Cologne Stadtbahn
Encyclopedia
The Cologne Stadtbahn is a light rail
system in the German
city of Cologne
, including several surrounding cities (Bergisch-Gladbach, Bonn
, Bornheim
, Brühl
, Frechen
, Hürth
, Leverkusen
-Schlebusch, Wesseling
). The term Stadtbahn
denotes a system that encompasses elements of streetcars as well as subways
(U-Bahn) and interurban
rail, even including three lines that are licensed as heavy rail and used by freight train
s as well as Stadtbahn vehicles. Two of these lines connect the Cologne Stadtbahn to the Bonn Stadtbahn
. These lines (16 and 18) are jointly operated by both cities' transport authorities, resulting in both systems and the lines connecting them sometimes collectively referred to as Stadtbahn Rhein-Sieg. The Cologne Stadtbahn is operated by the Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe (KVB) and the Bonn Stadtbahn is operated by the Stadtwerke Bonn (SWB - City of Bonn Utilities Division). The KVB and SWB are members of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg
(VRS - Rhein-Sieg Transit Authority, formed in 1987 to consolidate the transit authorities in the metropolitan Cologne area and operate a joint fare structure). There are 34 underground stations.
lines that operated in Cologne since 1877. Within a few years, several companies had built an extensive network. Because none of these companies showed interest in electrifying their lines, the city of Cologne bought these companies effective 1 January 1900. Electric streetcars were introduced and additional lines built until 1912, including Vorortbahnen to surrounding villages outside the city limits. Outside the city center, these lines had separated right-of-way and were more similar to "real" railroads than to trams.
During World War II
, Cologne suffered heavy damage. The city center was almost completely destroyed and the tram lines with it. After the war, there were only a few of the existing lines rebuilt in the downtown area, while at the same time automobile traffic increased heavily. To improve the situation, construction of the first tunnel began in 1963. When the tunnel was opened in November 1968, it was integrated into the tram network, instead of a separate subway operation. Since then, existing tram lines were gradually replaced with tunnels, some elevated track and surface lines with separated right of way. From 1973 until 2006 there have been light rail vehicles operating together with classic tram car on the same lines.
Underground construction in the downtown Cologne area is often obstructed by the fact that archeologists in Cologne, one of Germany
's oldest cities, have legal rights to dig in all future building sites within the medieval city limits before all heavy construction machinery.
On weekdays, all lines are served in 5 to 10-minute intervals from 6 am to 8 pm, with little or no service between around 1 am and about 4.30 am, and usually 15-minute intervals in the early night and early morning. On weekends, there is an hourly service throughout the night. Because several lines overlap on the routes through the city center, some stations are served by up to 30 trains per hour in each direction.
In 2007, the 8 line, which previously operated during peak hours, stopped service. All its runs were integrated into the schedules of the lines 7 and 9.
road, while high-floor lines would use the tunnel under the Central station.
This change was implemented in December 2003, after the high platforms at the Hansaring station were removed. In 2006, the tracks of the Chorweiler
station were raised with additional gravel. Since then, all "Ringe" lines are operated with low-floor vehicles. In 2007, the line 6, which had only operated during peak hours, was replaced by additional trains of line 15.
Lines 3 and 4, since the construction of temporary platforms at the Severinstraße station while the actual station gets modernized and connected to the North-Southern tunnel, are Cologne's first HF lines completely equipped with level entrance. The western branch of line 5 still has one station (Liebigstraße) without any platform at all, requiring passengers to climb into the trains from street level. Except a few stops, all of it's stations were made high-floor when the line was extended into the Butweilerhof industrial area.
Line 13 is also referred to as the "beltway" (Gürtel) line, because it is the only line that does not touch the city center. Most of the line runs along a series of roads of the same name. The northern part of the 13 is built as an elevated railway. High-floor platforms are still very rare on this line.
