U1 (Nuremberg U-Bahn)

Last updated

U1
Nurnberg U1.svg
U-Bahnhof Furth Stadthalle7.jpg
Overview
Locale Nuremberg/Fürth
Termini
Stations27
Service
Type Rapid transit
System Nuremberg U-Bahn
Operator(s) Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft Nürnberg
Rolling stock
History
Commenced20 March 1967 (1967-03-20)
Opened1 March 1972 (1972-03-01)
Latest extension8 December 2007 (2007-12-08)
Technical
Line length18.5 km (11.5 mi)
Number of trackstwo
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Electrification 750 V DC third rail
Route map

Contents

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BSicon utBHF.svg
0.0 km
Fürth Hardhöhe
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BSicon STRc2.svg
BSicon d-CONT3.svg
Logo Deutsche Bahn.svg S-Bahn-Logo.svg Logo R-Bahn VGN.PNG
BSicon STRc2.svg
BSicon STR3+l.svg
BSicon HUBc2.svg
BSicon utSTR.svg
BSicon lSBHF.svg
BSicon HUB3.svg
BSicon STRr+1.svg
BSicon dSTRc4.svg
BSicon STR+1.svg
BSicon STRc4.svg
BSicon HUB1.svg
BSicon utBHF.svg
BSicon HUBc4.svg
0.9 km
Fürth Klinikum
S-Bahn-Logo.svg
BSicon dCONTgq.svg
BSicon ABZg+r.svg
BSicon utSTR.svg
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BSicon WBRUCKE1.svg
BSicon WASSERq.svg
BSicon utSTR.svg
BSicon WASSERq.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon utHST.svg
1.9 km
Fürth Stadthalle
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BSicon utHST.svg
2.5 km
Fürth Rathaus
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BSicon lv-SHST.svg
BSicon HUBq.svg
BSicon vINT.svg
BSicon HUBeq.svg
BSicon utINT.svg
3.4 km
Fürth Hauptbahnhof
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BSicon utHST.svg
4.1 km
Jakobinenstraße
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BSicon utHSTe@g.svg
4.9 km
Stadtgrenze
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BSicon vSKRZ-Ao.svg
BSicon uSKRZ-Ao.svg
BSicon dRAq.svg
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon uHST.svg
5.9 km
Muggenhof
BSicon exdCONTgq.svg
BSicon MSTRq.svg
BSicon exhSTRaeq.svg
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon MSTRq.svg
BSicon exhSTRaeq.svg
BSicon uSTR.svg
BSicon exSTRq.svg
BSicon exdCONTfq.svg
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon utHSTa@f.svg
6.7 km
Eberhardshof
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon utHST.svg
7.5 km
Maximilianstraße
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon utHST.svg
8.2 km
Bärenschanze
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon utHST.svg
8.6 km
Gostenhof
BSicon utd-CONT2.svg
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon utSTR.svg
BSicon utdCONTgq.svg
BSicon utSTR2+r.svg
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon utSTR2+4.svg
BSicon utSHI1l.svg
BSicon lINT~L.svg
BSicon lv-SBHF.svg
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon lvINT~R.svg
BSicon utv-STR.svg
BSicon utvSTR+4-.svg
Rothenburger Straße
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BSicon utvBHF.svg
9.3 km
Plärrer
Tram Nurnberg Logo.png
BSicon dvCONTgq.svg
BSicon vSTR+rf-.svg
BSicon vSTR-STR+rgo.svg
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon utvSTR.svg
BSicon vSTR-SHST.svg
BSicon utvSTR.svg
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon ulv-HST.svg
BSicon utvSTR.svg
9.7 km
Weißer Turm
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon ulvHST-.svg
BSicon utvSTR.svg
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon ulv-HST.svg
BSicon utvSTR.svg
10.4 km
Lorenzkirche
BSicon dHUBaq.svg
BSicon lv-SHST.svg
BSicon HUBq.svg
BSicon vINT.svg
BSicon HUBq.svg
BSicon utvINT.svg
BSicon dHUBeq.svg
10.9 km
Nürnberg Hauptbahnhof
Logo Deutsche Bahn.svg Logo R-Bahn VGN.PNG S-Bahn-Logo.svg Tram Nurnberg Logo.png
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon utvSTRl-SHI1ro.svg
BSicon utSHI1rq.svg
BSicon utSHI1lq.svg
BSicon utdvCONTfq.svg
BSicon vSTRl.svg
BSicon umtKRZv.svg
BSicon vSTRq.svg
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Logo Deutsche Bahn.svg S-Bahn-Logo.svg Logo R-Bahn VGN.PNG
BSicon utBHF.svg
11.6 km
Aufseßplatz
Tram Nurnberg Logo.png
BSicon utHST.svg
12.3 km
Maffeiplatz
BSicon utBHF.svg
12.9 km
Frankenstraße
Tram Nurnberg Logo.png
BSicon utHST.svg
13.7 km
Hasenbuck
BSicon utHSTe@g.svg
15.2 km
Bauernfeindstraße
BSicon uHST.svg
15.7 km
Messe
BSicon uHST.svg
16.4 km
Langwasser Nord
BSicon uHST.svg
17.0 km
Scharfreiterring
BSicon exdCONTgq.svg
BSicon exSTRq.svg
BSicon MSTRq.svg
BSicon exhSTRaeq.svg
BSicon uSTR.svg
BSicon exSTRq.svg
BSicon exdCONTfq.svg
BSicon utHSTa@g.svg
17.5 km
Langwasser Mitte
BSicon utHST.svg
18.0 km
Gemeinschaftshaus
BSicon utBHF.svg
18.5 km
Langwasser Süd
BSicon utENDEe.svg

