Berlin U-Bahn

S-Bahn Tram Books Videos Links System Berlin was restored as the German capital right after the unification of the two German states in 1990 and has about 3.8 million inhabitants. The city has one of the oldest and most extensive metro networks in Europe. The rapid transit network actually comprises two separate systems, the U-Bahn with 9 lines, and the S-Bahn . In 1993 the Verkehrsgemeinschaft Berlin-Brandenburg (VBB) was founded to organize all public transport both in Berlin and the surrounding State of Brandenburg. In West Berlin, the present line numbers were assigned in 1966, replacing the previously used letters. The prefix 'U' was added in 1984 to distinguish the U-Bahn lines from the S-Bahn lines taken over by the BVG. In East Berlin, however, no numbers were used on maps, neither for U-Bahn nor for S-Bahn lines. The Berlin U-Bahn system consists of two types of lines, both of which have the same track gauge of 1435 mm: 1) Small-profile lines : with 2.3 m wide and 12.8 m long cars (married pairs); normally operating as six or eight-car trains (in the case of the newer HK & IK stock, two 4-car trainsets); third-rail power supply, with current being collected from the top side of the power rail; rolling stock: A3, HK and IK 2) Large-profile lines : with 2.65 m wide and 15.5 m long cars (married pairs); normally operating as six-car trains (off-peak also 4-car trains). Trains of the newer H stock consist of six cars totalling 98.7 m, with gangways between carriages. On large-profile lines, power is also supplied via a third-rail, but with current being collected from the bottom side of the power rail. Temporarily, on line U5 also small-profile IK trains with side boards are in service. History The first U-Bahn line opened in 1902 between Warschauer Brücke (now Warschauer Straße ) and Knie (now Ernst-Reuter-Platz ), with a branch to Potsdamer Platz . This first line (view map ) was mainly elevated. In the following years the network grew steadily towards the west (today's west and west) and branches were built to the south (now and ). The original line was also extended into the city centre from Potsdamer Platz as far as Spittelmarkt ( ). At the beginning of World War I in 1914, Berlin's U-Bahn network already had a total length of 37.8 km. The older lines belong to the small profile network. (view network map 1920 ) In 1923 the first section of a new north-south line opened (former Line C, now ) between Seestraße and Hallesches Tor right through the city along Friedrichstraße. This was the first of the large profile lines. From then on Berlin's U-Bahn grew again very fast until 1930, when lines ( Alexanderplatz to Friedrichsfelde - Line E), (Seestraße to Tempelhof - Line C), ( Mehringdamm to Grenzallee , as a branch of Line C), and ( Gesundbrunnen to Leinestraße - Line D). (view network map 1940 ). After the World War II, the U-Bahn and S-Bahn kept running from one side of Berlin to the other until the Wall was built in 1961, when today's was split into two lines, line was curtailed at Schlesisches Tor , and lines and began travelling through East Berlin skipping all stations on GDR territory ( ghost stations ). An exception was Friedrichstraße ( ), which was a border crossing point for pedestrians and a transfer point to the S-Bahn. See individual lines for details. While Berlin was a divided city (view network map 1961 ), on the eastern side of the Wall only line was extended, mainly on the surface, towards the east to new residential areas (1973 Tierpark , 1989 Hönow ). In the west, a new line was added, a north-south link avoiding the historic centre: (opened between 1961 and 1976). Line (opened between 1972 and 1984) turned out to be an important link between the southeastern and the western districts. After the Berlin Wall was torn down in Nov. 1989, all ghost stations were reopened as soon as possible, line was restored and re-opened in 1993, and two years later, in 1995, also returned to its original terminus at