Lines 16 and 18 are the longest lines in the network, connecting Cologne to Bonn
via railway lines.
) were added to the existing Line 5. Construction of the extension costed about , with 5 million euros being financed through the companies which will benefit from the extension. The remaining 13 million euros were financed by the KVB Köln (Cologne Transit Authority).
The extension begins near the former terminus Ossendorf, which has been removed, crosses the tracks of the HGK, along the southern edge of the Hugo-Eckener-Strasse with the 1st station (Alter Flughafen Butzweilerhof) being placed at the corner of Hugo-Eckener-Strasse and Köhlstrasse; then along a newly constructed street which continues in an easternly direction from Köhlstraße. Traveling along the newly-built IKEA am Butzweilerhof retail center (location of the 2nd station), the track crosses another newly constructed street which emerges from the lengthed Richard-Byrd-Straße. The extension ends at the intersection of Richard-Byrd-Straße and Von-Hünefeld-Straße.
The extension opened on December 12, 2010.
collapsed into a Stadtbahn's tunnel under construction on the Severinstraße, killing two people. Poor construction, the theft of necessary iron reinforcements and several ground water break-ins into the tunnel, which were not reported and not controlled properly by construction supervision, are among the alleged causes for this catastrophe. Because of the ensuing delay in construction, the opening of the NSS is estimated for 2015 or even as late as 2017. In order to make use of already completed tunnels and stations, a shorter service running from Dom/Central Station to Rathaus (city hall) is planned to start operation in December 2012, re-routing line 5 from its current terminus at Reichenspergerplatz to serve the new NSS. A further expansion to Heumarkt could be operated from 2013. The extra cost of approximately 4 million Euros is planned to mitigate the negative perception of the NSS project due to the collapse as well as budget increases, late completion (originally planned for 2011) and disruption. Other partial openings are not deemed feasible before the complete opening in 2015/2017.
The new 3 km long tunnel will be the first newly built line since the opening of the original downtown tunnel in 1968. Every line opened in between had been just a replacement for current or previous surface lines.
The oldest tunnel of the Cologne Stadtbahn is currently served by 30 trains per hour in each direction. Many consider this beyond the tunnel's capacity. Because the tunnel was built using a cut-and-cover technique, it follows major roads distant from the old city center with its narrow alleys. To solve both problems, an additional pair of tunnels was bored directly underneath the historic downtown areas. As a bonus, travel time of line 16 will decrease by about 10 minutes, because the NSS enables it to avoid the detour from Ubierring to Barbarossaplatz, only to return to the Rhine at the Central Station
. It is also the final step in the separation of the high-floor and low-floor networks.
In order to avoid the possible destruction of archaeological
artefacts underneath one of the oldest cities in Germany, the NSS was bored down to nearly 30 meters below ground level. At the location of the future stations however, archaeological digs were still required and are cited as one of the reasons for the already significant cost overruns. While initially estimated to cost around 600 million euro, the current price tag is calculated at around 960 million euros. Because the second stage, connecting the tunnel to the line along the Rhine river has not yet been tendered, but is expected to cost another 100 million, total cost is likely to exceed 1 billion euros.
Since the last traditional tram cars were retired in 2006, the active rolling stock consists exclusively of light rail vehicles. All of them are slightly below 30 metre long, 2.65 metre wide, seat around 70 passengers and are approved for 80 km/h (49.7 mph) or more. With rare exceptions all services are operated by two units coupled together.
In 1973, Cologne received two prototypes of the Type B LRV
. Since then, 172 units of four generations were delivered to Cologne until 1996. The first generation (series 2000) is currently being retired, while the second generation (series 2100) is due to receive a major overhaul for at least another 15 years of service.
After tests with a low-floor tram from Vienna
, a similar vehicle was developed for Cologne by Bombardier Transportation
, later known as the Flexity Swift
family. A total of 124 low-floor trams were delivered between 1995 and 1998, referred to as "K4000". These vehicles received numbers starting with 4001.