The U1 is an underground line in Nuremberg. The first part of the line was opened on 1 March 1972. It is about 18.5 kilometres (11.5 mi) long and has 27 stations. The termini are Langwasser Süd in the southeast and Fürth Hardhöhe in the northwest. Until 11 December 2016 it shared tracks with the former booster line U11 between Eberhardshof and Messe. Those services are still run but no longer designated U11, instead being signed U1 like trains doing the full Langwasser-Hardhöhe run. Unlike U2 and U3 all trains are operated by a driver and there are no plans to automate U1.

History

Unlike in Munich where line designations were based on previous tramway lines – line U6 was the first to open, but designated number 6 based on a previous tram line 6 – or Berlin where line numbers in the modern sense were only given out decades after the system opened and U1 and U2 do indeed represent the oldest part of the system, albeit with operational changes since their opening, the Nuremberg subway numbering system has always been historically based – meaning that the first line to be built was always (even in planning) designated U1, the second line U2 and so on. Consequently U1 is the first line of the Nuremberg subway line to start construction and to open for service. Construction on U1 started "from the outside in" at the new high-rise housing estate at Nuremberg Langwasser (an area that had previously served as campgrounds for visitors to the Nazi Party Rallying Grounds) and the route had initially been planned as an extension of the Nuremberg tramway network or a Stadtbahn-like subway-surface system before the city council of Nuremberg decided to build a "full" U-Bahn instead. This accounts for the tight curves along some sections of the track, as those parts of the line had been designed with tram, not subway standards.

The western part of U1 represents the third rail-based corridor on a nigh-identical alignment between the neighboring cities of Nuremberg and Fürth since 1835. First the Bavarian Ludwig Railway (locally often metonymically identified with its locomotive the Adler) which shut down in 1922 in the face of German hyperinflation and after competition from a parallel tram line became to fierce. And ultimately the subway which replaced tram service in 1981 after the decision by Nuremberg city council to gradually phase out tram service, replacing it with subways and buses. This in turn "forced" the city of Fürth to abandon their tramway network, as it had always been dependent on the link to Nuremberg and the infrastructure within Fürth itself was too small to maintain independent service – the city council of Fürth had never voted either way on whether to maintain tram service, but the decision of Nuremberg ultimately made that a moot point.

