Berlin U-Bahn
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The Berlin U-Bahn, together with the S-Bahn, is the backbone of the public transport system of Berlin, Germany. The U-Bahn runs mostly underground (as U-Bahn stands for Untergrundbahn, or Underground railway), while the S-Bahn is mostly above ground. The U-Bahn opened in 1902 and now consists of 170 stations on nine subway lines, which have a total length of 91.25 miles (146km). About 90℅ of the total track length is underground. Trains run every two to five minutes during peak hours, and every seven to 12 minutes for the rest of the day. The entire system is maintained and operated by the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe, commonly known as the BVG.
The system was designed to alleviate traffic to and from central Berlin. It rapidly expanded until the end of World War II, when the capital city was divided into East and West Berlin. The system remained open to residents of both sides until the construction of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent travel restrictions imposed by the East German government. East Germans were prevented from riding on the U-Bahn into West Berlin, and West Germans could take certain lines that ran through East German territory, but were not allowed to disembark. The system was reopened completely with the fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification.
The U-Bahn has been modernised after being neglected for so many years to serve as the main transportation method of the capital of Germany. Many former East Berlin stations were updated as many had not had any construction work done in them since 1961.
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[edit] The U-Bahn network
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[edit] U-Bahn stations
[edit] History
At the end of the 19th century, city planners in Berlin were looking for solutions to the increasing traffic problems in Berlin and its suburbs. After the rejection of several separate proposals, the first U-Bahn line was inaugurated on 15 February 1902. Known in German as the "Stammstrecke", it ran between Warschauer Straße and Zoologischer Garten, and had a short spur to Potsdamer Platz. It ran mostly on elevated rail tracks. The system was immediately popular, and many more stations were subsequently built, especially in the then-independent cities of Wilmersdorf, Schöneberg, and Charlottenburg, which began planning their own lines. These lines would later lead from Dahlem in the south to Spittelmarkt in the north, and west to the area where the Olympiastadion is now located.
Many communities bordering Berlin were incorporated into a larger "Groß-Berlin" (Greater Berlin) at the end of World War I. Plans were put forward in 1920 for a city-owned U-Bahn line, known as the "Nord-Süd-Bahn" (North-South line) between Wedding and the Tempelhof-Neukölln area. The AEG Corporation also started to build its own U-Bahn line, called the "GN-Bahn", between Gesundbrunnen, Alexanderplatz, and Leinestraße. Construction on these lines progressed slowly due to the Great Depression and hyperinflation. In the 1930s, another line was added between Alexanderplatz and Friedrichsfelde. These new lines were built to use wider trains than their predecessors, and are known in German as "Großprofil" (wide profile) lines (note that only the loading gauge, at 2.8 m, is wider than the 2.2-m "Kleinprofil" (narrow profile) trains; both run on standard-gauge 1435-mm track).
World War II damaged or destroyed large parts of the U-Bahn system. Further damage was caused by flooding as a result of tunnel boring under the Spree for a new S-Bahn tunnel. Nevertheless, the majority of the damage was quickly repaired. A new crisis for the system was prompted by the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, which physically separated West Berlin from East Berlin. The modern-day U-Bahn Line 2 was divided into both Eastern and Western sections, while the north-south lines ran through the so-called Geisterbahnhöfe (ghost stations) in East Berlin without stopping. U-Bahn line 1 was shortened by one stop, its only one in the Eastern sector (Warschauer Brücke, today renamed Warschauer Straße).
The U-Bahn network was greatly expanded in West Berlin during the Cold War. U-Bahn Line 9, opened in 1961, was created as a north-south connector which ran without crossing into East Berlin. The U7 connected Rudow in the south-east to Spandau in the west. The U6 (formerly the Nord-Süd-Bahn) and the U8 (formerly the GN-Bahn) were expanded as well. Only one East Berlin line, the Großprofillinie 5 or the U5, was expanded.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the separated U-Bahn network was reunited, and the Geisterbahnhöfe reopened. Since then, some lines have been expanded, mainly to create connections to the S-Bahn. There are plans to expand the U5, which will run between Brandenburger Tor and Berlin Hauptbahnhof. The new expansion will be called the U55 when it opens.
