Essen-Altenessen (Bahnhof Essen-Altenessen—"Old Essen") is a railway station situated in Essen in western Germany. It is served by Regional-Express service RE3 (Rhein-Emscher-Express), Regionalbahn lines RB32 (Rhein-Emscher-Bahn) and RB35 (Emscher-Niederrhein-Bahn) and lines U11 and U17 of the Essen Stadtbahn.
The station was opened on 15 May 1847 on the trunk line of the former Cologne-Minden Railway Company (Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, CME).[4] under the name of Essen CM. It and Essen-Bergeborbeck are the oldest stations in modern Essen.
A railway association was founded in 1841 by the community of Essen to persuade the Cologne-Minden Railway Company to move its proposed route further south to run through Essen. Even the offer of a subsidy of 2,000 Prussian thalers failed to persuade the CME to change its route because it wanted to avoid hills where possible, running roughly along the course of the Emscher. As a result of this rejection, the city of Essen later spent over 16,000 thalers to establish a road connecting to Altenessen station
Until the establishment of Essen BM (Bergisch-Märkische) station (which later became Essen Hauptbahnhof) in 1862, Altenessen station served as Essen station. The freight sector was of particular importance to the station, especially the transport of coal from numerous mines in the two communities. In 1872, the station was renamed Altenessen.
In the Second World War there was a slave labour camp of the railway division (Reichsbahndirektion) of Essen/Ruhr at the station for 27 French prisoners.
Heavy air raids in October 1944 destroyed the railway tracks, stopping train operations run through Altenessen.
Several bombs also hit the station.
The station was renovated in 1999, following the demolition of the station building.
