Berlin U-Bahn - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Berlin is a rapid transit

Rapid transit

A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...

railway in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, the capital city of Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, and is a major part of the public transport

Public transport

Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...

system of that city. Opened in 1902, the serves 173 stations spread across ten lines, with a total track length of 146.3 kilometres (90.9 mi), about 80% of which is underground. Trains run every two to five minutes during peak hours, every five minutes for the rest of the day and every ten minutes in the evening. They travel 132 km (83 mi), carrying 496 million passengers, over the year. The entire system is maintained and operated by the , commonly known as the BVG.

Designed to alleviate traffic flowing into and out of central Berlin, the U-Bahn rapidly expanded until the city was divided into East

East Berlin

East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...

and West Berlin

West Berlin

West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...

at the end of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Although the system initially remained open to residents of both sides, the construction of the Berlin Wall

Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...

and the subsequent restrictions imposed by the East German government limited travel across the border: The East Berlin

East Berlin

U-Bahn lines were severed from West Berlin; while two West Berlin

West Berlin

lines that ran through East Berlin (U6 and U8) were allowed to pass through without stopping, although the stations were closed, with the exception of Friedrichstraße

Berlin Friedrichstraße railway station

Berlin Friedrichstraße is a railway station in the German capital Berlin. It is located on the Friedrichstraße, a major north-south street in the Mitte district of Berlin, adjacent to the point where the street crosses the Spree river...

, used as a transfer point (between U6 and the West Berlin S-Bahn system) and a border crossing into East Berlin. The system was reopened completely following the fall of the Berlin Wall, and German reunification

German reunification

German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...

.

As of 2007, the Berlin U-Bahn is the most extensive underground network in Germany. True to its original goal, it has been calculated that, in 2006, use of the U-Bahn amounted to the equivalent of 122.2 million km (76 million mi) of car journeys. Together with the S-Bahn

Berlin S-Bahn

The Berlin S-Bahn is a rapid transit system in and around Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It consists of 15 lines and is integrated with the mostly underground U-Bahn to form the backbone of Berlin's rapid transport system...

, it serves as the main means of transport of the capital and in addition the Tram operates in the eastern parts of the city.

History

The construction of the Berlin U-Bahn occurred in three major phases:

Up to 1913 – the construction of the (small profile) network in Berlin, Charlottenburg
Charlottenburg
Charlottenburg is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, named after Queen consort Sophia Charlotte...

, Schöneberg
Schöneberg
Schöneberg is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg....

, and Wilmersdorf
Wilmersdorf
Wilmersdorf is an inner city locality of Berlin, formerly a borough by itself but since Berlin's 2001 administrative reform a part of the new borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.-History:...

;
Up to 1930 – the introduction of the (large profile) network that established the first North-South lines;
From 1953 on – further development after the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Initial construction: 1896–1913

At the end of the 19th century, city planners in Berlin were looking for solutions to the increasing traffic

Traffic

Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel...

problems facing the city. As potential solutions, industrialist and inventor Werner von Siemens

Ernst Werner von Siemens

Ernst Werner Siemens, von Siemens since 1888, was a German inventor and industrialist. Siemens' name has been adopted as the SI unit of electrical conductance, the siemens...

suggested the construction of elevated railways, while AEG proposed an underground system. Berlin city administrators feared an underground would damage the sewers, favouring an elevated railway following the path of the former city walls; however, the neighbouring city of Charlottenburg did not share Berlin's fears, and disliked the idea of an elevated railway running along Tauentzienstraße. Years of negotiations followed until, on 10 September 1896, work began on a mostly-elevated railway to run between Stralauer Tor

Stralauer Tor (Berlin U-Bahn)

Stralauer Tor was a Berlin U-Bahn station in Berlin-Friedrichshain. As an elevated station built into the north-eastern part of the Oberbaumbrücke viaduct, it operated between Warschauer Straße and Schlesisches Tor stations on today's U1...

and Zoologischer Garten, with a short spur to Potsdamer Platz. Known as the "", the route was inaugurated on 15 February 1902, to immediate popularity. Before the year ended, the railway had been extended: by 17 August, east to Warschauer Brücke (Warschauer Straße); and, by 14 December, west to Knie (Ernst-Reuter-Platz

Ernst-Reuter-Platz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Ernst-Reuter-Platz is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the in the Charlottenburg district.The station, originally designed by Alfred Grenander, opened on 14 December 1902 as the western terminus of the first Berlin U-Bahn line to Warschauer Brücke...

).

Charlottenburg extended the line further westwards: by 1906, it had reached the town hall at Wilhelmplatz (Richard-Wagner-Platz

Richard-Wagner-Platz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Richard-Wagner-Platz is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the in the Charlottenburg district.The original station opened on May 14, 1906 under the name Wilhelmplatz, together with Deutsche Oper the first of several U-Bahn stations designed by Alfred Grenander...

); by 1908, Reichskanzlerplatz (Theodor-Heuss-Platz

Theodor-Heuss-Platz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Theodor-Heuss-Platz is a station of the Berlin U-Bahn located in the Westend district on the line.-Overview:When the station first opened on March 29, 1908 it was named Reichskanzlerplatz after the eponymous square laid out between 1904 and 1908, referring to the office of Chancellor of Germany...

); and, by 3 November 1912, Sportpark (Olympia-Stadion

Olympia-Stadion (Berlin U-Bahn)

Olympia-Stadion is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the line in the Westend district. It serves Berlin's Olympic Stadium, where football matches and other events are regularly held...

). In Berlin's city centre, Potsdamer Platz was disconnected—to be replaced by Leipziger Platz (Potsdamer Platz)—to allow an extension to the spur. The line underneath Leipziger Straße to Spittelmarkt opened in 1908; it was extended to Alexanderplatz by July 1913, with the Wilhelmplatz–Alexanderplatz route swiftly becoming the most heavily traveled of the Berlin U-Bahn. Three-and-a-half weeks later, on 27 July 1913, the northern extension to the S-bahn station (Schönhauser Allee

Schönhauser Allee (Berlin U-Bahn)

Berlin Schönhauser Allee is a railway station in the Prenzlauer Berg district of Berlin. It is located on the Berlin U-Bahn line and also on the Ringbahn ....

) on Nordring was also opened.

In a bid to secure its own improvement, Schöneberg also wanted a connection to Berlin. The elevated railway company did not believe such a line would be profitable, so the city took it upon itself to build the first local underground in Germany. Running as a subsurface railway from Hauptstraße, the 2.9 km (1.8 mi) line needed a second, underground station at its Nollendorfplatz

Nollendorfplatz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Nollendorfplatz is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the , the , the , and the . It opened in 1902 and today is the only station in Berlin that is served by four metro lines.-Overview:...

terminus, since the established station there was part of the elevated railway. The line took two years to construct; it was opened on 1 December 1910.

Just a few months earlier, work began on a fourth line to link Wilmersdorf in the south-west to the growing Berlin U-Bahn. Originally planned as a line from Wittenbergplatz

Wittenbergplatz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Wittenbergplatz is a Berlin U-Bahn station on the , the , and lines. The station is located in the northwestern corner of Schöneberg.-History:...

to Breitenbachplatz

Breitenbachplatz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Breitenbachplatz is a Berlin U-Bahn station located in the Dahlem district on the .It opened on October 12, 1913. At this occasion the station and the eponymous square were named after Minister of State Paul von Breitenbach....

, Wilmersdorf paid for the line to reach as far as Thielplatz

Thielplatz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Thielplatz is a Berlin U-Bahn station located in the Dahlem district on the .It was opened on October 12, 1913 and until 1929 was the southwestern terminus of the line. Across the street are the campus of the Free University and the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society. 1980 a second...

. As a concession to Charlottenburg for travelling through the city, the construction of a track from Wittenbergplatz, under the Kurfürstendamm

Kurfürstendamm

The Kurfürstendamm, known locally as the Ku'damm, is one of the most famous avenues in Berlin. The street takes its name from the former Kurfürsten of Brandenburg. This very broad, long boulevard can be considered the Champs-Élysées of Berlin — full of shops, houses, hotels and restaurants...

, to Uhlandstraße

Uhlandstraße (Berlin U-Bahn)

The underground station Uhlandstraße is the western terminus of U1 line, which is part of the Berlin U-Bahn network in Germany.The station opened on October 12, 1913 as the first section of a projected metro line connecting Wittenbergplatz with Berlin-Halensee railway station which was never built...

was also agreed upon. Both lines were opened on 12 October 1913; these were the last to open before the outbreak of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

—and the subsequent economic difficulties faced by Germany—that prevented any further additions to the Berlin U-Bahn for ten years.

Second construction phase: 1923–1930

The early network ran mostly east to west, connecting the richer areas in and around Berlin, as these routes had been deemed the most profitable. In order to open up the network to more of the workers of Berlin, the city wanted north-south lines to be established. Its wishes were strengthened when, in 1920, the surrounding areas were annexed in the formation of Groß-Berlin (Greater Berlin), removing the need for many negotiations, and giving the city much greater bargaining power over the private (elevated railway company). The city also mandated that new lines would use wider carriages—running on the same, standard-gauge track—to provide greater passenger capacity; these became known as the Großprofil (large profile) network.

