Tokyo Station and Frankfurt Central Station Are Now Sister Stations

East Japan Railway Co. announced Tokyo Station will shortly sign a sister city agreement with Frankfurt Central Station, the fourth foreign station in sister city partnership after Amsterdam Central Station, Grand Central Station, New York, and Taiwan's Hsinchu Station.

Frankfurt Central Station is the terminal station of the German Rapid Transit ICE and one of Europe's key stations. It has a lot in common with Tokyo Station, being a historic structure aged 100 years. The proposition for a sister station partnership was initiated by Frankfurt. East Japan Railway Co. hopes to further expand the sister station partnership.

Earlier in 2006, Tokyo Station signed a sister station agreement with Amsterdam Central Station. Tokyo Station was once said to be a copy Amsterdam Central Station, but the theory has died off after a comprehensive research on architectural style and the genealogy of architects proves otherwise. Tokyo Station is a Victorian structure while Amsterdam Central Station a Neo-Gothic building.

Historically, Tokyo Station and Taiwan's Hsinchu Station have two points in common: one, both have just celebrated centennial (Tokyo December 20, 1914; Hsinchu March 31, 1913) and, two, both were designed and built by Japanese architects (Tokyo by Kingo Tatsuno: Hsinchu by Tsumunaga Matsugasaki). Both share significant values as historic structures.

Back to Frankfurt, with about 450,000 passengers daily Frankfurt Central Station is by far the most frequented railway station in Germany. Tokyo Station trails with 418,189. The station was the largest in Europe until the completion of Leipzig Central Station in 1915. Frankfurt Central Station has 24 platforms with 26 tracks, which make it the world's largest one-level railway hall.

A monumental statue of Atlas on the front hall's roof holds the World on his shoulder supported by allegorical figures of Iron and Steam.