October 30, 2020, 11:44 am | Read time: 2 minutes
In February, Dortmund’s main train station was voted the dirtiest station in Europe. Criticisms at the time included not only the lack of cleanliness but also the number of elevators and insufficient accessibility. A few months later, we asked ourselves: Has anything changed at Dortmund’s main station? Editor Larissa went there to take a close look.
“I have to be honest: It also personally affected me that my station is supposed to be the dirtiest in Europe,” says station manager Jörg Seelmeyer when I bring up the Consumer Choice Center ranking from February of this year. Understandably, since Seelmeyer has been responsible for Dortmund’s main station for ten years. He ensures operations run smoothly–and is also responsible for cleaning. How does he explain the disastrous ranking result?
“I explain it by the fact that this station is not yet completely renovated,” says Seelmeyer. This, in his assessment, leads to a “grubby” impression. Only when the station is fully renovated will this subjective perception change, in his opinion.
Major Construction at Dortmund’s Main Station Until 2024
He also suspects that more dirt than usual may have occurred due to the major construction site. Since 2018, DB has been modernizing Dortmund’s main station. The brown-tiled floor, grimy walls, and low ceilings are expected to be a thing of the past. In addition to modern colors and materials, the corridor is to be expanded from 9.5 meters to 13 meters.
Most importantly, with the completion of the construction work, Dortmund’s main station is to be completely accessible. “Currently, mobility-impaired customers are dependent on my staff at several platforms,” Seelmeyer admits. This is set to change with the installation of 14 new escalators and seven new elevators by 2024.
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How the new escalators, elevators, and tracks compare to the “old” station, what the so-called “WhatsApp cleaning” is, and whether Dortmund’s main station has really improved in recent months can be seen in the video above.