Construction of the (North-South line)—to connect Wedding

Wedding (Berlin)

Wedding is a locality in the borough of Mitte, Berlin, Germany and was a separate borough in the north-western inner city until it was fused with Tiergarten and Mitte in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform...

in the north to Tempelhof

Tempelhof

Tempelhof is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg. It is the location of the former Tempelhof Airport, one of the earliest commercial airports in the world. It is now deserted and shows as a blank spot on maps of Berlin. Attempts are being made to save the still-existing...

and Neukölln

Neukölln

Neukölln is the eighth borough of Berlin, located in the southeastern part of the city and was part of the former American sector under the Four-Power occupation of the city...

in the south—had started in December 1912, but halted for the First World War

World War I

. Work resumed in 1919, although the money shortage caused by hyperinflation

Hyperinflation

In economics, hyperinflation is inflation that is very high or out of control. While the real values of the specific economic items generally stay the same in terms of relatively stable foreign currencies, in hyperinflationary conditions the general price level within a specific economy increases...

slowed progress considerably. On 30 January 1923, the first section—between Hallesches Tor

Hallesches Tor (Berlin U-Bahn)

The underground station Hallesches Tor is part of the Berlin U-Bahn network at the intersection of the east-west bound U1 and the north-south bound U6 in the Kreuzberg district.-Overview:...

and Stettiner Bahnhof (Naturkundemuseum)—opened, with the continuation to Seestraße

Seestraße (Berlin U-Bahn)

Seestraße is a station in the Wedding district of Berlin which serves the and is operated by the BVG. It lies at the busy intersection of Müllerstraße and Seestraße, which are two of Wedding's principal shopping streets and thoroughfares.-Overview:...

following two months later. Desperately underfunded, the new line had to use trains from the old Kleinprofil network; the carriages were widened to reach the platforms with wooden boards that passengers jokingly referred to as Blumenbretter (flower boards). The line branched at Belle-Alliance-Straße (Mehringdamm

Mehringdamm (Berlin U-Bahn)

Mehringdamm is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the and the .Opened in 1924 as Belle-Alliance Strasse it was built by Grenander and later renovated by Rümmler. In 1946 the station was renamed Franz-Mehring-Strasse, after the socialist politician. In 1947, the station received it's current name...

): the continuation south to Tempelhof

Tempelhof (Berlin U-Bahn)

Tempelhof is a railway station in the district of Berlin with the same name. It is served by the S-Bahn lines , , and and the U-Bahn line . The S-Bahn station is on an embankment at the junction of Tempelhofer Damm and Bundesautobahn 100, about 1 km south of the entrance to the former...

opened on 22 December 1929; the branch to Grenzallee

Grenzallee (Berlin U-Bahn)

Grenzallee is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the U7.Opened in 1930 and built by A.Grenander. It was the end of the north-south line until 1963. The next station is Blaschkoallee.- External links :* * * *...

, 21 December 1930.

In 1912, plans were approved for AEG to build its own north-south underground line. Named the after its termini, it would connect Gesundbrunnen and Neukölln, via Alexanderplatz. Financial difficulties stopped the construction in 1919; the liquidation of AEG-Schnellbahn-AG, and Berlin's commitment to the Nord-Süd-Bahn, prevented any further development until 1926. The first section opened on 17 July 1927 between Boddinstraße

Boddinstraße (Berlin U-Bahn)

Boddinstraße is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the .It was opened in 1927 . At that time trains could only go one station further to Schönleinstrasse. But 1928 the line was extended to Leinestrasse. Grey tiles on the walls and blue tiles on the columns are the main attributes of this station.-...

and Schönleinstraße

Schönleinstraße (Berlin U-Bahn)

Schönleinstraße is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the .Opened in 1928 and designed by Grenander it was shortly closed in 1945 and renamed in 1951 to Kottbusser Damm. In 1992 the station was named Schönleinstrasse again.-References:...

, with the intermediate Hermannplatz

Hermannplatz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Hermannplatz is a station in the Neukölln district of Berlin which serves as an interchange between the lines and . Operated by the BVG, it is one of the busiest stations on the Berlin U-Bahn system.-History:...

becoming the first station at which passengers could transfer between two different Großprofil lines. Sections to the north, which required the relocation of Kottbusser Tor

Kottbusser Tor (Berlin U-Bahn)

Kottbusser Tor is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the and . Many Berliners use the affectionate term Kotti.It is located in central Kreuzberg. The area has a bad reputation for the relatively high, mainly drug-related crime rate, instances of which have recently become quite rare in most other...

, opened in stages. The completed route—from Gesundbrunnen to Leinestraße

Leinestraße (Berlin U-Bahn)

Leinestraße is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the .The station was built by Alfred Grenander and A.Fehse in 1929. In the 30s the southern tunnel was elongated and it served as air raid protection....

—opened on 18 April 1930.

Before control of the U-Bahn network was handed over completely to the BVG in 1929, the Hochbahngesellschaft started construction on a final line that, in contrast to its previous lines, was built as part of the Großprofil network. The E line would run under Frankfurter Allee

Frankfurter Allee

The Frankfurter Allee is one of the oldest roads of Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It extends the Karl-Marx-Allee from Frankfurter Tor in the direction of the city of Frankfurt . It is part of Bundesstraße 1 and has a length of ....

, for which the company had received the concession in 1914, between Alexanderplatz and Friedrichsfelde

Friedrichsfelde (Berlin U-Bahn)

Friedrichsfelde is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the in the Friedrichsfelde district.It opened on 21 December 1930 as the terminus of Berlin's new eastern U-Bahn line from Alexanderplatz, then called Line E. Alfred Grenander designed its stations in a uniform style...

. The construction work proceeded easily and without much expense, and established the first workshop in the east of the city; the line opened on 21 December 1930. The 1920s also saw a few other short extensions to U-Bahn lines, bringing the total track length to 76 km (47.2 mi).

1931 Berlin U-Bahn routes
Kleinprofil network		Großprofil network
AI	Pankow (Vinetastraße) Vinetastraße (Berlin U-Bahn) Vinetastraße is a Berlin U-Bahn station in the Pankow district, located on the . Like the eponymous street, it is named after the legendary town of Vineta on the Baltic Sea. The station opened in 1930 and for decades was the northern terminus of the U2, until the line was extended to the Pankow... – Ruhleben Ruhleben (Berlin U-Bahn) Ruhleben is a Berlin U-Bahn station in the Westend district. It is the western terminus of the line.The elevated station designed by Alfred Grenander opened on December 22, 1929...	CI	Seestraße Seestraße (Berlin U-Bahn) Seestraße is a station in the Wedding district of Berlin which serves the and is operated by the BVG. It lies at the busy intersection of Müllerstraße and Seestraße, which are two of Wedding's principal shopping streets and thoroughfares.-Overview:... – Grenzallee Grenzallee (Berlin U-Bahn) Grenzallee is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the U7.Opened in 1930 and built by A.Grenander. It was the end of the north-south line until 1963. The next station is Blaschkoallee.- External links :* * * *...
AII	Pankow (Vinetastraße) Vinetastraße (Berlin U-Bahn) Vinetastraße is a Berlin U-Bahn station in the Pankow district, located on the . Like the eponymous street, it is named after the legendary town of Vineta on the Baltic Sea. The station opened in 1930 and for decades was the northern terminus of the U2, until the line was extended to the Pankow... – Krumme Lanke Krumme Lanke (Berlin U-Bahn) Krumme Lanke is a Berlin U-Bahn station on the . It is the line's southwestern terminus, located in the Zehlendorf district of Berlin.-Overview:The station, named after a nearby lake in the Grunewald forest, opened on December 22, 1929...	CII	Seestraße Seestraße (Berlin U-Bahn) Seestraße is a station in the Wedding district of Berlin which serves the and is operated by the BVG. It lies at the busy intersection of Müllerstraße and Seestraße, which are two of Wedding's principal shopping streets and thoroughfares.-Overview:... – Tempelhof Tempelhof (Berlin U-Bahn) Tempelhof is a railway station in the district of Berlin with the same name. It is served by the S-Bahn lines , , and and the U-Bahn line . The S-Bahn station is on an embankment at the junction of Tempelhofer Damm and Bundesautobahn 100, about 1 km south of the entrance to the former...
AIII	Städtische Oper Deutsche Oper (Berlin U-Bahn) Deutsche Oper is a station of the Berlin U-Bahn located in the Charlottenburg district on the line. It is named after the Deutsche Oper Berlin.-Overview:... – Wilhelmplatz Richard-Wagner-Platz (Berlin U-Bahn) Richard-Wagner-Platz is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the in the Charlottenburg district.The original station opened on May 14, 1906 under the name Wilhelmplatz, together with Deutsche Oper the first of several U-Bahn stations designed by Alfred Grenander...	D	Gesundbrunnen – Leinestraße Leinestraße (Berlin U-Bahn) Leinestraße is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the .The station was built by Alfred Grenander and A.Fehse in 1929. In the 30s the southern tunnel was elongated and it served as air raid protection....
BI	Warschauer Brücke – Hauptstraße	E	Alexanderplatz – Friedrichsfelde Friedrichsfelde (Berlin U-Bahn) Friedrichsfelde is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the in the Friedrichsfelde district.It opened on 21 December 1930 as the terminus of Berlin's new eastern U-Bahn line from Alexanderplatz, then called Line E. Alfred Grenander designed its stations in a uniform style...
BII	Warschauer Brücke – Uhlandstraße Uhlandstraße (Berlin U-Bahn) The underground station Uhlandstraße is the western terminus of U1 line, which is part of the Berlin U-Bahn network in Germany.The station opened on October 12, 1913 as the first section of a projected metro line connecting Wittenbergplatz with Berlin-Halensee railway station which was never built...

National Socialism and the Second World War: 1933–1945

The seizure of power by the National Socialists brought many changes that affected Germany, including the U-Bahn. Most notably, the national flag was hung in every station, and two of the stations were renamed: Reichskanzlerplatz

Theodor-Heuss-Platz (Berlin U-Bahn)

became Adolf-Hitler

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

-Platz on 24 April 1933; and Schönhauser Tor

Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the U2. It was formerly called Schönhauser Tor and is located at the foot of Schönhauser Allee, at the corner of Torstraße....

became Horst-Wessel

Horst Wessel

Horst Ludwig Wessel was a German Nazi activist who was made a posthumous hero of the Nazi movement following his violent death in 1930...

-Platz on 1 May 1934. Extensive plans—mostly the work of architect Albert Speer

Albert Speer

Albert Speer, born Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, was a German architect who was, for a part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office...

—were drawn up that included the construction of a circular line crossing the established U-Bahn lines, and new lines or extensions to many outlying districts. Despite such grand plans, no U-Bahn development occurred.

During the Second World War

World War II

, U-Bahn travel soared as car

Čar

Čar is a village in the municipality of Bujanovac, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the town has a population of 296 people.-References:...

use fell, and many of the underground stations were used as air-raid shelter

Air-raid shelter

Air-raid shelters, also known as bomb shelters, are structures for the protection of the civil population as well as military personnel against enemy attacks from the air...

s; however, Allied

Allies of World War II

The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...

bombs damaged or destroyed large parts of the U-Bahn system. Although the damage was usually repaired fairly quickly, the reconstructions became more difficult as the war went on. Eventually, on 25 April 1945, the whole system ground to a halt when the power station supplying the network failed. A week later, the network endured its worst disaster after the North-South S-Bahn tunnel was flooded on Hitler's orders to prevent its use by the Red Army. At Friedrichstraße

Berlin Friedrichstraße railway station

, the water poured into the underground tunnels, flooding 63 km (39.1 mi) of the U-Bahn. Countless individuals hiding in the underground shelters were drowned as a result.