[edit] Station facilities, amenities and services
Among Berlin's 170 U-Bahn stations there are many with especially striking architecture or unusual design characteristics:
Hermannplatz station resembles something of an U-Bahn cathedral. The platform area is 7 metres high, 132 metres long and 22 metres wide. It was built in connection with the construction of the first North-South Line (Nord-Süd-Bahn), now the U6. The architecturally important department store Karstadt adjacent to the station, was being constructed at the same time. Karstadt contributed a large sum of money towards the decoration of the station and was in return rewarded with direct access from the station to the store. Hermannplatz was also the first U-Bahn station in Berlin to be equipped with escalators. Today, Hermannplatz is a busy interchange between the U7 and U8.
Alexanderplatz station is another of the more notable U-Bahn stations in Berlin, as well as being an important interchange between three lines (U2, U5 and U8). The first part of the station was opened in 1913 along with an extension of today's U2 line. In the 1920s Alexanderplatz itself was completely redesigned, both above and below ground. The U-Bahn station was expanded to provide access to the new D (today's U8) and E (today's U5) lines, then under construction. The result was a station with a restrained blue-grey tiled colour-scheme and Berlin's first underground shopping facilities, designed by Alfred Grenander. Over the last few years Alexanderplatz station has in stages, been restored to its former glory, the work is due to finish in 2007.
Wittenbergplatz station is also very interesting. Opened in 1902 as a simple station with two side platforms to plans by Paul Wittig. The station was completely redesigned by Alfred Grenander in 1912, with five platform faces, accommodating two new lines, to Dahlem today's (U3) and to Kurfürstendamm, today's Uhlandstraße on the (U1). A provision for a sixth platform was included but has never been completed. The redesign also featured a new entrance building, which blended into the grand architectural styles of Wittenbergplatz and the nearby KaDeWe department store. The interior of the entrance building was again rebuilt after considerable war damage, this time in a contemporary 1950's style. This lasted until the early 1980's when the interior was retro-renovated back into its original style. Wittenbergplatz station was presented with a London style "Roundel type" station sign in 1952, the 50th Anniversary of the Berlin U-Bahn. Today's station is an interchange station between the U1, U2 and U3 lines.
The name of the Gleisdreieck (rail triangle) station is still reminiscent of a construction which can only be imagined today. The wye itself was built in the opening year 1902. Plans for a redesign were made soon after, because the wye was already obsolete. An accident on September 26, 1908 which claimed 18 to 21 lives was the final straw. The redesign and expansion of the Turmbahnhof, during which the station was still used, took until 1912. After World War II the station was put back into service on October 21 (lower platform) and November 18 (upper platform) 1945. However, service was interrupted again by the construction of the Berlin Wall. From 1972 onwards no trains were running on the lower platform, because servicing the U2 was no longer profitable due to the parallel traffic on the U1. The lower platform was reactivated in 1983, when the test line of the M-Bahn was built from the Gleisdreieck to the Kemperplatz station. It was broken down again after the fall of the Berlin Wall, since it obstructed parts of the reopened U2. Since 1993 the U1 and U2 trains both service the station once more.
[edit] Telecommunications network coverage
A full GSM (GSM-900 and GSM-1800) mobile phone network for Germany's four carriers is in place throughout the U-Bahn system of stations and tunnels. This system was in place by 1995 for the E-Plus network, and was one of the first metro systems to allow mobile telephone use; by the late 1990s the other networks could be used as well.
Many of the cars on the U-Bahn feature small flat screen displays that feature news headlines from BZ, weekly weather forecasts, and ads for local businesses.
[edit] Shops and other services
Most major interchange stations have large shopping concourses with banks, supermarkets, and fast food outlets.
[edit] Unused, Abandoned stations and tunnels
There are several stations, platforms and tunnels that were built in preparation for future U-Bahn extensions, as well as those that have been abandoned following planning changes. For example, platforms have already been provided for the planned "U3" at Potsdamer Platz on the planned line to Weißensee. It is unlikely that this line, which had the working title "U3" will ever be built, so the platforms have been partially converted into a location for events and exhibitions. The Line number "U3" has been subsequently been used to re-number the branch to Krumme Lanke, which was previously part of "U1".
