had its own railway station, which at times was designated as Blankenberg Ost (east). Blankenberg thus became a small railway junction. Above all, the station served to transfer traffic towards Sternberg, Brüel, Warin and Neukloster. In 1939, for example, seven to eight pairs of trains ran on the branch line, which usually provided connections between passenger trains on the branch line and express trains on the main line.
   
  Some express trains (Durchgangszug) stopped at Blankenberg in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1977, a new signalbox was built at the station, replacing several old signalboxes. Since 1986, the main railway line has been electrified and the part of the station used by the branch line was also provided with catenary. The transfer tracks from the Wismar–Karow railway to the line to Bad Kleinen was also renewed in the 1980s.
  After German reunification, traffic flows changed again. Long-distance traffic ended in the 1990s, but integrated regular-interval regional services were established. In 1998, passenger services on the Wismar–Karow line were abandoned. The section from Blankenberg to Hornstorf connecting to Wismar was closed on 23 September 1999. After 2000, most sidings were dismantled and only one track connection between the two lines is left. The catenary in the branch line section of the station was removed.
  In passenger transport, only the main line is served.  The following two services serve Blankenberg, both operating every two hours:
  Intercity trains do stop at the station. There are no passenger services on the Wismar–Karow railway, instead buses run towards Brüel, Sternberg and Warin. Freight traffic for the biodiesel company ecoMotion has run to Sternberg and Dabel since 2002. Prignitzer Eisenbahn owns the track and manages the infrastructure. Eisenbahngesellschaft Potsdam operates freight services on the line.
caption: Tracks of the Wismar-Karow railway with catenary post in front of the building and the Bad Kleinen–Rostock line (background)
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