East and West: 1945–1989

The war had damaged or destroyed much of the network; however, 69.5 km (43.2 mi) of track and 93 stations were in use by the end of 1945, and the reconstruction was completed in 1950. Nevertheless, the consequent division of Berlin into East

East Berlin

and West

West Berlin

sectors brought further changes to the U-Bahn. Although the network spanned all sectors, and residents had freedom of movement, West Berliners increasingly avoided the Soviet sector and, from 1953, loudspeakers on the trains gave warnings when approaching the border. Passage of East Germans into the Western sectors also became subject to restrictions imposed by their government.

Between 1953 and 1955, the 200-Kilometre-Plan was drawn up, detailing the future development of the U-Bahn, which would ultimately grow to 200 km (124.3 mi). Extending the C line to run from Tegel

Alt-Tegel (Berlin U-Bahn)

Alt-Tegel is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the .It was constructed by B. Grimmek and opened as "Tegel" station in 1958. In 1992, the station was renamed to Alt-Tegel...

to Alt-Mariendorf

Alt-Mariendorf (Berlin U-Bahn)

Alt-Mariendorf is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the line. It serves as the current southern terminus of the line. It was opened in 1966....

was considered the highest priority: the northern extension to Tegel was opened on 31 May 1958. In order to circumvent East Berlin, and provide rapid-transport connections to the densely poulated areas in Steglitz

Steglitz

Steglitz is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in the south-west of Berlin, the capital of Germany. The locality also includes the neighbourhood of Südende.-History:...

, Wedding

Wedding (Berlin)

, and Reinickendorf

Reinickendorf

Reinickendorf is the twelfth borough of Berlin. It encompasses the northwest of the city area, including the Berlin-Tegel Airport, Lake Tegel, spacious settlements of detached houses as well as housing estates like Märkisches Viertel.-Subdivision:...

, a third north–south line was needed. The first section of line G was built between Leopoldplatz

Leopoldplatz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Leopoldplatz is a Berlin U-Bahn station in the Wedding district which serves as an interchange between the lines and . It is operated by the BVG.-Overview:...

and Spichernstraße

Spichernstraße (Berlin U-Bahn)

Spichernstraße is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the and the in Wilmersdorf neighbourhood. The U3 portion opened on 2 June 1959, replacing the nearby Nürnberger Platz station, which was closed and demolished. The U9 portion, which lies deeper underground, opened on 28 August 1961 as the...

, with the intention of extending it at both ends. It had been planned to open the G line on 2 September 1961, but an earlier opening on 28 August was forced by the announcement of the construction of the Berlin Wall

Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...

.

The physical division of the city cut the A line in half, and shortened the B line by one stop, since the Warschauer Brücke terminal lay in East Berlin, which retained only the eastern half of the A line, and line E. West Berlin paid an annual fee of DM20 million to permit trains on the C and D lines to run through eastern territory, although the trains were not allowed to stop on their way: the former stops became (ghost stations), patrolled by armed East-German border guards. Only at Friedrichstraße

Berlin Friedrichstraße railway station

, a designated border crossing point, were passengers allowed to disembark. A further consequence of the Wall was that West Berliners, unwilling to help fund the Soviet-dominated state, boycotted the East-German-controlled S-Bahn

Berlin S-Bahn

, transferring instead to the U-Bahn. Curiously the S-Bahn was GDR controlled in eastern and western sectors of the city.

In West Berlin, housing developments in Britz

Britz

Britz is a German locality within the Berlin borough of Neukölln.-History:The village of Britzig was first mentioned in 1273. It was incorporated by the 1920 Greater Berlin Act...

and Rudow demanded an extension to the CI line. The Grenzallee

Grenzallee (Berlin U-Bahn)

to Britz-Süd

Britz-Süd (Berlin U-Bahn)

Britz-Süd is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the .It was opened in 1963 and constructed by W.Düttmann. Characteristics are the grey tiles on the walls. This station only has a southern entrance. The station is only 3,5m below the street. The next station is Johannisthaler Chaussee.- Notes :...

connection opened on 28 September 1963. Guidelines for underground development stipulated that all lines should be linear, with no branches. Thus the extension in the opposite direction from Mehringdamm

Mehringdamm (Berlin U-Bahn)

to Möckernbrücke

Möckernbrücke (Berlin U-Bahn)

Möckernbrücke is a station of the Berlin U-Bahn network in the western Kreuzberg district, named after a nearby bridge crossing the Landwehrkanal...

established a new line: H. "Line H" would never be used, however, as its opening on 28 February 1966 coincided with the redesignation of all lines in West Berlin. The new line was named U7, and the Tempelhof

Tempelhof (Berlin U-Bahn)

to Alt-Mariendorf

Alt-Mariendorf (Berlin U-Bahn)

Alt-Mariendorf is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the line. It serves as the current southern terminus of the line. It was opened in 1966....

section—opened the same day—completed the newly designated U6.

1966 U-Bahn line redesignations
Kleinprofil network				Großprofil network
BI	→	U1	Schlesisches Tor Schlesisches Tor (Berlin U-Bahn) Schlesisches Tor is a Berlin U-Bahn station on the line.-Overview:It is located in eastern Kreuzberg, near Oberbaumbrücke, in the Bohemian quarter commonly known as SO36... – Ruhleben Ruhleben (Berlin U-Bahn) Ruhleben is a Berlin U-Bahn station in the Westend district. It is the western terminus of the line.The elevated station designed by Alfred Grenander opened on December 22, 1929...	CII	→	U6	Tegel Alt-Tegel (Berlin U-Bahn) Alt-Tegel is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the .It was constructed by B. Grimmek and opened as "Tegel" station in 1958. In 1992, the station was renamed to Alt-Tegel... – Alt-Mariendorf Alt-Mariendorf (Berlin U-Bahn) Alt-Mariendorf is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the line. It serves as the current southern terminus of the line. It was opened in 1966....
AII	→	U2	Gleisdreieck Gleisdreieck (Berlin U-Bahn) Gleisdreieck is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on a viaduct on the and the lines in the Kreuzberg district. The station has platforms elevated above ground level for both lines... – Krumme Lanke Krumme Lanke (Berlin U-Bahn) Krumme Lanke is a Berlin U-Bahn station on the . It is the line's southwestern terminus, located in the Zehlendorf district of Berlin.-Overview:The station, named after a nearby lake in the Grunewald forest, opened on December 22, 1929...	CI	→	U7	Möckernbrücke Möckernbrücke (Berlin U-Bahn) Möckernbrücke is a station of the Berlin U-Bahn network in the western Kreuzberg district, named after a nearby bridge crossing the Landwehrkanal... – Britz-Süd Britz-Süd (Berlin U-Bahn) Britz-Süd is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the .It was opened in 1963 and constructed by W.Düttmann. Characteristics are the grey tiles on the walls. This station only has a southern entrance. The station is only 3,5m below the street. The next station is Johannisthaler Chaussee.- Notes :...
BIV	→	U3	Wittenbergplatz Wittenbergplatz (Berlin U-Bahn) Wittenbergplatz is a Berlin U-Bahn station on the , the , and lines. The station is located in the northwestern corner of Schöneberg.-History:... – Uhlandstraße Uhlandstraße (Berlin U-Bahn) The underground station Uhlandstraße is the western terminus of U1 line, which is part of the Berlin U-Bahn network in Germany.The station opened on October 12, 1913 as the first section of a projected metro line connecting Wittenbergplatz with Berlin-Halensee railway station which was never built...	D	→	U8	Gesundbrunnen – Leinestraße Leinestraße (Berlin U-Bahn) Leinestraße is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the .The station was built by Alfred Grenander and A.Fehse in 1929. In the 30s the southern tunnel was elongated and it served as air raid protection....
BIII	→	U4	Nollendorfplatz Nollendorfplatz (Berlin U-Bahn) Nollendorfplatz is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the , the , the , and the . It opened in 1902 and today is the only station in Berlin that is served by four metro lines.-Overview:... – Innsbrucker Platz	G	→	U9	Leopoldplatz Leopoldplatz (Berlin U-Bahn) Leopoldplatz is a Berlin U-Bahn station in the Wedding district which serves as an interchange between the lines and . It is operated by the BVG.-Overview:... – Spichernstraße Spichernstraße (Berlin U-Bahn) Spichernstraße is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the and the in Wilmersdorf neighbourhood. The U3 portion opened on 2 June 1959, replacing the nearby Nürnberger Platz station, which was closed and demolished. The U9 portion, which lies deeper underground, opened on 28 August 1961 as the...
AIII	→	U5	Deutsche Oper Deutsche Oper (Berlin U-Bahn) Deutsche Oper is a station of the Berlin U-Bahn located in the Charlottenburg district on the line. It is named after the Deutsche Oper Berlin.-Overview:... – Richard-Wagner-Platz Richard-Wagner-Platz (Berlin U-Bahn) Richard-Wagner-Platz is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the in the Charlottenburg district.The original station opened on May 14, 1906 under the name Wilhelmplatz, together with Deutsche Oper the first of several U-Bahn stations designed by Alfred Grenander...

Funds from the economically successful West-German

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

capital, Bonn

Bonn

Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....

, to West Berlin were plentiful, allowing major expansions to U-Bahn lines: the U9, from Rathaus Steglitz

Rathaus Steglitz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Berlin Rathaus Steglitz is a railway station on the Wannsee Railway in the district of Steglitz in Berlin, Germany. It is served by the Berlin S-Bahn, Berlin U-Bahn and numerous local bus lines....

to Osloer Straße

Osloer Straße (Berlin U-Bahn)

Osloer Straße is a Berlin U-Bahn station in the Gesundbrunnen district, located on the and . Like the eponymous street it is named after the City of Oslo....

was opened on 30 April 1976; the U7 was further extended in six sections until it reached Rathaus Spandau on 1 October 1984; and the U8 was extended north from Gesundbrunnen, through the newly built Osloer Straße, to Paracelsus-Bad

Paracelsus-Bad (Berlin U-Bahn)

Paracelsus-Bad is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the .Designed by R.G.Rümmler and opened in 1987 it was named after the philosopher Paracelsus and the nearby bath....