Line D, today's U8, was originally intended to run directly under Dresdner Straße via Oranienplatz to Kottbusser Tor. This segment of tunnel was abandoned in favour of a slightly less direct route in order to provide the former Wertheim department store at Moritzplatz with a direct connection. This involved the construction of a 90 degree curve of the line between Moritzplatz and Kottbusser Tor stations. The construction of the tunnel under Dresdner Straße had only been partially completed before abandonment, leaving it with only one track. This tunnel is currently separated into three parts, as it was blocked by a concrete wall where it crossed the border between East and West Berlin. Another concrete wall separates this tunnel, which now houses a transformer for an electricity supplier, from the never-completed Oranienplatz Station which is located partially under the square of the same name.
Stralauer Tor was a station on the eastern bank of the Spree between Warschauer Straße and Schlesisches Tor stations, which was completely destroyed in World War II. It had been opened in 1902 and was renamed Osthafen in 1924. Today, only struts on the viaduct remain to indicate its location. In the post second World War period it was not thought necessary to rebuild the station, due its close proximity to Warschauer Straße station, also because of its location, directly on the border of the Soviet/American sectors. Although a Berlin map dated 1946 does show the station renamed as Besarinstraße after a Soviet General. This name was used later at another location.
Nürnberger Platz station was closed on July 1, 1959. It was replaced by two new stations on either side, Augsburger Straße as well as an interchange station to the U9 at Spichernstraße. Today, nothing remains of the station as a third track siding was constructed in its place.
Another tunnel, which once connected the U4 to its original depot and workshop at Otzenstraße (Schöneberg), is still in existence. The connection from Innsbrucker Platz station to the depot was severed when a deep level motorway subway was constructed in the early 1970s - however, the continuation of the tunnel at Eisackstraße is still in existence for a distance of 270 meters and now ends at the former junction to the workshop of the Schöneberg line.
Platforms at five stations, Rathaus Steglitz, Schloßstraße, Walther-Schreiber-Platz, Innsbrucker Platz, and Kleistpark, were provided for the planned but never constructed U10. The U10 platform at Kleistpark has been converted into office space for the BVG. The other U10 platforms remain unused and are not generally open to the public.
During the construction of Adenauerplatz (U7) station, which was built in conjunction with an underpass, platforms were also provided for a planned U1 extension from Uhlandstraße to Theodor-Heuss-Platz. A short tunnel section was also constructed in front of the Internationalen Congress Centrum (ICC), beneath the Messedamm/Neue Dammstraße junction. This tunnel was built concurrently with a pedestrian subway and was also intended for the planned extension of the U1. The tunnel section, approximately 60 meters long, ends at the location of the planned Messe station adjacent to Berlins central bus station (ZOB). Currently, the tunnel is used as a storage area for theater props.
At Jungfernheide station, double U-Bahn platforms similar to those at Schloßstraße were built for the planned extension of the U5. The unused platform sides are fenced off. The finished (U5) tunnel section which leads off towards Tegel airport is now used for firefighting exercises.
[edit] Fares and tickets
As of October 2005, the BVG issues tickets in two different fare classes: Adult and reduced. Only children between the ages of six and 14 qualify for the reduced fare. Children below the age of six travel free.
BVG tickets are issued for specific periods of time, and must be validated with a machine before they are valid for use. The validation shows the date and time of the first use, and therefore when the ticket expires. For example, a ticket valid for one day allows unlimited use, but then expires after 24 hours. Unlike most other metro systems, tickets in Berlin are not checked before entering stations. Instead, there are random spot checks by plainclothes traffic officers who have the right to demand to see each passengers ticket. Passengers found without a ticket or an expired ticket are fined.
[edit] Fare zones
Berlin is a part of the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (Berlin-Brandenburg Transit Authority, VBB), which means that its ticketing and fare systems are unified with that of the surrounding Brandenburg. Berlin itself is divided into three fare zones, known as A, B, and C. Zone A is the area in the centre of Berlin and is demarcated by the S-Bahn urban rail ring line. Zone B covers the rest of the area within the city borders, and Zone C is the surrounding Berlin. Zone C is divided into eight parts, each belonging to an administrative district. The Potsdam-Mittelmark area is included in the city district of Potsdam.
