Kranichsteiner Bahnwelttage
The traditional Bahnwelttage will take place again on Ascension Day and the following weekend, 14, 16 and 17 May 2026.
A major highlight this year will be a guest train from the Palatinate Railway Museum and guest locomotives from the Hanau Museum Railway, which will add to the variety of rolling stock:
On 14 May, a special train operated by the Palatinate Railway Museum will take you from Neustadt/Weinstraße to the Bahnwelttage, hauled by steam locomotive 52 7409. The train will arrive at 12 noon. With a 4.5-hour stopover, you’ll have plenty of time to enjoy the programme on site! Tickets are available at www.eisenbahnmuseum-neustadt.de
We are running steam-hauled shuttle trains from Darmstadt Central Station to the event site on all days of the event. Unfortunately, the special trip planned by the Eisenbahnfreunde Treysa e.V. for 16 May had to be cancelled due to low advance ticket sales.
Once you arrive, you can look forward to a unique programme centred around the railway, featuring shuttle services, demonstrations, exhibitions and other attractions. In addition, two guest locomotives – the V60 447 and the TKt 48 – from our colleagues at the Hanau Museum Railway will be visiting the Bahnwelttage.
The programme at a glance
The programme is currently still being finalised and will be published in due course.
Take the train to the festival! Enjoy a relaxed journey from Darmstadt main station to the railway museum without having to worry about parking on the historic shuttle train with alternating locomotives and passenger carriages from the 1930s. Of course, it is also possible to take a trip from the railway museum to the main station and back.
(Tickets available on the train, see below for timetable and fares).
The museum grounds feature steam, diesel and electric locomotives, as well as small rolling stock, and visitors also have the opportunity to ride along in the driver’s cab. Various vehicles are demonstrated around the turntable, including last year’s new additions, the T 1005 steam locomotive and the 212 062 diesel locomotive.
The construction of the new ICE stabling yard adjacent to the museum grounds will run alongside the museum’s special events over the next two years. You can find out more about the construction project, which is taking place in the immediate vicinity of the listed museum grounds, by consulting the plan.
The heavy load group shows how freight wagons are transferred from rail to road transporters using the “Culemeyer” system. The mechanical training signal box has undergone a major overhaul and extension and now shows additional possibilities for transferring original signal box technology and its functions to a model railway in a way that is easy to understand and conveys the train control processes. The model replica of Darmstadt’s former main railway station from 1846 is shown in operation on a large layout and forging work is demonstrated in the historic roundhouse. The permanent way collection shows the technical development of the railway system and in the extensive uniform exhibition, the work clothing and equipment of railway workers from the imperial era to the end of the German Federal Railway can be extensively traced.
The tram museum of the HEAG Historical Vehicles Working Group at Marburger Straße 16 is also open. You can get there comfortably from the railway museum with a historic shuttle bus service from Gate 3 of the railway museum.
Since 2006, the model railway enthusiasts from Darmstadt’s twin town of Alkmaar in the Netherlands have been travelling to the Kranichstein Railway Days at their own expense with a model railway. The Model Spoorclub Alkmaar has several model railways based on the history of the steam tram.
This time, they are displaying their impressive model railway layout of an interurban tram, modelled on Dutch designs, in a railway carriage.
The “Klein – Kranichsteiner – Kreisbahn ” also offers children the opportunity to ride on its carriages behind real steam and electric locomotives. It is operated on a 12.5 cm gauge by the museum’s young railwaymen. Finally, a large bouncy castle in the shape of a steam locomotive rounds off the children’s programme.
Opening hours
| Thu., 14/05/2026: | 10.00 – 18.00 |
| Fri., 15/05/2026: | closed |
| Sat., 16/05/2026: | 10.00 – 18.00 |
| Su., 17/06/2026: | 10.00 – 18.00 |
Admission fee
| Adults | 12,00 € |
| Children (4-14 y.) | 6,00 € |
| Families (3 adults + max. 3 children) | 30,00 € |
Included in the admission fee: Admission to the railway museum and the tram museum in Marburger Straße including historical bus shuttle service from gate 3 of the railway museum every hour on the hour.
Fares hist. Shuttle train to Darmstadt main station (one way)
| Adults | 4,00 € |
| Children (4-14 y.) | 2,00 € |
| Families (3 adults + max. 3 children) | 10,00 € |
Tickets can be purchased on the train for the one-way journey. If you are travelling by shuttle train from Darmstadt main station, you can also buy your admission ticket for the museum visit on the train.
Time table
| Railway Museum departure | 11:15 | 14:20 | 17:00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darmstadt Central Station departure | 10:10 | 11:55 | 15:00 | 17:45 |