, which opened on 27 April 1987. In contrast, additions to the East Berlin lines were not so forthcoming. In the 1970s, the E line was extended east to Tierpark

Tierpark (Berlin U-Bahn)

Tierpark is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the . It is named after the Tierpark Berlin, one of the two zoological gardens in Berlin.The station opened in 1973 and was the eastern terminus of line U5 until 1988....

, opening on 25 June 1973. East Berliners had to wait 15 years for another extension—first to Elsterwerdaer Platz

Elsterwerdaer Platz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Elsterwerdaer Platz is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the . It is named after the town of Elsterwerda. The station opened in 1988 to serve the new development of Biesdorf and is near the village commons and the Biesdorf Center shopping mall . Until 1989, it was the eastern terminus of what is...

, then on to Hönow

Hönow (Berlin U-Bahn)

Hönow is a Berlin U-Bahn station and the eastern terminus of the line. It borders Hönow, a village of the Hoppegarten municipality in the state of Brandenburg....

by 1 July 1989, just a few months before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Reunification: 1989 onwards

On 9 November 1989, following months of unrest, the travel restrictions placed upon East Germans were lifted. Tens of thousands of East Berliners heard the statement live on television and flooded the border checkpoints, demanding entry into West Berlin. Jannowitzbrücke

Jannowitzbrücke (Berlin U-Bahn)

Berlin Jannowitzbrücke is a railway station in the Mitte district of Berlin. It is served by the S-Bahn lines , , , and and the U-Bahn line .-Overview:...

, a former ghost station, was reopened two days later as an additional crossing point. Other stations on the U8 soon followed suit; by 1 July 1990, all border controls were removed.

The newly renamed East Berlin U-Bahn lines—A became U2, E became U5—took more time to reconnect. The U2 between Wittenbergplatz

Wittenbergplatz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Wittenbergplatz is a Berlin U-Bahn station on the , the , and lines. The station is located in the northwestern corner of Schöneberg.-History:...

and Mohrenstraße

Mohrenstraße (Berlin U-Bahn)

Mohrenstraße is an underground railway station in the German capital city of Berlin. It is part of the Berlin U-Bahn and is located on the line in the district of Mitte.-Overview:...

required extensive work that included removing the M-Bahn

M-Bahn

The M-Bahn or Magnetbahn was an elevated Maglev train line operating in Berlin, Germany in 1991. The line was 1.6 km in length, and featured three stations, two of which were newly constructed...

, rebuilding stations, reopening a tunnel, and reclaiming Nollendorfplatz

Nollendorfplatz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Nollendorfplatz is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the , the , the , and the . It opened in 1902 and today is the only station in Berlin that is served by four metro lines.-Overview:...

and Bülowstraße

Bülowstraße (Berlin U-Bahn)

Bülowstraße is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the in the Schöneberg district. It opened in 1902 at the western branch of the Stammstrecke, Berlin's first U-Bahn line...

stations—which had been repurposed as a flea market, and a Turkish bazaar. The amalgamated line was finally reopened on 13 November 1993, leaving only one connection to reinstate: the U1/U15 line across the Oberbaumbrücke

Oberbaumbrücke

The Oberbaum Bridge is a double-deck bridge crossing Berlin's River Spree, considered one of the city landmarks. It links Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg, former boroughs that were divided by the Berlin Wall, and has become an important symbol of Berlin’s unity....

to Warschauer Straße. Though it would take another two years, the connection was eventually re-established, after 34 years of separation, on 14 October 1995.

In the decade following reunification, only three short extensions were made to U-Bahn lines. On the U8, a northern extension from Paracelsus-Bad to Wittenau

Wittenau (Berlin U-Bahn)

Berlin-Wittenau is a railway station in the Wittenau district of Berlin, Germany. It is served by the Berlin S-Bahn and numerous local buses...

opened on 24 September 1994 and, in the south, the Leinestraße to Hermannstraße

Hermannstraße (Berlin U-Bahn)

Berlin Hermannstraße is a railway station in the Neukölln district of Berlin. It is served by the S-Bahn lines , , , and and the U-Bahn line , of which it is the southern terminus...

section opened on 13 July 1996. The U2 was also extended: the Vinetastraße to Pankow

Pankow (Berlin U-Bahn)

Berlin-Pankow is a station on the Berlin–Szczecin railway, situated in Berlin's Pankow district. It is served by the S-Bahn lines , and and is the northern terminus of the U-Bahn line . But the next extension could terminate at Ossietzkyplatz.-Overview:...

connection opened on 16 September 2000.

In the 1990s some stations in the eastern portion of the city still sported bullet-riddled tiles at their entrances, a result of the fighting from WWII.

The latest line to open is U55 from Berlin Hauptbahnhof to Brandenburger Tor on 8 August 2009.

U-Bahn network

Routes

The U-Bahn currently consists of eleven lines, due to engineering work.

Route	Opened	Length	Stations
Uhlandstraße Uhlandstraße (Berlin U-Bahn) The underground station Uhlandstraße is the western terminus of U1 line, which is part of the Berlin U-Bahn network in Germany.The station opened on October 12, 1913 as the first section of a projected metro line connecting Wittenbergplatz with Berlin-Halensee railway station which was never built... – Wittenbergplatz Wittenbergplatz (Berlin U-Bahn) Wittenbergplatz is a Berlin U-Bahn station on the , the , and lines. The station is located in the northwestern corner of Schöneberg.-History:...	1902–1926	8.814 km (5.477 mi)	13
Warschauer Straße – Ruhleben Ruhleben (Berlin U-Bahn) Ruhleben is a Berlin U-Bahn station in the Westend district. It is the western terminus of the line.The elevated station designed by Alfred Grenander opened on December 22, 1929...	2011 (temporary designation)	20.716 km (12.872 mi)	29
Pankow Pankow (Berlin U-Bahn) Berlin-Pankow is a station on the Berlin–Szczecin railway, situated in Berlin's Pankow district. It is served by the S-Bahn lines , and and is the northern terminus of the U-Bahn line . But the next extension could terminate at Ossietzkyplatz.-Overview:... – Gleisdreieck Gleisdreieck (Berlin U-Bahn) Gleisdreieck is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on a viaduct on the and the lines in the Kreuzberg district. The station has platforms elevated above ground level for both lines...	1902–2000	20.716 km (12.872 mi)	29
Nollendorfplatz Nollendorfplatz (Berlin U-Bahn) Nollendorfplatz is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the , the , the , and the . It opened in 1902 and today is the only station in Berlin that is served by four metro lines.-Overview:... – Krumme Lanke Krumme Lanke (Berlin U-Bahn) Krumme Lanke is a Berlin U-Bahn station on the . It is the line's southwestern terminus, located in the Zehlendorf district of Berlin.-Overview:The station, named after a nearby lake in the Grunewald forest, opened on December 22, 1929...	1913–1929	11.94 km (7.419 mi)	15
Nollendorfplatz Nollendorfplatz (Berlin U-Bahn) Nollendorfplatz is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the , the , the , and the . It opened in 1902 and today is the only station in Berlin that is served by four metro lines.-Overview:... – Innsbrucker Platz Innsbrucker Platz Berlin Innsbrucker Platz is a railway station in the Schöneberg district of Berlin and located on the square of the same name. It is served by the S-Bahn lines , and and the U-Bahn line ....	1910	2.864 km (1.78 mi)	5
Alexanderplatz – Hönow Hönow (Berlin U-Bahn) Hönow is a Berlin U-Bahn station and the eastern terminus of the line. It borders Hönow, a village of the Hoppegarten municipality in the state of Brandenburg....	1930–1989	18.356 km (11.406 mi)	20
Berlin Hauptbahnhof Berlin Hauptbahnhof ' , is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. It began full operation two days after a ceremonial opening on 26 May 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof, and until it opened as a main line station, it was a stop on the Berlin S-Bahn suburban railway temporarily... – Brandenburger Tor	2009	1.47 km (0.913417922875216 mi)	3
Alt-Tegel Alt-Tegel (Berlin U-Bahn) Alt-Tegel is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the .It was constructed by B. Grimmek and opened as "Tegel" station in 1958. In 1992, the station was renamed to Alt-Tegel... – Alt-Mariendorf Alt-Mariendorf (Berlin U-Bahn) Alt-Mariendorf is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the line. It serves as the current southern terminus of the line. It was opened in 1966....	1923–1966	19.888 km (12.358 mi)	29
Rathaus Spandau – Rudow Rudow (Berlin U-Bahn) Rudow is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the . There is a bus link to Schönefeld Airport from here.Opened in 1972 by architect Rümmler it is the end station of the U7 line. Storage sidings for subway trains at the southern end measure about 350m. The next is Zwickauer Damm .- References :...	1924–1984	31.76 km (19.735 mi)	40
Wittenau Wittenau (Berlin U-Bahn) Berlin-Wittenau is a railway station in the Wittenau district of Berlin, Germany. It is served by the Berlin S-Bahn and numerous local buses... – Hermannstraße Hermannstraße (Berlin U-Bahn) Berlin Hermannstraße is a railway station in the Neukölln district of Berlin. It is served by the S-Bahn lines , , , and and the U-Bahn line , of which it is the southern terminus...	1927–1996	18.042 km (11.211 mi)	24
Rathaus Steglitz Rathaus Steglitz (Berlin U-Bahn) Berlin Rathaus Steglitz is a railway station on the Wannsee Railway in the district of Steglitz in Berlin, Germany. It is served by the Berlin S-Bahn, Berlin U-Bahn and numerous local bus lines.... – Osloer Straße Osloer Straße (Berlin U-Bahn) Osloer Straße is a Berlin U-Bahn station in the Gesundbrunnen district, located on the and . Like the eponymous street it is named after the City of Oslo....	1961–1976	12.523 km (7.781 mi)	18

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 was a shuttle between Deutsche Oper and Richard-Wagner-Platz. It was closed in 1970 for incorporation into an extension of line 7 which opened a few years later. The move freed line number 5, which the West Berlin BVG reserved 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

Berlin S-Bahn

which until then had been operated by East Germany's Deutsche Reichsbahn

Deutsche Reichsbahn of the GDR

The Deutsche Reichsbahn or DR was the operating name of state owned railways in the German Democratic Republic ....