When DUEWAG
, producer of the Type B light rail vehicle was sold to Siemens Transportation Systems
and later dissolved, additional Type B cars were no longer available. When a new series of high-floor vehicles, to be named "K5000", was needed, Siemens presented the "CitySprinter". In August 1999, after two months of testing, the CitySprinter prototype crashed into another tram at 50 km/h (31.1 mph) at the "Christophstraße/MediaPark
" U-Bahn station. The accident was caused by a simultaneous electronics shutdown resulting in the train's inability to apply its brakes. Eight people sustained serious injuries. The second prototype produced was never delivered. Instead, Bombardier derived a high-floor tram from the K4000. 59 units were delivered in 2002 and 2003. The numbering was changed to 5101 at short notice to avoid re-using the number 5001, which had been the number of the ill-fated CitySprinter. Another 15 vehicles are exprected to be delivered before 2010.
When it was decided to create a second low-floor network, an option for more K5000 was changed to additional low-floor vehicles. Bombardier developed a new low-floor tram based more on the K5000 than on the K4000. These new trams were named "K4500". Delivery of 69 units started in 2005 and was completed in late 2007.
German/English
German
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
system in the German
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...
city of Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, including several surrounding cities (Bergisch-Gladbach, 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....
, Bornheim
Bornheim
Bornheim is a town in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the West bank of the Rhine, approx. 10 km north-west of Bonn, 20 km south of Cologne....
, Brühl
Brühl
-Places and locations:Germany* Brühl * Brühl * Brühl , a street in LeipzigPoland* Brühl Palace, Warsaw-People:* Alois Friedrich von Brühl , a Polish-Saxon diplomat, politician, soldier, actor and playwright...
, Frechen
Frechen
Frechen is a town in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Frechen was first mentioned in 877. It is situated at the western Cologne city border....
, Hürth
Hürth
Hürth is a town in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Hürth shares borders with the city of Cologne.-Geography:Hürth is situated about 9 km to the southwest of Cologne city centre, at the northeastern slope of the natural preserve Kottenforst-Ville.The town, consisting of...
, Leverkusen
Leverkusen
Leverkusen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the South, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne and to the North is the state capital Düsseldorf....
-Schlebusch, Wesseling
Wesseling
Wesseling is an industrial German city on the Rhine bordering Cologne city on the south. Wesseling originates from the Latin „Wasliacum“ which means "Villlage of Waslica" The story that Wesselig originates from "changing of the rope"...
). The term Stadtbahn
Stadtbahn
A ' is a tramway or light railway that includes segments built to rapid transit standards, usually as part of a process of conversion to a metro railway, mainly by the building of tunnels in the central city area....
denotes a system that encompasses elements of streetcars as well as subways
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...
(U-Bahn) and interurban
Interurban
An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...
rail, even including three lines that are licensed as heavy rail and used by freight train
Freight train
A freight train or goods train is a group of freight cars or goods wagons hauled by one or more locomotives on a railway, ultimately transporting cargo between two points as part of the logistics chain...
s as well as Stadtbahn vehicles. Two of these lines connect the Cologne Stadtbahn to the Bonn Stadtbahn
Bonn Stadtbahn
The Bonn Stadtbahn is a part of the local public transit system in Bonn and the surrounding Rhein-Sieg area. Although with six actual Stadtbahn lines and three tram lines it is relatively small, two of the Stadtbahn lines connect to the much larger Cologne Stadtbahn .The entire network comprises...
. These lines (16 and 18) are jointly operated by both cities' transport authorities, resulting in both systems and the lines connecting them sometimes collectively referred to as Stadtbahn Rhein-Sieg. The Cologne Stadtbahn is operated by the Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe (KVB) and the Bonn Stadtbahn is operated by the Stadtwerke Bonn (SWB - City of Bonn Utilities Division). The KVB and SWB are members of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg
Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg
The Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg abbreviated VRS, is the public transport association covering the area of the Cologne/Bonn Region, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany....