Initially the planned the terminus in Fürth would have been located at Fürther Freiheit, a central square which had already been the endpoint of the old Ludwig Railway (the historic station building had been torn down by the Nazis in 1938), but ultimately it was deemed more important to provide easy transfer at Fürth Hauptbahnhof to mainline trains. The western terminus of U1 long remained in central Fürth. After the line reached Fürth main station in 1985 it took another nine years for Fürth Stadthalle station and Fürth Rathaus station to extend the line further west and six more years passed before Fürth Klinikum station opened in 2004. Westward extension reached what appears to be a permanent end after the opening of the westernmost station in the system at Fürth Hardhöhe station in 2007. Further plans for expansion towards a station tentatively named "Kieselbühl" are no longer seriously pursued by political actors in Fürth, meaning the line has reached what appears to be its permanent length for the time being.

In 2010 the S-Bahn Nuremberg officially extended its line S1 to Bamberg main station via Fürth and Erlangen providing a second urban rail link between Nuremberg and Fürth (besides the U-Bahn) and two new interchange stations between U1 and S1 at Fürth Hauptbahnhof and what was then Unterfarrnbach station (S1) / Klinikum (U1). After a redesign of the S-Bahn station, the former "Unterfarrnbach" name was retired and the S-Bahn stop was renamed "Fürth Klinikum" in line with the U-Bahn stop in 2022.

Line Design

The route begins at the Langwasser Süd station, at the southern end of which a four-track parking and sweeping system is located, and initially runs underground via the community building ("Gemeinschaftshaus") to Langwasser Mitte station. Thereafter, the route reaches the street level and henceforth runs in the median strip of Otto-Bärnreuther-Straße on the route of a planned in the 1950s tram line. In front of the next station Scharfreiterring the access to the underground depot is undercut. The station itself has four tracks, of which the two outer ones are used for passenger traffic and the two inner ones for entry and exit trips to and from the depot. The route continues past the railway stations Langwasser Nord and Messe until the last station of the first subway construction section, Bauernfeindstraße.

Between Messe and Bauernfeindstraße the subway passes through the tightest curve in the Nuremberg subway network used in scheduled service. This curve was still designed for a tram line before the decision to build a subway instead was taken, explaining the small curve radius. The maximum speed allowed in this area is 50 km / h. Afterwards, the route dips into a tunnel that was the longest between two underground stations in Nuremberg until the opening of the section Ziegelstein – Airport on the U2, and tunnels under the Südbahnhof area. Shortly after the Brunecker Straße, the track reappears on the surface and runs in a terrain cut to Hasenbuck station.

After the Hasenbuck station, the now underground route leads under the eponymous survey and the Katzwanger road to the station Frankenstraße and then runs under the Pillenreuther road to the station Maffeiplatz. The route continues from the Maffeiplatz under the Pillenreuther Straße to the Kopernikusplatz and reaches the station Aufseßplatz. This was prepared during construction on the underpass by another subway line (then called U3) by the tunnel tubes of the U1 are built so that the construction of the track tunnel is possible without major operational restrictions. The route continues under the tracks of the main station to the main train station under the station square, where the U1 meets the U2 and U3 for the first time.

Then the route leads in an elongated left bend under Königstraße to the Lorenzkirche train station and then under Adlerstraße, Josephs and Ludwigsplatz to the station Weißer Turm. This section of the route was the most technically demanding of the entire Nuremberg subway, as both the central hall of the main station and significant historic buildings of the old town are undercut. Running under the Jakobsplatz and the Ludwigstraße, the line of the U1 reaches the station Plärrer and meets there for the second time on the U2 and U3. The station is designed as a direction station, in the upper station level the trains go in the direction of Fürth (U1), Röthenbach (U2) and Gustav-Adolf-Straße (U3) and in the lower level direction Langwasser (U1), airport (U2) and Northwest Ring (U3). After the Plärrer station the U1 follows the historic Ludwigseisenbahn route (today however below the Fürther road), passes the stations Gostenhof, Bärenschanze and Maximilianstrasse and reaches in the height of the Raabstraße before the station Eberhardshof again the surface.