Tickets can be bought for specific fare zones, or multiple zones. Most passengers who live in Berlin buy AB farezone tickets, while commuters coming in from suburbs need ABC farezone tickets. If a ticket that is not valid for travel in a tariff zone is checked by a ticket inspector, the passenger is subject to a fine.
[edit] Short-term tickets
Single-journey tickets (Einzeltickets) are issued for use within specific fare zones, namely AB, BC, and ABC. They are only valid for two hours after validation, and cannot be extended. The BVG also offers single-day tickets (Tageskarte), which are valid for the entire day when first validated until 3 a.m. the next morning.
[edit] Long-term tickets
Long-term paper tickets are issued with validity periods of seven days (7-Tage-Karte) or one month (Monatskarten). The BVG is in the process of introducing the plastic MetroCard as a yearly ticket that also has additional features. The Metrocard also permits passengers to make reservations for hire cars at specific times, for example on weekends. It is expected that plastic Metrocards without such features will be made available they are more durable and ecofriendly than the paper tickets.
[edit] Tourist passes
The BVG offers a ticket for non-residents of Berlin called the WelcomeCard. WelcomeCards are valid for either 48 or 72 hours, and can be used by one adult and up to three children between the ages of six and 14. WelcomeCards are valid in farezones ABC, and have the additional benefit of a reduction on entry fees to many museums and tourist attractions. As of April 2006 the cost for the AB card is 14 Euros and 90 cents, the ABC card being slightly more.
[edit] Rolling stock
- Main article: Trains on the Berlin U-Bahn
The U-Bahn network is divided into Kleinprofil ("small profile", used by the U1, U2, U3 and U4) and Großprofil ("large profile", used by the U5, U6, U7, U8 and U9) lines. The names refer to the size of the train's coaches. Großprofil coaches have a width of 2.65 meters and a height of 3.40 meters, and Kleinprofil coaches are only 2.30 meters wide and 3.10 meters high. Technically speaking these are two distinct train networks. Both networks use the Normalspur with a track width of 1435 millimeters and use direct current at a voltage of 750 Volts. Because Großprofil and Kleinprofil use different types of power rails (Kleinprofil vehicles touch the power rail from above, Großprofil ones from below) the trains usually cannot operate on the same route. However, on the Nord-Süd-Bahn in the years between 1923 and 1927 and on the E line (today's U5) between 1961 and 1978, Kleinprofil trains with speciallly adapted power pickups ran on Großprofil tracks. They were fitted with special wooden boards on the sides to close the gap between platform and train. These wooden boards were jokingly called Blumenbretter ("flower boards") by the Berlin population.
Also, the polarity of the power rails differs. In the Kleinprofil the power rail is the positive and the track the negative end, in the Großprofil it is the other way around. In East Berlin the polarity of the track section Thälmannplatz/Otto-Grotewohl-Straße - Pankow, Vinetastraße was the same as in the Großprofil. After reunification, this exception to the normal Kleinprofil polarity was reversed by the BVG, even though there are benefits to this arrangement (there is less corrosion of metal parts in the tunnel with the Großprofil polarity).
The newest types of U-Bahn are H for the Großprofil and Hk for the Kleinprofil. The oldest vehicles still in service are of the F74 type (Großprofil) and of the A3-64 type (Kleinprofil).
[edit] Depots
- Main article: Depots on the Berlin U-Bahn
In Berlin there are one Kleinprofil and three Großprofil workshops. The workshops are divided into Hauptwerkstätten (Hw, "main workshops") and Betriebswerkstätten (Bw, "service workshops"). Service workshops only handle minor repairs and maintenance like changing the windows or removing graffiti. Main workshops are used for the full inspections scheduled every few years. Also, lifting the trains off the tracks is only possible in the main workshops.
[edit] Line Numbering
The pre-war U-Bahn line designations consisted of letters, with added Roman numerals in case of line branchings. This system continued to be used into the 1960s on both sides.
After the erection of the wall, East Berlin was left with line E and the eastern half of line A. This oddity and the fact that the two line network was simple to navigate anyway, caused line designations to be gradually abandoned there over the years.