(VRS - Rhein-Sieg Transit Authority, formed in 1987 to consolidate the transit authorities in the metropolitan Cologne area and operate a joint fare structure). There are 34 underground stations.
History
The Cologne Stadtbahn traces its history to the first horsecarHorsecar
A horsecar or horse-drawn tram is an animal-powered streetcar or tram.These early forms of public transport developed out of industrial haulage routes that had long been in existence, and from the omnibus routes that first ran on public streets in the 1820s, using the newly improved iron or steel...
lines that operated in Cologne since 1877. Within a few years, several companies had built an extensive network. Because none of these companies showed interest in electrifying their lines, the city of Cologne bought these companies effective 1 January 1900. Electric streetcars were introduced and additional lines built until 1912, including Vorortbahnen to surrounding villages outside the city limits. Outside the city center, these lines had separated right-of-way and were more similar to "real" railroads than to trams.
During 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...
, Cologne suffered heavy damage. The city center was almost completely destroyed and the tram lines with it. After the war, there were only a few of the existing lines rebuilt in the downtown area, while at the same time automobile traffic increased heavily. To improve the situation, construction of the first tunnel began in 1963. When the tunnel was opened in November 1968, it was integrated into the tram network, instead of a separate subway operation. Since then, existing tram lines were gradually replaced with tunnels, some elevated track and surface lines with separated right of way. From 1973 until 2006 there have been light rail vehicles operating together with classic tram car on the same lines.
Underground construction in the downtown Cologne area is often obstructed by the fact that archeologists in Cologne, one 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...
's oldest cities, have legal rights to dig in all future building sites within the medieval city limits before all heavy construction machinery.
Current routes
Because the light rail network evolved from the tram network instead of replacing it, there were numerous stations served by both light rail and tram vehicles for almost three decades. While high platforms for stepless entry into light rail vehicles could be built on the outer branches, stations in the city center had to have low platforms to support trams as well. The introduction of low-floor technology in the early 1990s promised wheelchair-accessible entry throughout the network without having to build several hundred high platforms. To allow the introduction of low-floor trains without having to demolish existing high platforms, the network was divided into two sub-networks of different floor heights.On weekdays, all lines are served in 5 to 10-minute intervals from 6 am to 8 pm, with little or no service between around 1 am and about 4.30 am, and usually 15-minute intervals in the early night and early morning. On weekends, there is an hourly service throughout the night. Because several lines overlap on the routes through the city center, some stations are served by up to 30 trains per hour in each direction.