The station Eberhardshof itself, is located in the middle of the Fürther Straße. It is adjoined by the last parking and sweeping system of the U1 existing in Nuremberg. After crossing the Ringbahn, the route leads up the elevated railway line in a ramp construction to the first Muggenhof station. This spans the intersection Fürther Straße / Adolf-Braun-Straße / Sigmundstraße in full length and, like the station Stadtgrenze, has outer platforms. The route continues in the middle position of the Fürther Straße, before crossing the Frankenschnellweg in an S-Bahn and reaching the station located on a dam city boundary. This is already located on the city of Fürth, but is counted to the Nuremberg subway network, since its construction was completely funded by the city of Nuremberg.

From Stadtgrenze to Jakobinenstrasse U-Bahn Nurnberg Strecke SG-JA.jpg
From Stadtgrenze to Jakobinenstraße
The U-Bahnhof Furth Hauptbahnhof Fuerth-Hauptbahnhof U 1.JPG
The U-Bahnhof Fürth Hauptbahnhof

After the railway station Stadtgrenze, the route initially runs parallel to the Hornschuch promenade on a causeway, then dives into the subsoil by means of a ramp construction and reaches the station Jakobinenstraße. Following Gebhardtstraße in the course of the underground station Furth Hauptbahnhof is reached under the station square, which was opened on 7 December 1985 for the 150th anniversary of the railway in Germany. Afterwards, the route swings to the north, runs under the Schwabacher Straße to the coal market and reaches the station Fürth Rathaus. The route then leads under the Gänsbergviertel and the Rednitz through the station Fürth Stadthalle and in the further course under the Scherbsgraben and Kellerberg to the station Fürth Klinikum. Afterwards, the Nuremberg-Bamberg railway line and the Würzburger Straße are underpassed before the line swings to the southwest and runs under the Komotauer Straße and reaches the terminus Fürth Hardhöhe. From the Fürth Rathaus station, digital displays were used for the first time at the platforms instead of the previous case-sheet advertisements.

Stations

The undergroundstation Lorenzkirche U-Bahnhof Lorenzkirche.jpg
The undergroundstation Lorenzkirche
StationsTransfers
U1
Langwasser Süd Bus-Logo-Nurnberg.png
Gemeinschaftshaus  
Langwasser Mitte Bus-Logo-Nurnberg.png
Scharfreiterring Bus-Logo-Nurnberg.png
Langwasser Nord  
Messe  
Bauernfeindstraße Bus-Logo-Nurnberg.png
Technische Universität planned[ citation needed ]
Hasenbuck  
Frankenstraße Nurnberg T5.png Bus-Logo-Nurnberg.png
Maffeiplatz  
Aufseßplatz Nurnberg T5.png Nurnberg T6.png
Hauptbahnhof Nurnberg U2.svg Nurnberg U3.svg Nurnberg S1.png Nurnberg S2.png Nurnberg S3.png Nurnberg S4.png Logo R-Bahn VGN.PNG Logo Deutsche Bahn.svg Nurnberg T5.png Nurnberg T7.png Nurnberg T8.png Bus-Logo-Nurnberg.png
Lorenzkirche Bus-Logo-Nurnberg.png
Weißer Turm  
Plärrer Nurnberg U2.svg Nurnberg U3.svg Nurnberg T4.png Nurnberg T6.png Bus-Logo-Nurnberg.png
Gostenhof Bus-Logo-Nurnberg.png
Bärenschanze  
Maximilianstraße Bus-Logo-Nurnberg.png
Eberhardshof  
Muggenhof  
Stadtgrenze Bus-Logo-Nurnberg.png
Jakoninenstraße Bus-Logo-Nurnberg.png
Fürth Hauptbahnhof Nurnberg S1.png Logo R-Bahn VGN.PNG Logo Deutsche Bahn.svg Bus-Logo-Nurnberg.png
Fürth Rathaus Bus-Logo-Nurnberg.png
Fürth Stadthalle Bus-Logo-Nurnberg.png
Fürth Klinikum Nurnberg S1.png Bus-Logo-Nurnberg.png
Fürth Hardhöhe Bus-Logo-Nurnberg.png
Fürth Kieselbühl originally planned but de facto cancelled

Destination stations are bold. ↑ Means that this station is a southern destination, ↓ means that it is a western destination.

