Frankfurt City Tunnel

Last updated
Frankfurt City Tunnel
S-Bahn Rhein Main Type 420.JPG
Frankfurt S3.svg train to Bad Soden at Hauptbahnhof low level, ET 420
Overview
Native nameCity-Tunnel Frankfurt
Line number
  • 3681 (from Hbf)
  • 3682 (to Hbf)
  • 3680 (Schlachthof–Offenbach)
Locale Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany
Service
Route number645.2, 645.5, 645.6
Technical
Line length6.36 km (3.95 mi)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Electrification 15 kV/16.7 Hz AC overhead catenary
Route map

Contents

km
BSicon CONTg.svg
Hauptbahnhof ramp
BSicon tSTRa.svg
Frankfurt underground
50.0
BSicon tSBHF.svg
Taunusanlage
50.8
BSicon tSBHF.svg
U-Bahn to Praunheim/Hausen
BSicon tSTR.svg
BSicon utSTR+l.svg
BSicon utCONTfq.svg
Hauptwache
51.6
BSicon HUBaq.svg
BSicon tSBHF.svg
BSicon HUBeq.svg
BSicon utBHF.svg
Konstablerwache
52.2
BSicon HUBaq.svg
BSicon tSBHF.svg
BSicon HUBeq.svg
BSicon utBHF.svg
U-Bahn to Ostbahnhof/Enkheim
BSicon tSTR.svg
BSicon utSTRl.svg
BSicon utCONTfq.svg
(planned) to North Main S-Bahn
52.6
BSicon etABZgl.svg
BSicon extCONTfq.svg
Ostendstraße
53.0
BSicon tSHST.svg
BSicon tbKRZW.svg
Frankfurt Schlachthof junction
53.8
BSicon tBS2+l.svg
BSicon tBS2+r.svg
Lokalbahnhof
54.4
BSicon tSHST.svg
BSicon tSTR.svg
(
4728 m
5171 yd
) end of Frankfurt City Tunnel
BSicon tSTRe.svg
BSicon tSTR.svg
BSicon dCONTgq.svg
BSicon ABZqr.svg
BSicon kSTR2+r.svg
BSicon tSTR.svg
BSicon kSTRc3.svg
Frankfurt Süd–Aschaffenburg railway
(North Main line) to Hanau
BSicon tSTR.svg
BSicon kkSTRl+4.svg
BSicon kSTR+4.svg
BSicon dCONTfq.svg
Mühlberg
54.4
BSicon tSBHF.svg
BSicon kSTR3.svg
Frankfurt–Göttingen railway
(South Main line) to Hanau
BSicon CONTgq.svg
BSicon kSTRr+1.svg
BSicon tSTR.svg
BSicon kSTRc4.svg
(
1633 m
1786 yd
) end of Frankfurt-Mühlberg Tunnel
BSicon tSTRe.svg
(planned)
Oberrad
BSicon eSHST.svg
BSicon CONTf.svg

The Frankfurt City Tunnel is a standard gauge railway in Frankfurt and the core of the Rhine-Main S-Bahn. The line runs underground for its entire length.

Central Station to Konstablerwache

train at Taunusanlage station ET 423 Taunusanlage.jpg
Frankfurt S2.svg train at Taunusanlage station
Entrance to City Tunnel near Frankfurt South station City tunnel frankfurt einfahrt sued.jpg
Entrance to City Tunnel near Frankfurt South station

The first section was put into operation on 28 May 1978 to Hauptwache. S-Bahn trains began operating on the Taunus Railway (S1), the Main-Lahn Railway (S2), the Limes Railway (S3), the Kronberg Railway (S4), the Homburg Railway (S5) and the Main-Weser Railway (S6) after climbing a ramp under the former postal station in the tunnel and reached the surface about 500 metres (1,600 ft) east of the central station. The Main Railway service (S14, now S8), was introduced shortly later.