. It incorporated the S-Bahn into its line numbering system by using the method of West German transport systems of 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 to enable trains to be reversed and to allow one-stop transfer to the U4).

Stations

Among Berlin's 173 U-Bahn stations there are many with especially striking architecture or unusual design characteristics:

Hermannplatz

Hermannplatz (Berlin U-Bahn)

station resembles something of a 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 U8. The architecturally important department store Karstadt

Karstädt

Karstädt is a municipality in the Prignitz district, in Brandenburg, Germany....

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

Alexanderplatz

Alexanderplatz is a large public square and transport hub in the central Mitte district of Berlin, near the Fernsehturm. Berliners often call it simply Alex, referring to a larger neighborhood stretching from Mollstraße in the northeast to Spandauer Straße and the City Hall in the southwest.-Early...

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

Alfred Grenander

Alfred Frederik Elias Grenander, , was one of the most prominent architects during the first building period of the Berlin U-Bahn in the first half of the twentieth century....

. 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

Wittenbergplatz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Wittenbergplatz is a Berlin U-Bahn station on the , the , and lines. The station is located in the northwestern corner of Schöneberg.-History:...

station is also very interesting. It opened in 1902 as a simple station with two side platforms, designed to plans created by Paul Wittig. The station was completely redesigned by Alfred Grenander

Alfred Grenander

Alfred Frederik Elias Grenander, , was one of the most prominent architects during the first building period of the Berlin U-Bahn in the first half of the twentieth century....

in 1912, with five platform faces, accommodating two new lines, one to Dahlem

Dahlem

Dahlem can refer to:*Dahlem , a district of Berlin, part of the borough Steglitz-Zehlendorf.*Dahlem, North Rhine-Westphalia, a municipality in western Germany.*Dahlem, Rhineland-Palatinate, a municipality in south-western Germany....

on today's (U3), and the other to Kurfürstendamm, today's Uhlandstraße (Berlin U-Bahn)

Uhlandstraße (Berlin U-Bahn)

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 during World War II, this time in a contemporary 1950s' style. This lasted until the early 1980s 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

Gleisdreieck (Berlin U-Bahn)

Gleisdreieck is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on a viaduct on the and the lines in the Kreuzberg district. The station has platforms elevated above ground level for both lines...

(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

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 ran 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

M-Bahn

The M-Bahn or Magnetbahn was an elevated Maglev train line operating in Berlin, Germany in 1991. The line was 1.6 km in length, and featured three stations, two of which were newly constructed...

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.

Tickets

Fares Overview, from BVG.de. Current Prices and Descriptions of all ride-pass fare types.

, Berlin public transit passes are available from many places, automated and non-automated, BVG, Bahn, and third-party authorized. The Ring-Bahn Line and the other S-Bahn

Berlin S-Bahn

lines are included, as are buses, Metro-Tram and Ferries: the single ride-pass is inclusive for all transportation considered part of the Berlin-Regional public transit system.

Ride-passes (tickets) are available in fare classes: Adult and Reduced. Children between the ages of six and 14, and large dogs, qualify for the reduced fare. Children below the age of six, and small dogs, travel free. There are no 'Senior Discounts'. Residents who have applied for and received a German Disability Identification card, showing 80% or more disability (ID's available from the Versorgungsamt, German Disability Office), can ride without a pass, including an additional person (as a helper). The disability identification card must be in the owner's possession.

Residents: With unemployment in the east averaging 15%, another common fare class in Berlin is the S(ozial)-Class. These identification cards are cleared through the normal government offices, then fulfilled at a BVG ride-pass non-automated location. Provided either the Job Center (Arbeitsamt) for the resident who is out-of-work, or for people who cannot work/partially disabled, by the Sozialamt, the S-Class ride-passes normally restrict travel to the AB zones, and must be renewed (a new pass purchased at a non-automated location) on the 1st of the month.

Additional passes are available for those which want to bring their bicycle on the public transit. As of this writing, 4.70€ is the price of a bicycle day-pass, this is additional to the normal ride-pass. A bicycle-pass is included in the Student-class ride-pass, which is provided through the Universities.

For small dogs, ones which can be carried in hand, there is no additional fare requirement. For each large dog, a Reduced fare ride-pass must be purchased. Tourist Ride-passes, All-day, group passes, and season passes include a dog-fare.

BVG ride-passes are issued for specific periods of time, and most require validation with a stamping machine before they are valid for use. The validation shows the date and time of the first use, and from where the ticket was validated (in code), and therefore when the ticket expires. For example, once validated, an All-Day Pass allows unlimited use, but then expires at 3AM the following day. Unlike most other metro systems, tickets in Berlin are not checked before entering Tram-Metros, U-Bahn or S-Bahn stations. They are checked by the bus drivers upon entering. On the Metro, S-Bahn and U-Bahn, there are random spot checks inside by plainclothes traffic officers who have the right to demand to see each passengers ticket. Passengers found without a ticket or an expired/invalid ticket are fined: 40 euro per incident. The passenger may be required to pay on the spot, and is required on the spot to give a valid address to mail the relevant fine notice to (it does not have to be in Germany). On the third incident, the BVG calls the offender to Court, as there is now a history of 'riding without paying'.

Fare zones

Berlin is a part of the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg

Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg

The Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg is a transport association run by public transport providers in the German states of Berlin and Brandenburg. It is a private limited company owned jointly by the states of Berlin and Brandenburg and the 18 counties and cities of Brandenburg with 1.85% each...

(Berlin-Brandenburg Transit Authority, VBB), which means ticketing and fare systems are unified with that of the surrounding Brandenburg

Brandenburg

Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...

. Berlin 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

Potsdam

Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....

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 the suburbs need ABC farezone tickets. If a ticket not valid for travel in a tariff zone is checked by a ticket inspector, the passenger is subject to a fine.

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.

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

Plastic

A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...

MetroCard as a yearly ticket that also has additional features. The Metrocard also permits passengers to make reservations for hire cars

Čar

Čar is a village in the municipality of Bujanovac, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the town has a population of 296 people.-References:...

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.

Tourist passes

The BVG offers tickets directed specifically for non-resident tourists of Berlin called the WelcomeCard and CityTourCard http://www.bvg.de/index.php/en/Bvg/Index/folder/710/name/For+Visitors. 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. See the Current Prices and Descriptions link for more information.

Underground facilities

A full GSM

Global System for Mobile Communications

GSM , is a standard set developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute to describe technologies for second generation digital cellular networks...

(GSM-900

GSM frequency ranges

GSM frequency bands or frequency ranges are the cellular frequencies designated by the ITU for the operation of GSM mobile phones.- GSM frequency bands :There are fourteen bands defined in 3GPP TS 45.005, which succeeded 3GPP TS 05.05:...

and GSM-1800

GSM frequency ranges

) 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

E-Plus

E-Plus is a mobile telecommunications operator in Germany. With 19.0 million subscribers, E-Plus is the third largest mobile operator in Germany, after T-Mobile and Vodafone ....

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 carriages on the U-Bahn feature small flat screen displays

Display device

A display device is an output device for presentation of information in visual or tactile form...

that feature news headlines from BZ, weekly weather forecasts, and ads for local businesses.

Most major interchange stations have large shopping concourses with banks, supermarkets, and fast food outlets.

Unused 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 used to re-number the branch to Krumme Lanke

Krumme Lanke (Berlin U-Bahn)

Krumme Lanke is a Berlin U-Bahn station on the . It is the line's southwestern terminus, located in the Zehlendorf district of Berlin.-Overview:The station, named after a nearby lake in the Grunewald forest, opened on December 22, 1929...

, which was previously part of "U1".

Line D, today's U8

U8 (Berlin U-Bahn)

U8 is a line on the Berlin U-Bahn. It has 24 stations and is 18.1 km long. The U8 is one of two north–south Berlin U-Bahn lines, and runs from Wittenau to Neukölln via Gesundbrunnen...

, was originally intended to run directly under Dresdner Straße via Oranienplatz to Kottbusser Tor

Kottbusser Tor (Berlin U-Bahn)

. This segment of tunnel was abandoned in favour of a slightly less direct route in order to provide the former Wertheim

Wertheim (department store)

Wertheim was a large department store chain in pre-WWII Germany. It was founded by Georg Wertheim and operated four stores in Berlin, one in Rostock, one in Stralsund , and one in Breslau....

department store

Department store

A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...

at Moritzplatz

Moritzplatz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Moritzplatz is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the .Peter Behrens constructed this unusual subway station in Berlin in 1928. It was closed shortly in 1945 and from 1961 it was last station in West Berlin from whom the train had to pass eastern territory until Gesundbrunnen.-Overview:It is...

with a direct connection. This involved the construction of a 90 degree curve of the line between Moritzplatz and Kottbusser Tor

Kottbusser Tor (Berlin U-Bahn)

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

Transformer

A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors—the transformer's coils. A varying current in the first or primary winding creates a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core and thus a varying magnetic field...

for an electricity supplier, from the never-completed Oranienplatz Station which is located partially under the square of the same name.

Stralauer Tor

Stralauer Tor (Berlin U-Bahn)

was a station on the eastern bank of the Spree

Spree

The Spree is a river that flows through the Saxony, Brandenburg and Berlin states of Germany, and in the Ústí nad Labem region of the Czech Republic...

between Warschauer Straße and Schlesisches Tor

Schlesisches Tor (Berlin U-Bahn)

Schlesisches Tor is a Berlin U-Bahn station on the line.-Overview:It is located in eastern Kreuzberg, near Oberbaumbrücke, in the Bohemian quarter commonly known as SO36...

stations. It was completely destroyed in World War II

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 its location was directly on the border between the Soviet and American sectors. Although a Berlin map dated 1946 does show the station renamed as Bersarinstraße after the Soviet General responsible for restoring civil administration of the city, this name was used later at another location.