| route | length | avg. speed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Weiden West Köln-Weiden West station Köln-Weiden West is a railway station situated at Weiden, Cologne in western Germany. It is served by the S12 line of the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn and the 1 line of the Cologne Stadtbahn.- History :... – Junkersdorf – Neumarkt Neumarkt (KVB) Neumarkt is a Stadtbahn station in Innenstadt, Cologne. The station is divided in an overground part for low-floor trains and an underground part for high-floor trains... – Bf Deutz - Kalk Post Kalk Post (KVB) Kalk Post is an underground station on the Cologne Stadtbahn lines 1 and 9, located in Cologne. The station lies at the intersection of Kalker Hauptstraße and Trimbornstraße in the district of Kalk... - Kalk Kapelle Kalk Kapelle (KVB) Kalk Kapelle is an underground station on the Cologne Stadtbahn lines 1 and 9, located in Cologne. The station lies at the intersection if the Kalker Hauptstraße and Kapellenstraße streets in the district of Kalk.... – Brück – Refrath - Bensberg Bensberg (KVB) Bensberg is an underground and terminus station on the Cologne Stadtbahn line 1, located in Bergisch Gladbach. The station lies at Steinstraße in the district of Bensberg.... during peak hours 5-minute intervals Junkersdorf–Brück |
24.9 km (15.5 mi) | 27.2 kilometre per hour |
| 3 | Mengenich – Bocklemünd – Bickendorf - Bf Ehrenfeld Köln-Ehrenfeld station Köln-Ehrenfeld is a railway station situated at Ehrenfeld, Cologne in western Germany. It is served by the S12 line of the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn as well as regional trains to Aachen or Mönchengladbach... – Bf West Köln West station Köln-West is a passenger railway station situated on the western border of Innenstadt, Cologne in western Germany. It is served by regional services and - via Hans-Böckler-Platz/Bf West U-Bahn station - 3, 4 and 5 lines of the Cologne Stadtbahn.... – Neumarkt Neumarkt (KVB) Neumarkt is a Stadtbahn station in Innenstadt, Cologne. The station is divided in an overground part for low-floor trains and an underground part for high-floor trains... – Bf Deutz – Buchheim – Holweide – Thielenbruch Thielenbruch (KVB) Thielenbruch station is a terminal and former depot of Cologne Stadtbahn located in the quarter of Dellbrück in Cologne. It is the northern terminus of Stadtbahn lines 3 and 18.- Terminal :... off-peak service ends at Holweide |
20.1 km (12.5 mi) | 26.2 kilometre per hour |
| 4 | Bocklemünd – Bickendorf – Bf Ehrenfeld Köln-Ehrenfeld station Köln-Ehrenfeld is a railway station situated at Ehrenfeld, Cologne in western Germany. It is served by the S12 line of the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn as well as regional trains to Aachen or Mönchengladbach... – Bf West Köln West station Köln-West is a passenger railway station situated on the western border of Innenstadt, Cologne in western Germany. It is served by regional services and - via Hans-Böckler-Platz/Bf West U-Bahn station - 3, 4 and 5 lines of the Cologne Stadtbahn.... – Neumarkt Neumarkt (KVB) Neumarkt is a Stadtbahn station in Innenstadt, Cologne. The station is divided in an overground part for low-floor trains and an underground part for high-floor trains... – Bf Deutz – Mülheim, Wiener Platz – Dünnwald - Schlebusch evening service starts at Bickendorf |
21.5 km (13.4 mi) | 28 kilometre per hour |
| 5 | Sparkasse Am Butzweilerhof - Ossendorf – Neuehrenfeld - Bf West Köln West station Köln-West is a passenger railway station situated on the western border of Innenstadt, Cologne in western Germany. It is served by regional services and - via Hans-Böckler-Platz/Bf West U-Bahn station - 3, 4 and 5 lines of the Cologne Stadtbahn.... – Dom/Hbf Köln Hauptbahnhof Köln Hauptbahnhof is the central railway station in Cologne, Germany.The station is an important local, national and international hub, with many ICE, Thalys and Intercity trains calling there, as well as regional RegionalExpress, RegionalBahn and local S-Bahn trains... – Reichenspergerplatz Reichenspergerplatz (KVB) Reichenspergerplatz is an underground station on the Cologne Stadtbahn lines 5 and 18, located in Cologne. The station lies at Reichenspergerplatz in the district of Innenstadt.... |
10.3 km (6.4 mi) | 20.4 kilometre per hour |
