Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Locale | Berlin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Termini | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stations | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Type | Rapid transit | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
System | Berlin U-Bahn | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operator(s) | Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Depot(s) |
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Rolling stock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 8 August 2009 [2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Closed | 17 March 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Absorbed into U5 | 4 December 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line length | 1.4 km (0.87 mi) [3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Loading gauge | Großprofil | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Electrification | 750 V DC third rail (bottom running) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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U55 was an U-Bahn line in the German capital city of Berlin. It connected the new Berlin Hauptbahnhof, or main railway station, to an interchange with the S-Bahn at Brandenburger Tor. It had only three stations, did not connect to any other U-Bahn line, and was operated as a shuttle line using a single train.
The line was constructed as part of an extension of the U5 that was subsequently postponed due to financial difficulties. As much of the work on this disconnected section of the extension had been completed, it was decided to complete the section and open it as a separate line in 2009. In 2010, construction began on the intervening section connecting Brandenburger Tor to Alexanderplatz; on 4 June 2018, U55 was closed until December 2018 to accommodate the work needed to connect it to this new phase of the project. The complete project, merging U55 and U5 into a single line, opened on 4 December 2020. [4] Operation of the U55 ceased on 17 March 2020 in preparation for the line's incorporation into the U5 extension.
The unusual nature of U55 reflected Berlin's troubled finances. When the German government decided to move from Bonn to Berlin under the Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl, who also announced the reunification of Germany on 3 October 1990, it was decided to refurbish the area around the Bundestag into a modern government complex.
As part of this effort, there were plans to extend the U5 from its western terminus at Alexanderplatz through the city centre, past the Brandenburg Gate and the Bundestag, to the new central train station, Berlin Hauptbahnhof. This Kanzlerlinie (Chancellor Line), so nicknamed because it passed through the government quarter, was originally planned since the 200km plan as a diagonal line through central Berlin, continuing to Turmstraße in Moabit, where it would link with the U9, and on to Jungfernheide, where it would connect with the S-Bahn ring and U7. The line was also planned to go via Tegel Airport (to be replaced by Urban Tech Republic), Scharnweberstraße towards Rathaus Reinckendorf. As this was a long-planned route, short tunnels exist at both Jungfernheide and Turmstraße to accommodate the new line. Plans were discarded as a tram was also planned to be extended west. For now, the line is only approved to terminate at the Hauptbahnhof, with the route to Jungfernheide and beyond to be built later.
On 19 January 2000, construction began on the western end of this extension. However, around that time the city council suffered a major financial crisis.
The city had accepted money from the German federal government for the construction work already finished, and by the terms of the agreement, the city would have had to return the money if there were no operating trains on the line. In 2004, the city and federal governments reached a compromise: the city would complete the short section of line that was largely complete between Berlin Hauptbahnhof and Unter den Linden S-Bahn station (renamed "Brandenburger Tor" in 2009) and run it as a single-track shuttle with a single train, without any signaling. Although transit planners projected that such a shuttle would not attract a significant ridership, the city determined that the cost of building and operating the line would be less than the cost of returning the money to the federal government.
The opening of the line between Berlin Hauptbahnhof and Brandenburger Tor was delayed owing to extreme groundwater problems at the site of the latter new station. It was finally opened on 8 August 2009. [5]
Name | Interchange |
Berlin Hauptbahnhof | S3, S5, S7, S9 |
Bundestag | |
Brandenburger Tor | S1, S2, S25, S26 |
With the opening of the U-Bahn station, the existing Unter den Linden S-Bahn station was renamed Brandenburger Tor (for the nearby Brandenburg Gate). The name "Unter den Linden" was then given to a new station further east at the junction with Friedrichstraße, where the U5 intersects the U6.
The train ran every 10 minutes and, due to the low demand, there was no night service.
Because the U55 was not physically connected to the rest of the U-Bahn system, any trains being delivered to the new line had to be taken by low loaders on the street and set on track through a tunnel opening located north of Hauptbahnhof station. There was also a provisional workshop for the basic maintenance and cleaning of carriages.
Formerly, trains running on the U55 were F79 trains. However, due to a lack of trains on other large profile U-Bahn lines, the two U55 trains were removed and placed on the U6 in April 2017. Instead, an older D class train was renovated and placed into service until March 2020.
The designation of the line as U55 indicated that it was ultimately intended to become part of the U5 line. Construction of the link to enable this commenced in April 2010, and was originally expected to be completed by 2017. Construction works suffered from continued difficulties, mainly concerning high water contents in the soil; in November 2015 the opening date was postponed, [6] with the link finally opening on 4 December 2020.
The link is 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) in length, connecting the former U55 terminus at Brandenburger Tor with the rest of the U5 at Alexanderplatz. The link features three new U-Bahn stations at Rotes Rathaus, Museumsinsel and Unter den Linden. Unter Den Linden provides an interchange with line U6, [7] [8] replacing the former Französische Straße station, located a little further to the south on Friedrichstraße, which closed on 3 December 2020.
Operations on the line ceased on 17 March 2020, until its incorporation into the new U5 line on 4 December of that year. This took place earlier than originally planned due to much lower ridership as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. [9] [10]
The three stations reopened as a part of U5 Line Eastern extension on 4 December 2020. [11]
Unter den Linden is a boulevard in the central Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. Running from the Spree River to the Brandenburg Gate, it is named after the linden trees that line the grassed pedestrian mall on the median and the two broad carriageways. The avenue links numerous Berlin sights, landmarks and rivers for sightseeing.
The Berlin U-Bahn is a rapid transit system in Berlin, the capital and largest city of Germany, and a major part of the city's public transport system. Together with the S-Bahn, a network of suburban train lines, and a tram network that operates mostly in the eastern parts of the city, it serves as the main means of transport in the capital.