Nürnberger Platz

Nürnberger Platz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Nürnberger Platz was a Berlin U-Bahn station on what is now the , located under the square of the same name in Wilmersdorf on the border with Charlottenburg...

station was closed on July 1, 1959. It was replaced by two new stations on either side, Augsburger Straße and 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

Schöneberg

Schöneberg is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg....

), is still in existence. The connection from Innsbrucker Platz station to the depot was severed when a deep level motorway underpass was constructed in the early 1970s; however, the continuation of the tunnel at Eisackstraße is still in existence for a distance of 270 metres and now ends at the former junction to the workshop of the Schöneberg line.

Platforms at five stations, Rathaus Steglitz

Rathaus Steglitz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Berlin Rathaus Steglitz is a railway station on the Wannsee Railway in the district of Steglitz in Berlin, Germany. It is served by the Berlin S-Bahn, Berlin U-Bahn and numerous local bus lines....

, Schloßstraße

Schloßstraße (Berlin U-Bahn)

Schloßstraße is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the .With its visible concrete walls partially covered by dark blue, orange and yellow plastic panels, this station is a brilliant example of the 1970s pop-art design....

, Walther-Schreiber-Platz

Walther-Schreiber-Platz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Walther-Schreiber-Platz is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the .-Overview:The station is located in Friedenau, close to the borders with Steglitz....

, Innsbrucker Platz, and Kleistpark

Kleistpark (Berlin U-Bahn)

Kleistpark is a Berlin U-Bahn station on the line. The station was designed by the architect Rümmler, opened in , and is located near the head office of the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe . The following station is Yorckstraße .-References:...

, were provided for the planned but never constructed U10. The U10 platform at Kleistpark has been converted into office space for the BVG. At Schloßstraße, U9 and U10 were planned to share two directional platforms at different levels; currently the would-be U10 tracks are abandoned, leaving both platforms used by U9 trains only. 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

Uhlandstraße (Berlin U-Bahn)

to Theodor-Heuss-Platz

Theodor-Heuss-Platz (Berlin U-Bahn)

. A short tunnel section was also constructed in front of the Internationales Congress Centrum (ICC), beneath the Messedamm/Neue Kantstraße 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 metres 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

Tegel

Tegel is a locality in the Berlin borough of Reinickendorf on the shore of Lake Tegel. The Tegel locality, the second largest in area of the 95 Berlin districts, also includes the neighbourhood of Saatwinkel.-History:...

airport is now used for firefighting exercises.

Future development

Berlin's chronic financial problems make any expansion not mandated by the Hauptstadtvertrag—the document that regulates the necessary changes to the city as the capital of Germany—unlikely. Furthermore, there is still great rivalry for construction money between the U-Bahn and the S-Bahn. After the construction boom that followed the reunification of the city, enthusiasm for further growth has cooled off; many people feel that Berlin's needs are adequately met by the present U- and S-Bahn. As of 2007, the only proposals receiving serious consideration aim to facilitate travel around the existing system, such as moving Warschauer Straße's U-Bahn station closer to its S-Bahn station.

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 segment between Uhlandstraße

Uhlandstraße (Berlin U-Bahn)

and Wittenbergplatz

Wittenbergplatz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Wittenbergplatz is a Berlin U-Bahn station on the , the , and lines. The station is located in the northwestern corner of Schöneberg.-History:...

might be built further along the Kurfürstendamm

Kurfürstendamm

to connect to the U7 at Adenauerplatz

Adenauerplatz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Adenauerplatz is a Berlin U-Bahn station on the line. It opened on April 28, 1978 with the line's extension to Richard-Wagner-Platz. The eponymous street is named after politician Konrad Adenauer....

; more ambitious plans call for this segment to be separated and expanded into its own line, running from Theodor-Heuss-Platz

Theodor-Heuss-Platz (Berlin U-Bahn)

on the U2

U2 (Berlin U-Bahn)

U2 is a line on the Berlin U-Bahn. The U2 line starts at the Pankow urban rail station, runs through the eastern city centre to Potsdamer Platz, the western city centre and finally to the Ruhleben terminal station.The U2 has 29 stations and a length of...

, through Potsdamer Platz and Alexanderplatz, before connecting with the S-Bahn

S-Bahn

S-Bahn refers to an often combined city center and suburban railway system metro in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark...

at Greifswalder Straße, and ending at Weißensee. This new line was tentatively designated the U3 until December 2004.

In summary, the plans for the Berlin U-Bahn are as follows:

Line	Projects
	The U1 U1 (Berlin U-Bahn) U1 is a line on the Berlin U-Bahn, which is 8.8 km long and has 13 stations. Its traditional line designation was BII. It runs east-west and its eastern end is immediately south of the route of the historical Schlesischen Bahn at the Warschauer Straße S-Bahn station and runs through... will be extended from its eastern terminus of Warschauer Straße to Frankfurter Tor Frankfurter Tor (Berlin U-Bahn) The Frankfurter Tor is a large square in the inner city Friedrichshain locality of Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It is situated in the centre of the district, at the intersection of Karl-Marx-Allee and Frankfurter Allee with the Warschauer Straße and Petersburger Straße ring road The... on the U5 U5 (Berlin U-Bahn) U5 is a line on the Berlin U-Bahn. It runs from Alexanderplatz in Mitte eastwards through Friedrichshain, Lichtenberg and Friedrichsfelde, surfaces in Biesdorf to pass Kaulsdorf and Hellersdorf above ground and finally reaches city limits at Hönow.... .
	Following the extension of the U2 U2 (Berlin U-Bahn) U2 is a line on the Berlin U-Bahn. The U2 line starts at the Pankow urban rail station, runs through the eastern city centre to Potsdamer Platz, the western city centre and finally to the Ruhleben terminal station.The U2 has 29 stations and a length of... to Pankow Pankow (Berlin U-Bahn) Berlin-Pankow is a station on the Berlin–Szczecin railway, situated in Berlin's Pankow district. It is served by the S-Bahn lines , and and is the northern terminus of the U-Bahn line . But the next extension could terminate at Ossietzkyplatz.-Overview:... in 2000, there are plans to continue on to Ossietzkyplatz. In the west, an extension is planned from Ruhleben Ruhleben The Ruhleben barracks is part of the German Naval establishment located in Plön, Holstein, Germany.From 1940 to 1945 it was home to the III U-Boat Training Division . On April 22, 1945 Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz moved the headquarters of the Naval High Command there... to the U7 terminus, Rathaus Spandau—which already has platforms for the U2.
	There are plans to eventually connect the U3 U3 (Berlin U-Bahn) U3 is a line on the Berlin U-Bahn created in its current version on 12 December 2004. The routing is the same as the previous U2 until 1993, only run from Krumme Lanke to Wittenbergplatz.... with the S1 S1 (Berlin) The S1 is a line on the Berlin S-Bahn. It operates over:the Prussian Northern Railway, opened on 10 July 1877 and electrified in 1925,a short section of the Berlin-Szczecin railway, opened on 1 August 1842 and electrified in 1924,... S-Bahn line at Mexikoplatz Berlin Mexikoplatz railway station Berlin Mexikoplatz is a railway station in the Zehlendorf district of Berlin, Germany. It is served by the Berlin S-Bahn line S1 and several local bus lines. Also ,U3 is planned here.... in the south-west. This is one of the most likely extensions if Berlin is ever able to solve its financial problems.
	An autobahn underpass makes a southern extension of the U4 U4 (Berlin U-Bahn) The U4 is a line of the Berlin U-Bahn, and the second shortest after the U55 with a length of . It serves five stations, with only the termini being step-free.-History:... unfeasible; however, a possible northern extension would reach Magdeburger Platz, where it would connect with the future line from Potsdamer Platz to the Kurfürstendamm.
	On 8 August 2009, the U55 U55 (Berlin U-Bahn) U55 is a U-Bahn line in the German capital city of Berlin. It connects the new Berlin Hauptbahnhof, or main railway station, to an interchange with the S-Bahn at Brandenburger Tor... opened, running from Berlin Hauptbahnhof Berlin Hauptbahnhof ' , is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. It began full operation two days after a ceremonial opening on 26 May 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof, and until it opened as a main line station, it was a stop on the Berlin S-Bahn suburban railway temporarily... to Brandenburger Tor - formerly known as Unter den Linden Unter den Linden Unter den Linden is a boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is named for its linden trees that line the grassed pedestrian mall between two carriageways.... . It is a provisional line; part of a long-planned extension of the U5 U5 (Berlin U-Bahn) U5 is a line on the Berlin U-Bahn. It runs from Alexanderplatz in Mitte eastwards through Friedrichshain, Lichtenberg and Friedrichsfelde, surfaces in Biesdorf to pass Kaulsdorf and Hellersdorf above ground and finally reaches city limits at Hönow.... from Alexanderplatz to the new central station. Its construction is mandated by the Hauptstadtvertrag, requiring all construction mentioned in it to be completed by 2020. The BVG expects 100,000 passengers to use the U5 extension daily. The U5 extension—known as the Kanzlerlinie (chancellor's line), as it will run through the government quarter—is planned to go through Berliner Rathaus, along Unter den Linden Unter den Linden Unter den Linden is a boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is named for its linden trees that line the grassed pedestrian mall between two carriageways.... and the Pariser Platz, terminating at Berlin Hauptbahnhof Berlin Hauptbahnhof ' , is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. It began full operation two days after a ceremonial opening on 26 May 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof, and until it opened as a main line station, it was a stop on the Berlin S-Bahn suburban railway temporarily... . Plans to extend the U5 to Turmstraße Turmstraße (Berlin U-Bahn) Turmstraße is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the . The station is located in fare zone A.It was opened in 1961 and designed by B.Grimmek. An extra track was build which is now used for technical purposes.-References:... on the U9 U9 (Berlin U-Bahn) U9 is a line on the Berlin U-Bahn. The line was opened on 28 August 1961 as Line G.-References:... , and to Jungfernheide on the U7 are considered urgent by the city government, but the extension is unlikely unless Tegel Airport is also expanded.
	This line is currently considered as completed.
	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 passenger numbers did not justify the expense. Plans see the U7 running in the north-west to Staaken.
	The U8 U8 (Berlin U-Bahn) U8 is a line on the Berlin U-Bahn. It has 24 stations and is 18.1 km long. The U8 is one of two north–south Berlin U-Bahn lines, and runs from Wittenau to Neukölln via Gesundbrunnen... was extended in 1996 as far as Hermannstraße Hermannstraße (Berlin U-Bahn) Berlin Hermannstraße is a railway station in the Neukölln district of Berlin. It is served by the S-Bahn lines , , , and and the U-Bahn line , of which it is the southern terminus... ; further extensions to the south are not planned. In the north, extending to the crowded Märkisches Viertel has long been planned: construction of the station underneath the sports centre on the Senftenberger Ring has already been started. In addition, a station between Rathaus Reinickendorf and Wittenau has been structurally prepared. Named Alt-Wittenau, this station can be completed, should the need arise.
	Local residents have been waiting for an extension of the U9 U9 (Berlin U-Bahn) U9 is a line on the Berlin U-Bahn. The line was opened on 28 August 1961 as Line G.-References:... to 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 Berlin Straßenbahn The Berlin tram network 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 , which was founded in 1929. It is notable for being one of the largest tram systems; there are 22 tram lines operate across a... line.