| 7 | Frechen – Marsdorf – Braunsfeld – Neumarkt Neumarkt (KVB) Neumarkt is a Stadtbahn station in Innenstadt, Cologne. The station is divided in an overground part for low-floor trains and an underground part for high-floor trains... – Poll - Porz – Zündorf Frechen–Braunsfeld served in 20-minute intervals except for peak hours |
25.5 km (15.8 mi) | 25.5 kilometre per hour |
| 9 | Sülz – Universität University of Cologne The University of Cologne is one of the oldest universities in Europe and, with over 44,000 students, one of the largest universities in Germany. The university is part of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, an association of Germany's leading research universities... – Bf Süd Köln Süd station Köln-Süd is a passenger railway station situated at Luxemburger Straße and the southern border of Innenstadt, Cologne in western Germany. It is served by regional trains of Deutsche Bahn and trans regio. Nr... – Neumarkt Neumarkt (KVB) Neumarkt is a Stadtbahn station in Innenstadt, Cologne. The station is divided in an overground part for low-floor trains and an underground part for high-floor trains... – Bf Deutz – Kalk Post Kalk Post (KVB) Kalk Post is an underground station on the Cologne Stadtbahn lines 1 and 9, located in Cologne. The station lies at the intersection of Kalker Hauptstraße and Trimbornstraße in the district of Kalk... - Kalk Kapelle Kalk Kapelle (KVB) Kalk Kapelle is an underground station on the Cologne Stadtbahn lines 1 and 9, located in Cologne. The station lies at the intersection if the Kalker Hauptstraße and Kapellenstraße streets in the district of Kalk.... – Ostheim - Königsforst Königsforst (KVB) Königsforst is a terminus station on the Cologne Stadtbahn line 9, located in Cologne. The station lies in Rath/Heumar in the district of Kalk.... 5-minute intervals Universität–Bf Deutz except for school holidays |
15.4 km (9.6 mi) | 25 kilometre per hour |
| 12 | Merkenich – Niehl – Ebertplatz – Hansaring – Ringe – Zollstock Merkenich–Niehl served in 20-minute intervals from 9am to 1pm |
16.5 km (10.3 mi) | 22 kilometre per hour |
| 13 | Sülzgürtel Sülzgürtel (KVB) Sülzgürtel is a terminus and interchange station on the Cologne Stadtbahn lines 13 and 18, located in Cologne. The station lies on Luxemburger Straße, corner Sülzgürtel, Sülz in the district of Lindenthal.... – Aachener Str. – Bf Ehrenfeld Köln-Ehrenfeld station Köln-Ehrenfeld is a railway station situated at Ehrenfeld, Cologne in western Germany. It is served by the S12 line of the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn as well as regional trains to Aachen or Mönchengladbach... – Gürtel – Bf Mülheim Köln-Mülheim station Köln-Mülheim is a railway station situated at Mülheim, Cologne in western Germany. It is served by several regional trains, the S6 and S11 lines of the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn and the 13 and 18 lines of Cologne Stadtbahn.-History :... – Buchheim - Holweide |
15.4 km (9.6 mi) | 28.9 kilometre per hour |
| 15 | Chorweiler – Longerich – Ebertplatz – Hansaring – Ringe – Ubierring Ubierring (KVB) Ubierring is a station on the Cologne Stadtbahn lines 15 and 16, located in the Cologne district of Neustadt-Süd. The station lies on Ubierring , after which it is named.... during peak hours 5-minute intervals Longerich–Ubierring |
15.2 km (9.4 mi) | 24 kilometre per hour |
| 16 | Niehl, Sebastianstraße – Dom/Hbf Köln Hauptbahnhof Köln Hauptbahnhof is the central railway station in Cologne, Germany.The station is an important local, national and international hub, with many ICE, Thalys and Intercity trains calling there, as well as regional RegionalExpress, RegionalBahn and local S-Bahn trains... – Neumarkt Neumarkt (KVB) Neumarkt is a Stadtbahn station in Innenstadt, Cologne. The station is divided in an overground part for low-floor trains and an underground part for high-floor trains... – Ubierring – Sürth – Wesseling – Bonn Hbf – Bonn-Bad-Godesberg 20-minute intervals from Sürth (during peak hours from Wesseling) |