Opening dates and construction costs

Logo U1 Nurnberg U1.svg
Logo U1
Opened Segment
Number of Stations
length
cost (nominal)
date opened
cost (inflation adjusted)cost per km
(inflation adjusted)
Langwasser Süd ↔ Bauernfeindstraße73.7 kilometres (2.3 mi)110 Million DM [1] 1 March 1972194,224,56652,493,125
Bauernfeindstraße ↔ Frankenstraße22.4 kilometres (1.5 mi)59 Million DM [2] 18 June 197492,285,56938,452,320
Frankenstraße ↔ Aufseßplatz21.1 kilometres (0.68 mi)23 September 1975money
Aufseßplatz ↔ Weißer Turm32.1 kilometres (1.3 mi)28 January 1978money
Weißer Turm ↔ Bärenschanze31.9 kilometres (1.2 mi)money20 September 1980money
Bärenschanze ↔ Eberhardshof21.5 kilometres (0.93 mi)money20 June 1981money
Eberhardshof ↔ Jakobinenstraße32.4 kilometres (1.5 mi)money20 March 1982money
Fürth Jakobinenstraße ↔ Fürth Hauptbahnhof10.4 kilometres (0.25 mi)48.06 million DM7 December 198546,059,676115,149,190
Fürth Hauptbahnhof ↔ Fürth Stadthalle21.7 kilometres (1.1 mi)money4 December 1998money
Fürth Stadthalle ↔ Fürth Klinikum11.3 kilometres (0.81 mi)56.8 Million €5 December 200473,702,89056,694,530
Fürth Klinkum ↔ Fürth Hardhöhe10.4 kilometres (0.25 mi)30 million €9 December 200737,153,87592,884,687
Σ2718.9 kilometres (11.7 mi)534 million €

Planned extensions

There are no detailed plans for any extension of the line. However, there have in the past been plans for an extension towards Fürth Kieselbühl, which are however conditioned on future infill development at that site which has been put off for the time being. On the other end of the line U1 was started at Langwasser and built "inwards" and Langwasser remains the terminus with no planned extensions. Branching extensions have been put forward variously but as of 2018 none are likely to be built for the foreseeable future. Occasionally there is debate about a link of some kind between the Nuremberg S-Bahn stop at Fischbach (currently served by S2) and the neighborhood of Langwasser, but as of 2022 it is unclear whether such a link would entail subway or tram extension and when or if it would be built at all. The intervall between Hasenbuck and Bauernfeindstraße is the longest on this line and one of the longest in the network as it passes through what is or used to be railyards. As part of that area is to be re-used for a new "Technical University of Nuremberg" there are proposals to build an infill station somewhere along this section of the line.

Proposed ATC

As both lines U2 and U3 have been run driverless for over a decade, there are sometimes calls for the conversion of U1 to driverless operation. However, other than the new generation of trains ("G1") entering service from late 2019 onward being built with a removable driver cabin, no provision for driverless operation has been made as of 2020. [3] [4] [5]

Rolling stock

The U1 has seen service by all major series of rolling stock ever in regular operation on the Nuremberg U-Bahn. This includes the first generation VAG Class DT1, the newer VAG Class DT2, the newest VAG Class G1 (based on the Siemens Inspiro platform) and even the MVG Class A cars that have been used to alleviate temporary or long lasting rolling stock shortages in Nuremberg. The first series of VAG Class DT3 was initially designed for automatic operation only, as they have no permanent driver's cabin (an emergency use control panel is "hidden" in the front part of the cars during normal operations) and thus the older vehicles in this series can only be used on U2 and U3. However, a modified series, designated "DT3F" was introduced on U1 a few years after the introduction of the driverless DT3, the main difference being the addition of a driver's cabin. With the conversion of U2 to fully automatic operation in 2010, the remaining (manual operation only) DT2 and DT1 units were moved to U1 and have since been phased out as replacement G1 units become available.

See also

References

  1. "U-Bahn Nürnberg 3" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2022.
  2. "U-Bahn Nürnberg 4" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2022.
  3. "Fahrerlose Züge bald auch auf der U-Bahnlinie 1?".
  4. "Die U1 wird nicht fahrerlos".
  5. "Nürnberger CSU will fahrerlose U1 bis nach Fürth".