West Berlin abandoned the letter based system in 1966 and replaced it by line numbers 1 through 9, the system still in place today. The shortest line in this system was line 5 which consisted of two stops only (Deutsche Oper - Richard-Wagner-Platz). It was closed in 1970, to be replaced by an extension of line 7 which opened a few years later. This move freed line number 5. West Berlin BVG then decided to reserve this line number for East Berlin's line E in case of reunification - the only line that ran exclusively in East Berlin territory and was therefore not yet covered in the new West Berlin system.
In 1984, BVG became the operator of the West Berlin S-Bahn which until then had been operated by East Germany's Deutsche Reichsbahn. So they had to incorporate the S-Bahn into their line numbering system, and did so by using the method of West German transport systems by giving new line numbers prefixed by "S" to the S-Bahn, and adding the prefix "U" to the existing U-Bahn lines. So "line 1" became "U1" etc.
After Berlin's reunification in 1990, East Berlin's line E was renumbered U5, as had been planned. At the same time, the eastern half of line A became U2 like its western counterpart, even though at the time they were not yet connected. When U2 was actually rejoined in 1993, the western branches of U1 and U2 were swapped, and the U3 disappeared from the map. What had been U3 -- a short shuttle line between Uhlandstraße and Wittenbergplatz -- became part of the new U15, a line that in theory continued past Wittenbergplatz in parallel with U1, to Schlesisches Tor (and, when it was reopened in 1995, Warschauer Straße); in practice, particularly in off-peak hours, U15 was often operated as a shuttle identical to the old U3. In 2004, the full length of U15 was redesignated U1, and a new U3 was created from what had been the U1 west of Nollendorfplatz to Krumme Lanke. (This was the same route as the U2 until 1993, extended one station further east to Nollendorfplatz enable trains to be reversed).
See also S-Bahn line numbering
[edit] Accidents
The history of the Berlin U-Bahn features few accidents, and the U-Bahn is among the safest modes of transportation.
The most severe accident to this day occurred on September 26, 1908 on the then still-existing Gleisdreieck. A Motorman missed a stop signal and two trains collided on a track junction. Part of one train fell off the viaduct. There were 18 casualties, and 21 persons were heavily injured. As a consequence of this accident the Gleisdreieck was redesigned as a multilevel station. Today, the U1 and U2 lines meet there.
Another major accident happened on June 30, 1965 on the G line (today's U9). On the route between Zoologischer Garten and Hansaplatz, a train had stopped due to a brake failure. This section of the route was part of the Bahnhof Zoo switching system. At the junction control there, a mechanic was doing maintenance work. He noticed that the leaving signal was set to "Stop". He thought it ought to be set to "Fahrt" ("Go"). After several tries he manually set the signal to "Go", an action that was explicitly prohibited. The following train, which had been waiting at the Bahnhof Zoo, crashed into the stopped one. Emergency brakes could not prevent the accident. One passenger was killed in the crash, and 97 were injured. The mechanic was sentenced to a 600,000 DM fine.
On July 8, 2000, the last car of a GI/I train burned out in the Deutsche Oper station of the U2. Because the train was standing at the rear of the station, which had only one exit, the passengers had to run through the tunnel to the next emergency exit. A short circuit was determined to have been the cause of the fire. The station was severely damaged in the fire, and trains could not stop there for several weeks. On September 1, 2000 the station could finally be used again. The Portuguese Ambassador S.E. Nuenes Barata presented tile paintings (Portuguese azulejos) by the Portuguese artist José de Guimarães to the BVG, which had been designed especially for that station and were a present from the Portuguese embassy to the city. Installation was finished on October 30, 2002. As a consequence of the accident it was decided to have BVG employees in every station with only one exit, until a second one could be built. In recent years, the stations Britz-Süd, Schillingstraße, Viktoria-Luise-Platz, Uhlandstraße, Theo. Heuss Platz (May 2006) and others were refitted with additional exits. The final stations with no second exit are Sophie-Charlotte-Platz and Rudow. However, several passenger organisations like "pro bahn" and "IGEB" demand that stations with the exits in the middle of the platform be fitted with additional emergency exits as well. This would mean a heavy financial burden on both the BVG and the city, because many stations are built in this manner.