44.4 km (27.6 mi) | 33.3 kilometre per hour |
| 18 | Thielenbruch Thielenbruch (KVB) Thielenbruch station is a terminal and former depot of Cologne Stadtbahn located in the quarter of Dellbrück in Cologne. It is the northern terminus of Stadtbahn lines 3 and 18.- Terminal :... – Buchheim – Bf Mülheim Köln-Mülheim station Köln-Mülheim is a railway station situated at Mülheim, Cologne in western Germany. It is served by several regional trains, the S6 and S11 lines of the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn and the 13 and 18 lines of Cologne Stadtbahn.-History :... – Dom/Hbf Köln Hauptbahnhof Köln Hauptbahnhof is the central railway station in Cologne, Germany.The station is an important local, national and international hub, with many ICE, Thalys and Intercity trains calling there, as well as regional RegionalExpress, RegionalBahn and local S-Bahn trains... – Neumarkt Neumarkt (KVB) Neumarkt is a Stadtbahn station in Innenstadt, Cologne. The station is divided in an overground part for low-floor trains and an underground part for high-floor trains... – Klettenberg – Brühl – Bonn Hbf 5-minute intervals Buchheim–Klettenberg, 20-minute intervals from Brühl |
46.2 km (28.7 mi) | 33.4 kilometre per hour |
East-West lines
The first step towards the introduction of a low-floor light rail network was concentrating four lines on similar routes on a common east-west-corridor in 1994. Within short time, these lines were equipped with low platforms 35 cm above street level on every single station. While there are some stretches that can be described as classic tramway lines, the majority of the east-west-network has been upgraded to a high standard with long sections having separated right-of-way, justifying the term "low-floor light rail" (Niederflurstadtbahn).In 2007, the 8 line, which previously operated during peak hours, stopped service. All its runs were integrated into the schedules of the lines 7 and 9.
| 1 | Weiden West (S-Bahn) – Junkersdorf – Rheinenergiestadion – | Aachener Straße/Gürtel – Rudolfplatz – | Neumarkt | – Deutz/Messe Rail – Kalk – Brück – Refrath – Bensberg |
| 7 | Frechen – Marsdorf – | Aachener Straße/Gürtel – Rudolfplatz – | Neumarkt | – Poll – Porz – Zündorf |
| 9 | Sülz – Zülpicher Straße/Gürtel – University – Zülpicher Platz – | Neumarkt | – Deutz/Messe Rail – Kalk – Vingst – Ostheim – Rath/Heumar – Königsforst | |
Ring lines
When it became clear to city authorities that the construction of a large number of additional high platforms was not financially feasible, other options were investigated. It was deemed most economical to create a second low-floor network and equip the remaining lines with high platforms. Between the stations "Ebertplatz" and "Barbarossaplatz", there are two possible routes. It was decided that the future low-floor lines would be concentrated in the tunnel underneath the Cologne RingCologne Ring
The Cologne Ring is a semi-circular, some 6 km long urban boulevard in Innenstadt, Cologne and the city's busiest and most prominent street system...
road, while high-floor lines would use the tunnel under the Central station.
This change was implemented in December 2003, after the high platforms at the Hansaring station were removed. In 2006, the tracks of the Chorweiler
Chorweiler
Chorweiler is the Sixth city district of Cologne, Germany. Large portion of the district of Chorweiler were incorporated into the city of Cologne in 1922, the quarter of Chorweiler was created in the 1970s...
station were raised with additional gravel. Since then, all "Ringe" lines are operated with low-floor vehicles. In 2007, the line 6, which had only operated during peak hours, was replaced by additional trains of line 15.