Trains

The Berlin U-Bahn uses 750-Volt DC

Direct current

Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...

electric trains that run on standard gauge

Standard gauge

The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

(1435 mm) tracks. The first trains were based on tram

Tram

A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

s; they have a width of 2.3 m (7.5 ft), and take their power from an upward facing third rail

Third rail

A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost...

. To accommodate greater passenger numbers without lengthening the trains—which would require costly extended platforms—trains that ran on lines built after World War I

World War I

were required to be wider. The original trains and lines, which continued to operate, were designated Kleinprofil (small profile), and the newer, wider trains and lines were designated Großprofil (large profile). Großprofil trains are 2.65 m (8.7 ft) wide, and take their power from a downward facing third rail

Third rail

.

Although the two profiles are generally incompatible, Kleinprofil trains have been modified to run on Großprofil lines during two periods of economic difficulty. Between 1923 and 1927 on the Nord-Süd-Bahn, and between 1961 and 1978 on the E line, adapted Kleinprofil trains were used to compensate for the lack of new Großprofil trains: they were widened with wooden boards to reach the platforms; and had their power pickups adapted to accept power from the negatively-charged downward-facing third rail, instead of positively-charged upward-facing third rail.

As of 2007, Kleinprofil trains run on the U1, U2, U3, and U4 lines; and Großprofil trains operate on the U5, U55, U6, U7, U8, and U9 routes.

Kleinprofil (small profile)

Kleinprofil trains are 2.3 m (7.5 ft) wide, and 3.1 m (10.2 ft) high. When the U-Bahn opened in 1902, forty-two multiple unit

Multiple unit

The term multiple unit or MU is used to describe a self-propelled carriages capable of coupling with other units of the same or similar type and still being controlled from one driving cab. The term is commonly used to denote passenger trainsets consisting of more than one carriage...

s, and twenty-one railroad car

Railroad car

A railroad car or railway vehicle , also known as a bogie in Indian English, is a vehicle on a rail transport system that is used for the carrying of cargo or passengers. Cars can be coupled together into a train and hauled by one or more locomotives...

s, with a top speed of 50 kilometre per hour, had been built at the Warschauer Brücke workshop. In contrast to the earlier test vehicles, seating was placed along the walls, facing inward, which was considered more comfortable. Until 1927, U-Bahn trains had smoking compartments and third-class carriages. The trains were first updated in 1928; A-II carriages were distinguished by only having three windows, and two sliding doors.

After the division of the city, West Berlin upgraded its U-Bahn trains more rapidly than did East Berlin. The A3 type, introduced in 1960, was modelled on the Großprofil D type, and received regular modifications every few years. Meanwhile, A-I and A-II trains operated exclusively in East Berlin until 1975, when G-I trains, which had a top speed of 70 kilometre per hour, started to travel the Thälmannplatz–Pankow route. These were superseded in 1988 by the G-I/1 type, which used couplings that were incompatible with the older G-I carriages.

Following reunification, the A3 type was again upgraded as the A3L92, the first Kleinprofil type to use AC induction motors. In 2000, prototypes for a Kleinprofil variant of the H series were built; the HK differs from its Großprofil counterpart by not being fully interconnected—carriages are only interconnected within each of the two half-trains.

As of 2005, only trains of the HK, G-I/1 and A3(U/L) types are in active service.

Kleinprofil train types
1901–1945		West Berlin 1945–1990		East Berlin 1945–1990		1990—
1901–1904	A-I	1960–1961	A3-60	1974	G	1993–1995	A3L92
1906–1913		1964	A3-64	1978–1983	G-I	2000—	HK
1924–1926		1966	A3-66	1983	G-II
1928–1929	A-II	1966	A3L66	1986–1989	G-I/1
		1967–1968	A3L67
		1972–1973	A3L71
		1982–1983	A3L82

Großprofil (large profile)

Großprofil trains are 2.65 m (8.7 ft) wide, and 3.4 m (11.2 ft) high. The first sixteen multiple units and eight ordinary carriages entered active service on the Nord-Süd-Bahn in 1924, after a year of using modified Kleinprofil trains. Designated B-I, the cars were 13.15 m (43.1 ft) long and each had three sliding doors; the large elliptical windows at the front of the train earned them the nickname, Tunneleulen (tunnel owls). Upgraded B-II trains were introduced in 1927, and continued to be used until 1969. The first 18-metre-long (59 ft) C-I trains were trialled in 1926, and two upgrades were produced before the end of the decade. The first U-Bahn trains to use aluminium in their construction, the C-IV types, were introduced in 1930. Many C-type trains were seized by Soviet forces in 1945, to be used in the Moscow Metro

Moscow Metro

The Moscow Metro is a rapid transit system serving Moscow and the neighbouring town of Krasnogorsk. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union. As of 2011, the Moscow Metro has 182 stations and its route length is . The system is...

.

The first D-type trains, manufactured in 1957, were built from steel, making them very heavy and less efficient; however, the DL type that followed from 1965 used metals that were less dense, allowing a 26% reduction in weight. In East Berlin, D-type trains bought from the BVG were designated D-I. Difficulties there in trying to develop an E series of trains led, in 1962, to the conversion of S-Bahn type 168 trains for use on the E line. These E-III trains were desperately needed at the time to allow modified Kleinprofil trains to return to the increasingly busy A line but, following reunification, high running costs led to their retirement in 1994.

In West Berlin, the successor to the D-type was the F-type, which debuted in 1973. They varied from other models in having seats that were perpendicular to the sides of the train; from 1980, they also became the first U-Bahn trains to use three-phase electricity. In 1995, the original seating arrangement returned as the H series took up service. H-type trains are characterised by the interconnection of carriages throughout the length of the train; and they can only be removed from the tracks at main service depots.

As of 2005, only F and H-type trains are in active service.

Großprofil train types
1901–1945		West Berlin 1945–1990		East Berlin 1945–1990		1990—
1923–1927	A-IK	1955–1965	D	1956–1957	E-I	1990–1991	F90
1945–1968	A-IK	1965–1966	DL65	1962–1990	E-III	1992–1993	F92
1924–1928	B-I	1968–1970	DL68			1994–1995	H95
1926–1927	C-I	1970–1973	DL70			1998–1999	H98
1927–1929	B-II	1973–1975	F74			2000–2002	H01
1929	C-II	1976–1978	F76
1930	C-III	1979–1981	F79
1930–1931	C-IV	1984–1985	F84
		1987–1988	F87

Depots

Depots of the Berlin U-Bahn fall into one of two classes: main workshops ; and service workshops . The main workshops are the only places where trains can be lifted from the tracks; they are used for the full inspections required every few years, and for any major work on trains. The service workshops only handle minor repairs and maintenance, such as replacing windows, or removing graffiti

Graffiti

Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....

.

As of 2005, the only dedicated Kleinprofil depot is at Grunewald (Hw Gru/Bw Gru), which opened on 21 January 1913. The first Großprofil depot opened at Seestraße (Hw See/Bw See) in 1923, to service the Nord-Süd-Bahn. It has 17 tracks—2 for the main workshop, and 15 for the service workshop—but its inner-city location prevents any further expansion. Due to BVG budget cuts, the Seestraße depot also services Kleinprofil trains. Two further Großprofil service workshops are located at Friedrichsfelde (Bw Fri), and Britz-Süd (Bw Britz).

In the past, there were other workshops. The first opened in 1901 at Warschauer Brücke, and was the construction site for most of the early U-Bahn trains. The division of the U-Bahn network on 13 August 1961 forced its closure, although it was reopened in 1995 as a storage depot. A small depot operated at Krumme Lanke between 22 December 1929 and 1 May 1968; and, while the network was split, East Berlin's U-Bahn used the S-Bahn depot at Schöneweide, along with a small service workshop at Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, which was closed following reunification.

Accidents

The Berlin ranks among the safest modes of transport: its history features few accidents.

The most severe accident occurred at the original (rail triangle), where the main and branch lines were connected by switches that allowed the tracks to cross. On 26 September 1908, a train driver missed a stop signal. As a result, two trains collided at the junction, and one fell off the viaduct. The accident killed eighteen people, and severely injured another twenty-one. 's triangular layout had already been deemed unsuitable for future developments; this incident—and a later, less-serious one—triggered its reconstruction as a multi-level station, starting in 1912.

On 30 June 1965, a train with brake failure stopped on the G line—today's U9—between and . Unaware of the faulty train, a mechanic working at the signal tower noticed that the leaving signal had been set to 'Stop' for a long time. Thinking it should be set to 'Go', after several attempts, he manually changed the signal, in defiance of regulations that strictly prohibited such actions. The following train, which had been waiting at , then left the station on the same track. With emergency brakes unable to prevent the accident, the two trains collided. One passenger was killed in the crash, and 97 were injured. The mechanic was fined 600,000 DM.

Fires can be particularly dangerous and damaging within an underground system. In October 1972, two trains and a 200 m length of tunnel were completely destroyed when the trains caught fire; the reconstructed tunnel is clearly differentiated from the old one. Another train burned out in the connecting tunnel between Klosterstraße and Alexanderplatz in 1987. On 8 July 2000, the last car of a GI/I train suffered a short circuit, burning out at the rear of the Deutsche Oper station

Deutsche Oper (Berlin U-Bahn)

Deutsche Oper is a station of the Berlin U-Bahn located in the Charlottenburg district on the line. It is named after the Deutsche Oper Berlin.-Overview:...