Another accident with costly damage, but without injuries, happened on March 25, 2003, when two trains collided at Kurt-Schumacher-Platz. Because of repairs on the U6 a train was running back and forth between Kurt-Schumacher-Platz and Holzhauser Straße, with normal service only running between Alt-Mariendorf und Kurt-Schumacher-Platz. There, arriving trains passed through the exterior track system and returned to Alt-Mariendorf. The train going back and forth was running on track 1, which is the track running towards Alt-Mariendorf, so that he had to share the platform with the normally running train. Because the train passed several signals in the "Stop" position on its way there, there were special instructions how to do this. The Motorman missed the fact that he could not pass the entry signal to the Kurt-Schumacher-Platz in its "Stop" position. He hit the side of a train which was just leaving in the direction of Alt-Mariendorf. Both trains were damaged so badly they had to be scrapped, and the tracks were heavily damaged as well. Normal service did not resume for two days, and the removal of the two wrecked trains (which could still roll along the tracks) took nearly 48 hours.
[edit] Films, music and merchandising
The Berlin U-Bahn is featured in many movies, and also the music videos of several artists. That is mainly due to the unbureaucratic help of the BVG.
The Berlin U-Bahn had a minor role (at least) in a large number of movies, as it is among the sights of Berlin. Films include Emil und die Detektive (2001), Otto – Der Film (1985), Peng! Du bist tot featuring Ingolf Lück, the 1998 film Run Lola Run, and several Tatort episodes. The previously unused U55 station "Reichstag" was used to shoot scenes of the movies Resident Evil and Equilibrium.
Alexanderplatz station also plays an essential role in "Berlin Alexanderplatz", a film of thirteen chapters and one epilogue (15 hours in total, produced in 1980) by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, based on the book by Döblin. The film's scenes feature a recreation of the station as it was in 1928, rather darker and dirtier than it is nowadays. In the surrealistic two hours epilogue, Fassbinder transforms parts of the station into a slaughterhouse where people is killed and dissected.
The former singer of the pop band No Angels, Sandy Mölling, shot the video for her single "Unnatural Blonde" in the U-Bahn station Deutsche Oper. Other singers like Kate Ryan, the band Overground, the band Böhse Onkelz, Xavier Naidoo, Die Fantastischen Vier, the DJ duo Blank & Jones and Melendiz have used the U-Bahn and its stations for their videos as well.
In 2002, the BVG cooperated in a project of Berlin design students, in which they created underwear with an U-Bahn theme (which they named "Underwear" in English). These were named after real stations, although the context made them sound like mild sexual double entendres (men's underpants called Rohrdamm ("pipe dam"), Onkel Toms Hütte ("Uncle Tom's Cabin"), and Krumme Lanke ("crooked lake") and women's Gleisdreieck ("triangle track") and Jungfernheide ("virgin heath"). Later variants also had names like Nothammer ("emergency hammer") or Pendelverkehr ("shuttle service"; Verkehr also means "intercourse"). After the first series sold out quickly, several others were commissioned, but they were retired in 2004.
The musical production "Linie 1" of Berlins Grips-Theater is set completely in stations and trains of the Berlin U-Bahn. A movie has been produced as well.
The full-length movie Möbius 17 by Frank Esher Lämmer and Jo Preussler from Berlin tells the story of an U-Bahn train that is caught in a Möbius strip and travelling through alternate universes after a new connection line is built.
[edit] Future expansion
A new line will open on the Berlin U-Bahn in 2008. The U55 will run from Berlin Hauptbahnhof to the Brandenburger Tor. It is a provisional line, part of a long-planned extension of the U5 from Alexanderplatz to the new central station. Its construction is mandated by the Hauptstadtvertrag, the document that regulates the necessary changes to the city as the capital of Germany. The Hauptstadtvertrag requires all construction mentioned in it to be completed by 2020. The BVG expects 100,000 passengers to take the U5 extension daily.
The U5 extension is planned to go through Berliner Rathaus, along Unter den Linden and the Pariser Platz to end at Berlin Hauptbahnhof. This extension is known as the Kanzlerlinie (chancellor's line), as it will run through the government quarter. Part of the route will begin service in 2006 as the U55. Plans to extend to the U5 to Turmstraße on the U9 and to Jungfernheide on the U7 are considered urgent by the city government, but the chance of the extension actually happening is slight unless Tegel Airport is also expanded.
