Mainz Hauptbahnhof, is a railway station for the city of Mainz in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is used by about 80,000 travelers and visitors each day and is therefore by far the busiest station in Rhineland-Palatinate. The station was a trial area for a CCTV scheme using automated face recognition.HistoryThe current station was built as a central station from 1882 to 1884 according to the plans of Philipp Johann Berdellé as part of the expansion of the city after the Franco-Prussian War.OriginsUnder the Rheinschifffahrtsakte of 1831, Mainz lost its right to impose a stapelrecht and thus its trading port and its high tariffs could be avoided. On 13 April 1840 the Taunus Railway between Frankfurt, Mainz-Kastel and Wiesbaden was opened and took transit traffic and tourism away from Mainz. On the other hand, Mainz was the largest city of the Grand Duchy of Hesse and was thus an attractive destination for the developing railway network. In Mainz, the local Hessian Ludwig Railway Company obtained concessions to build railway lines from Mainz, beginning in 1845 with the Mainz–Ludwigshafen railway, on which construction began in 1847. The completion of the line was delayed due to the Revolutions of 1848 to 23 March 1853. The original Mainz station was built on land next to the Rhine outside the city wall between the Wood Tower, Fort Malakoff and today's Museum of Ancient Seafaring, and opened in August 1853.