The line runs northeast for about 700 metres (2,300 ft) from the central station to Taunusanlage station, built on the site of the old city walls near the Alte Oper and the Deutsche Bank Twin Towers. The tunnel bends to the east and after 250 metres (820 ft) it joins Tunnel C of the Frankfurt U-Bahn, which was built together with the City Tunnel under the Freßgass (the pedestrianised streets of Kalbächer Gasse and Große Bockenheimer Straße, named after its eateries) to Hauptwache. In 1983, the city tunnel was extended, largely in a cut and cover tunnel, 600 metres (2,000 ft) to the east beneath the Zeil to Konstablerwache. This section is also a joint tunnel with the U-Bahn; the S-Bahn lines run between the U-Bahn lines.

The tunnel has a train frequency of roughly 28 trains per hour in each direction, that is one train every two minutes. During the rush hour the frequency is approximately one train every two minutes.

Tunnelling under the Main

The next major phase of construction followed in 1990 when the line was extended in a southeasterly direction. Ostendstraße station was built between the streets of Hanauer Landstrasse and Ostendstraße. 300 metres (980 ft) further south the route crosses the Main. The tunnel was built by digging a trench in the river bottom and sinking the tunnel tubes into it, half the river at a time. After passing under the Main the tunnel divides: One branch runs in the direction of Sachsenhausen where it runs under the Sachsenhausen old town to Frankfurt Lokalbahnhof and then climbs a ramp to the embankment of the South Main railway to Frankfurt South station. At the South station the S-Bahn connects with regional and main line services was built, trams and the U-Bahn.

The second section, which was completed in 1992, branches off to the east on the Sachsenhausen side after the passage under the Main towards Mühlberg. Then the line comes to the surface prior for a few kilometres until the next station at Offenbach-Kaiserlei where the Offenbach City Tunnel begins. This underground section has three underground stations and ends at Offenbach Ost station, where the Rodgau line branches off.

Branch to Ostbahnhof

Between Konstablerwache and Ostendstraße stations the entrance for a tunnel branching towards Frankfurt East station was built for the proposed north Main branch of the S-Bahn to Hanau.

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The Rhine-Main S-Bahn system is an integrated rapid transit and commuter train system for the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region, which includes the cities Frankfurt am Main, Wiesbaden, Mainz, Offenbach am Main, Hanau and Darmstadt. The network comprises nine S-Bahn lines, eight of which currently travel through the cornerstone of the system, a tunnel through central Frankfurt. The first section of this tunnel was opened on May 28, 1978. Further tunnel sections were opened in 1983 and 1990, before its completion in 1992. The system belongs to the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV) and is operated by DB Regio, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn.

The U-Bahn Line B is the second line in the network of the Frankfurt U-Bahn. It leads in west–east direction from the central railway station (Hauptbahnhof) over the old town to Konstablerwache, where it splits into two branches to Bornheim and Preungesheim. Originally planned as an independent main line, the D line represents an extension of the U4 to Bockenheimer Warte from the central railway station.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trams in Frankfurt am Main</span> Overview of the tram system of Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">S1 (Rhine-Main S-Bahn)</span>

The S1 service of the S-Bahn Rhein-Main system bearing the KBS number 645.1 is an important railway connection running east–west. It operates between the Hesse state capital Wiesbaden and the southern Offenbach rural district serving the densely populated area along the Main river.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">S2 (Rhine-Main S-Bahn)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">S3 (Rhine-Main S-Bahn)</span>

The S3 service of the S-Bahn Rhein-Main system bearing the KBS number 645.3

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S4 (Rhine-Main S-Bahn)</span>

The S4 service of the S-Bahn Rhein-Main system bearing the KBS number 645.4

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S5 (Rhine-Main S-Bahn)</span> Rail service in germany

The S5 service of the S-Bahn Rhein-Main system bearing the KBS number 645.5

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S6 (Rhine-Main S-Bahn)</span>

The S6 service of the S-Bahn Rhein-Main system bearing the KBS number 645.6

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S8 (Rhine-Main S-Bahn)</span> Line of the Rhine-Main S-Bahn

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frankfurt Lokalbahnhof</span> Railway station in Frankfurt, Germany

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">U-Bahn Line A (Frankfurt U-Bahn)</span> North-south main line

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">U-Bahn Line C (Frankfurt U-Bahn)</span>

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