Expansion not mandated by the Hauptstadtvertrag is unlikely due to Berlin's chronic financial problems and stagnating population. Furthermore, there is still great rivalry for construction money between the U-Bahn and the S-Bahn. After the construction boom after the reunification of the city, enthusiasm for further growth has cooled off, and many people feel that Berlin's needs are currently adequately met by the U- and S-Bahn. At present, the only proposals receiving serious consideration aim to facilitate travel around the existing system, such as moving Warschauer Straße station on the U-Bahn closer to the S-Bahn station of the same name. There is still much-needed maintenance on the system to be done. In the coming years, the track will be rebuilt between Gleisdreieck and Potsdamer Platz on the U2, Jannowitzbrücke on the U8, and on the elevated rail line on the U1 in Kreuzberg.
There are several long-term plans for the U-Bahn that have no estimated time of completion, most of which involve closing short gaps between stations, enabling them to connect to other lines. The U1 is to be extended from its eastern terminus of Warschauer Straße to Frankfurter Tor on the U5. The segment between Uhlandstraße and Wittenbergplatz might be built further along the Kurfürstendamm to connect to the U7 at Adenauerplatz. More ambitious plans call for this segment to be separated and expanded into its own line, which will run from Theodor-Heuss-Platz on the U2, through Potsdamer Platz, Alexanderplatz, connect with the S-Bahn at Greifswalder Straße, and end at Weißensee. This new line was tentatively designated the U3 until December 2004.
The expansion of the U2 to Pankow station finished in 2000. There are plans to extend it to Ossietzkyplatz. In the west, the line has not yet gone past Ruhleben, but an extension towards Rathaus Spandau on the U7, which already has platforms for the U2, is planned. There are plans to eventually extend the U3 to connect with the S-Bahn at Mexikoplatz on the S1 in the south-west. This is one of the most likely extensions if Berlin is ever able to solve its financial problems.
A southern extension of the U4 would be technically complicated or even impossible due to a Autobahn underpass near the station. A possible northern extension would reach Magdeburger Platz where it would connect with the future line from Potsdamer Platz to the Kurfürstendamm.
An extension of the U7 to Schönefeld International Airport was long planned in conjunction with the renovation and expansion of the airport, but the line is no longer included in cost projections for the airport's enlargement, as the BVG concluded projected ridership did not justify the expense. Plans see the U7 running in the north-west to Staaken. The U8 was extended in 1996 to connect with Hermannstraße, Further extensions of the line to the south are not planned. In the north, extending the U-Bahn to the crowded Märkisches Viertel has been planned for years; construction of the station underneath the sports centre on the Senftenberger Ring has already been started. The population of Lankwitz has been waiting for an extension of the U9 to their Lankwitz station for years, but there are no current plans to extend the line. A northern extension of the U9 to the future Pankow Kirche U2 station has been abandoned in favour of a tram line.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- English
- Brian Hardy: The Berlin U-Bahn, Capital Transport, 1996, ISBN 1-85414-184-8
- German
- Jan Gympel: U-Bahn Berlin - Reiseführer. GVE-Verlag, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-89218-072-5
- AG Berliner U-Bahn: Zur Eröffnung der elektrischen Hoch-und Untergrundbahn in Berlin. GVE-Verlag, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-89218-077-6
- Jürgen Meyer-Kronthaler und Klaus Kurpjuweit: Berliner U-Bahn – In Fahrt seit Hundert Jahren. be.bra Verlag, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-930863-99-5
- Petra Domke und Markus Hoeft: Tunnel Gräben Viadukte – 100 Jahre Baugeschichte der Berliner U-Bahn. kulturbild Verlag, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-933300-00-2
- Ulrich Lemke und Uwe Poppel: Berliner U-Bahn. alba Verlag, Düsseldorf, ISBN 3-87094-346-7
- Robert Schwandl: Berlin U-Bahn Album. Alle 192 Untergrund- und Hochbahnhöfe in Farbe. Robert Schwandl Verlag, Berlin Juli 2002, ISBN 3-936573-01-8
- Jürgen Meyer-Kronthaler: Berlins U-Bahnhöfe – Die ersten hundert Jahre. be.bra Verlag, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-930863-16-2
[edit] External links
- BVG website (English)
- VSWB.de - Disused Rails and Lanes in Berlin
- Metro Bits: Berlin U-Bahn photo page
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