The central freight station was the largest freight yard in Frankfurt. The Frankfurt central freight station was built at the same time as the central train station in the 1880s as a replacement for the Frankfurt western train stations. Both stations were only a few hundred meters apart.

As a result of the relocation of industrial companies to commercial areas on the outskirts of the city and the general shift in general cargo traffic to the road, the main goods station was abandoned in 1996. The dismantling of the first sections began in 1998 and the operation of the remaining tracks ended in the early 2000s.

In 2006, the European District was built on the former site of Frankfurt’s central freight station.