U2 is a line of the Berlin U-Bahn. The U2 line starts at Pankow S-Bahn station, runs through the eastern city centre (Alexanderplatz) to Potsdamer Platz, the western city centre and finally to the Ruhleben terminal station.
U5 is a line on the Berlin U-Bahn. It runs from Hauptbahnhof in Mitte eastwards through Alexanderplatz, Friedrichshain, Lichtenberg and Friedrichsfelde, surfaces in Biesdorf-Süd to pass Kaulsdorf and Hellersdorf above ground and finally reaches city limits at Hönow.
U6 is a 19.9 km (12.4 mi) long rapid transit line on the Berlin U-Bahn with 29 stations. It runs in a north-south direction from the Berlin locality of Tegel in the north via Friedrichstraße to Mariendorf, a locality in the southern part of the city. It is one of the five large profile ("Großprofil") lines.
The U7 is a rail line on the Berlin U-Bahn. It runs completely underground for a length of 31.8 kilometres (19.8 mi) through 40 stations and connects Spandau, via Neukölln, to Gropiusstadt and Rudow. The U7 was originally the south-eastern branch of the Nord-Süd-Bahn (U6) that ran between the branching point at Belle-Alliance-Straße (Mehringdamm) and Grenzallee; however, in the 1960s, this stretch was separated from the rest of the line and extended at each end to form a new line.
Berlin Jungfernheide is a railway station located at Charlottenburg-Nord, in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district of Berlin, served by the S-Bahn lines S41 and S42, the U-Bahn line U7 and Regional-Express trains of the Deutsche Bahn. Its name literally translates into "maidens' heathland"; it was named after the Jungfernheide, a former large forest in the proximity of this station.
The Munich U-Bahn is an electric rail rapid transit network in Munich, Germany. The system began operation in 1971, and is operated by the municipally owned Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft. The network is integrated into the Münchner Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund and interconnected with the Munich S-Bahn. The U-Bahn currently comprises eight lines, serving 96 stations, and encompassing 103.1 kilometres (64.1 mi) of routes.
The Berlin tramway is the main tram system in Berlin, Germany. It is one of the oldest tram networks in the world having its origins in 1865 and is operated by Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), which was founded in 1929. It is notable for being the third-largest tram system in the world, after Melbourne and St. Petersburg. Berlin's tram system is made up of 22 lines that operate across a standard gauge network, with almost 800 stops and measuring almost 190 kilometres (120 mi) in route length and 430 kilometres (270 mi) in line length. Nine of the lines, called Metrotram, operate 24 hours a day and are identified with the letter "M" before their number; the other thirteen lines are regular city tram lines and are identified by just a line number.
Berlin Hauptbahnhof is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. It came into full operation two days after a ceremonial opening on 26 May 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof, and on the Berlin S-Bahn suburban railway. The station is operated by DB Station&Service, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG, and is classified as a Category 1 station, one of 21 in Germany and four in Berlin, the others being Berlin Gesundbrunnen, Berlin Südkreuz and Berlin Ostbahnhof.
Bundestag is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the U5 line. The name of this station was changed in April 2006 from Reichstag to Bundestag to better reflect the physical location of the station and the function of nearby buildings.
Französische Straße was a Berlin U-Bahn underground station on the U6 line located under the street Friedrichstraße in central Berlin.
Berlin-Spandau station is a Deutsche Bahn station in the Berlin district of Spandau on the south-western edge of the old town of Spandau. The railway junction station is one of the 80 stations classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 2 station. It has the longest train shed in Germany.
Berlin Brandenburger Tor station is an underground railway station in the central Mitte district of Berlin, Germany, located on the Unter den Linden boulevard near Hotel Adlon, Pariser Platz and Brandenburg Gate. It is served by the Berlin S-Bahn and U-Bahn, as well as local bus lines. The station was known as Berlin Unter den Linden from 1936–2009.
The North–South S-Bahn Tunnel is the central section of the North–South transversal Berlin S-Bahn connection crossing the city centre. It is not to be confused with the Tunnel Nord-Süd-Fernbahn, the central tunnel part of the North–South main line used by intercity and regional trains. The S-Bahn North–South line encompasses the route from Bornholmer Straße and Gesundbrunnen via Friedrichstraße and Anhalter Bahnhof to Papestraße and Schöneberg.
Unter den Linden is an U-Bahn station in the central Mitte district of Berlin, at the intersection of Unter den Linden and Friedrichstraße. It is an interchange station between the U5 and U6 U-Bahn lines.
The Berlin U-Bahn originated in 1880 with Werner Siemens' idea to build an urban railway in Berlin. During the nine years after the German Empire was founded, the city's population grew by over one-third and traffic problems increased. In 1896, Siemens & Halske began to construct the first stretch of overhead railway. On 1 April 1897, the company began construction of an electric underground railway. The Berliner Verkehrs Aktiengesellschaft (BVG) was formed in 1928, and took over further construction and operation of the network. In 1938, the company was renamed Berlin Transport Company; the original acronym, however, remained. Since 1994, the BVG has been a public company.
Museumsinsel is a subway station in Berlin's Mitte district. It is part of the extension of the subway line U5 from Alexanderplatz to Brandenburger Tor, with groundbreaking occurring in 2010. The station opened on 9 July 2021.
Rotes Rathaus is a subway station in Berlin's Mitte district. It is part of the extension of the U5 from Alexanderplatz to Brandenburger Tor, construction of which began with a groundbreaking ceremony in 2010. The station and the line opened simultaneously on 4 December 2020.
The tracks of the Berlin subway are lines operated in the line traffic, operating distances, which serve only internal purposes, turn-off and turning plants and plants in the operating farms.