. The single exit of the station was unreachable, forcing the passengers to run through the tunnel to reach the next emergency exit. The fire also damaged the station, which remained closed until September. The Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

Ambassador, João Diogo Nunes Barata, presented the BVG with (tiled paintings), specially designed for the station, by the artist José de Guimarães. Installation of Portugal's gift to the city was completed on 30 October 2002.

As a consequence of the Deutsche Oper incident, BVG decided to post an employee at every station with only one exit until a second exit could be built. Over the following few years, many of those stations—including Britz-Süd, Schillingstraße, Viktoria-Luise-Platz, Uhlandstraße, and Theo. Heuss Platz—were refitted with additional exits. By June 2008, the only remaining stations with no second exit, Konstanzer Straße and Rudow, had been fitted with second exits. Despite these changes, several passenger organisations—such as Pro Bahn, and IGEB—demand that stations with exits in the middle of the platform are also fitted with additional emergency exits. Many stations are built this way; meeting those demands would place a heavy financial burden on both the BVG and the city.

The U6 saw a particularly costly, though casualty-free, incident on 25 March 2003. Scheduled repair work on the line limited the normal service to between Alt-Mariendorf and Kurt-Schumacher-Platz

Kurt-Schumacher-Platz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Kurt-Schumacher-Platz is a station on the line of the Berlin U-Bahn. There is a bus link outside the station connecting Berlin's Tegel International Airport to the U-Bahn network. The station was opened on May 3, 1956 and named after famous German politician Kurt Schumacher.The station was built...

; one train then shuttled back and forth between Kurt-Schumacher-Platz and Holzhauser Straße, sharing a platform at Kurt-Schumacher-Platz with the normal-service trains departing for their return journey to Alt-Mariendorf. Needing to pass several stop signals on the shuttle service, the driver had been given special instructions how to proceed. Unfortunately, he ignored the signal at the entry to Kurt-Schumacher-Platz, and ploughed into the side of a train heading back to Alt-Mariendorf. The impact wrecked both trains, and caused considerable damage to the tracks. Normal service did not resume for two days, and the removal of the two wrecked trains—which, surprisingly, could still roll along the tracks—also took nearly 48 hours.

Films, music and merchandising

The Berlin U-Bahn has appeared in numerous film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

s and music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

s. Offering access to stations, tunnels, and trains, the BVG cooperates with film-makers, although a permit is required.

Whether set in Berlin or elsewhere, the U-Bahn has had at least a minor role in a large number of movies and television programmes, including Emil und die Detektive (2001), Otto – Der Film
Otto – Der Film
Otto – Der Film is a German comedy film from 1985, starring Otto Waalkes. With 14.5 million sold tickets it was the most successful German movie until it was succeeded by Der Schuh des Manitu.-Plot:...

(1985), Peng! Du bist tot (1987) featuring Ingolf Lück

Ingolf Lück

Ingolf Lück is a German actor, comedian and television host.He hosted several sketch comedy shows from which the most known is Die Wochenshow, aired on Sat.1 between 1996 and 2002.Lück had a little role in Das Boot....

, Run Lola Run
Run Lola Run
Run Lola Run is a 1998 German crime thriller film written and directed by Tom Tykwer and starring Franka Potente as Lola and Moritz Bleibtreu as Manni. The story follows a woman who needs to obtain 100,000 German marks in 20 minutes to save her boyfriend's life...

(1998), and several Tatort

Tatort

Tatort is a long-running German/Austrian/Swiss , crime television series set in various parts of these countries. The show is broadcast on the channels of ARD in Germany, ORF 2 in Austria and SF1 in Switzerland...

episodes. The previously unused Reichstag station was used to shoot scenes of the movies Resident Evil
Resident Evil (film)
Resident Evil is a British-German 2002 horror film written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. The film stars Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Eric Mabius, and James Purefoy...

and Equilibrium
Equilibrium (film)
Equilibrium is a 2002 American science fiction action film written and directed by Kurt Wimmer. It stars Christian Bale as John Preston, a warrior-priest and enforcement officer in a future dystopia where both feelings and artistic expression are outlawed and citizens take daily injections of drugs...

.

Möbius 17, by Frank Esher Lämmer and Jo Preussler from Berlin, tells the story of an U-Bahn train that, caught in a Möbius strip

Möbius strip

The Möbius strip or Möbius band is a surface with only one side and only one boundary component. The Möbius strip has the mathematical property of being non-orientable. It can be realized as a ruled surface...

, travels through alternate universe

Parallel universe (fiction)

A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...

s after a new line is built. Alexanderplatz station plays an essential role in Berlin Alexanderplatz
Berlin Alexanderplatz (television)
Berlin Alexanderplatz, originally broadcast in 1980, is a 14-part television film adapted and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder from the Alfred Döblin novel of the same name, and stars Günter Lamprecht, Hanna Schygulla, Barbara Sukowa, Elisabeth Trissenaar and Gottfried John...

— a film of thirteen hour-long chapters and one epilogue — produced in 1980 by Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Rainer Werner Maria Fassbinder was a German movie director, screenwriter and actor. He is considered one of the most important representatives of the New German Cinema.He maintained a frenetic pace in film-making...

, based on the book by Döblin

Berlin Alexanderplatz

Berlin Alexanderplatz is a novel by Alfred Döblin, published in 1929. The story concerns a small-time criminal, Franz Biberkopf, fresh from prison, who is drawn into the underworld. When his criminal mentor murders the prostitute whom Biberkopf has been relying on as an anchor, he realizes that...

. The film's scenes feature a recreation of the station as it was in 1928—rather darker and dirtier than in the 21st century. In the surrealistic two-hour epilogue, Fassbinder transforms parts of the station into a slaughterhouse where people are killed and dissected.

Since 2001, the Berlin U-bahn has hosted the annual short-film festival Going Underground. Short films (up to 90 seconds long) are shown on the monitors found in many of the U-Bahn trains. Passengers on board vote for the festival winner.

Sandy Mölling

Sandy Mölling

Sandy Mölling , known professionally as Sandy, is a German singer-songwriter, dancer, television presenter and occasional actress, who rose to fame as one of the founding members of the successful all-female pop band No Angels, the "biggest-selling German girlband to date," according to the German...

, former singer of the pop band No Angels

No Angels

The No Angels are an all-female pop trio from Germany, consisting of band members Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, and Jessica Wahls. Critically acclaimed, the band has won dozen of awards and prizes since their establishment in the early 2000s, including three ECHOs, a World Music Awards, a NRJ...

, shot the video for her single "Unnatural Blonde" in the U-Bahn station Deutsche Oper. Kate Ryan

Kate Ryan

Kate Ryan is a Belgian World Music Award winner. She began her singing career in 2001 and later found fame with a string of dance hits. These included covers, mostly of Mylène Farmer and France Gall, such as "Désenchantée", "Libertine" and "Ella, elle l'a" as well as new material...

, Overground

Overground

Overground, a boy group from Germany, was the result of the third season of the international television sensation Popstars - Das Duell, a precursor to the Idol shows.- Formation :...

, Böhse Onkelz

Böhse Onkelz

The Böhse Onkelz were a German rock group that existed from 1980 to 2005. Although being ignored by the mass media for their controversial past, since Viva los tioz in 1998 almost every album reached number one on the German album charts. According to record certifications and additional sources...

, Xavier Naidoo

Xavier Naidoo

Xavier Kurt Naidoo is a German singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actor. Born and raised in Mannheim, Naidoo worked in several jobs in the gastronomy and the musical industry before relocating to the United States in the early 1990s, where he released his first full-length English...

, Die Fantastischen Vier

Die Fantastischen Vier

Die Fantastischen Vier , also known as Fanta 4, is a German hip hop group from Stuttgart, Germany. The members are Michael Bernd Schmidt alias Smudo, Andreas Rieke alias And.Ypsilon, Thomas Dürr alias Hausmeister Thomas D and Michael 'Michi' Beck alias Dee Jot Hausmarke...

, and the DJ duo Blank & Jones

Blank & Jones

Blank & Jones is a Cologne, Germany based Trance duo, consisting of the members Jan Pieter Blank , known as Piet Blank; René Runge , better known as DJ Jaspa Jones; and the producer Andy Kaufhold...

have all used the U-Bahn and its stations for their videos as well.

"Linie 1", a musical performed by Berlin's Grips-Theater

Grips-Theater

The Grips-Theater in Berlin, Germany is a well-known and well-respected theater for children and youth located at the Hansaplatz. There originated the popular "Linie 1" musical, the title referring to a subway line running through Berlin.-External links:...

, is set completely in stations and trains of the Berlin U-Bahn; a movie version has also been produced.

In 2002, the BVG cooperated with design students in a project to create underwear with an U-Bahn theme, which, in English, they named "Underwear". They used the names of real stations that, in the context of underwear, appeared to be mild sexual double entendre

Double entendre

A double entendre or adianoeta is a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué or ironic....

s: men's underpants bore labels with Rohrdamm (pipe dam), Onkel Toms Hütte (Uncle Tom's Cabin), and Krumme Lanke (crooked lake); the women's had Gleisdreieck (triangle track), and Jungfernheide (virgin heath). After the first series sold out quickly, several others were commissioned, such as Nothammer (emergency hammer

Emergency hammer

An emergency hammer is a safety device used in vehicles to break through window glass in an emergency.It is a simple tool with a plastic handles and steel tip. Its primary use is for breaking through vehicle windows, which are often tempered, in the event of a crash which prevents exit through the...

), and Pendelverkehr (shuttle service; though Verkehr also means "intercourse" and Pendel also means "pendulum"). They were withdrawn from sale in 2004.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

Initial construction: 1896–1913

Second construction phase: 1923–1930

National Socialism and the Second World War: 1933–1945

East and West: 1945–1989

Reunification: 1989 onwards

U-Bahn network

Routes

Stations

Tickets

Underground facilities

Unused stations and tunnels

Future development

Trains

Kleinprofil (small profile)

Großprofil (large profile)

Depots

Accidents

Films, music and merchandising

See also

External links