| 12 | Merkenich – Fordwerke – | Wilh.-Sollmann-Straße – Ebertplatz – Friesenplatz – Barbarossaplatz – Eifelstraße | – Zollstock | |
| 15 | Chorweiler – | Longerich – | Wilh.-Sollmann-Straße – Ebertplatz – Friesenplatz – Barbarossaplatz – Eifelstraße | – Chlodwigplatz – Ubierring |
High-floor lines
The high-floor network consists of all lines operated by "classic" light rail vehicles with a floor height of roughly one meter above street level. Since the separation from the low-Floor network. high platforms are being built in stations in the city center at a rate of one or two per year. As of 2009, the most frequented stations have been upgraded with the exception of the Barbarossaplatz station.Lines 3 and 4, since the construction of temporary platforms at the Severinstraße station while the actual station gets modernized and connected to the North-Southern tunnel, are Cologne's first HF lines completely equipped with level entrance. The western branch of line 5 still has one station (Liebigstraße) without any platform at all, requiring passengers to climb into the trains from street level. Except a few stops, all of it's stations were made high-floor when the line was extended into the Butweilerhof industrial area.
Line 13 is also referred to as the "beltway" (Gürtel) line, because it is the only line that does not touch the city center. Most of the line runs along a series of roads of the same name. The northern part of the 13 is built as an elevated railway. High-floor platforms are still very rare on this line.
Lines 16 and 18 are the longest lines in the network, connecting Cologne to 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....
via railway lines.
| 3 | Mengenich – Bocklemünd – Venloer Straße/Gürtel – Hans-Böckler-Platz – Friesenplatz – Neumarkt – Severinstraße – Deutz/Messe Rail – Buchheim – Holweide – Dellbrück – Thielenbruch |
| 4 | Bocklemünd – Venloer Straße/Gürtel – Hans-Böckler-Platz – Friesenplatz – Neumarkt – Severinstraße – Deutz/Messe Rail – Mülheim – Höhenhaus – Dünnwald – Schlebusch |
| 5 | Sparkasse Am Butzweilerhof - IKEA Am Butzweilerhof - Alter Flughafen Butzweilerhof – Subbelrather Str./Gürtel – Hans-Böckler-Platz – Friesenplatz – Dom/Central Station – Ebertplatz – Reichensperger Platz |
| 13 | Sülzgürtel – Zülpicher Straße/Gürtel – Dürener Straße/Gürtel – Aachener Straße/Gürtel – Venloer Straße/Gürtel – Subbelrather Straße/Gürtel – Nußbaumer Straße – Escher Straße –Neusser Straße/Gürtel – Amsterdamer Straße/Gürtel – Slabystraße – Mülheim – Buchheim – Holweide |
| 16 | Bonn-Bad Godesberg – Bonn Main Station – Wesseling – Sürth – Rodenkirchen – Ubierring – Barbarossaplatz – Neumarkt – Dom/Central Station – Ebertplatz – Reichensperger Platz – Niehl |
| 18 | Bonn Main Station – Brühl – Klettenberg – Sülzgürtel – Barbarossaplatz – Neumarkt – Dom/Central Station – Ebertplatz – Reichensperger Platz – Slabystraße – Mülheim – Buchheim – Holweide – Dellbrück – Thielenbruch |
Butzweilerhof extension (Line 5)
The Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe (KVB) constructed a new 185 km (115 mi) long extension from the former Ossendorf terminus into the Butzweilerhof/Gewerbegebiet Ossendorf area. 3 new stations (Alter Flughafen Butzweilerhof, IKEA am Butzweilerhof and the new terminus, Sparkasse Am ButzweilerhofAm Butzweilerhof (KVB)
Am Butzweilerhof is a terminus station on the Cologne Stadtbahn line 5, located in the Cologne district of Ossendorf. The station lies on Von-Hünefeld-Straße, the center of a large media and business park of Coloneum, RTL Television and NetCologne....
) were added to the existing Line 5. Construction of the extension costed about , with 5 million euros being financed through the companies which will benefit from the extension. The remaining 13 million euros were financed by the KVB Köln (Cologne Transit Authority).
The extension begins near the former terminus Ossendorf, which has been removed, crosses the tracks of the HGK, along the southern edge of the Hugo-Eckener-Strasse with the 1st station (Alter Flughafen Butzweilerhof) being placed at the corner of Hugo-Eckener-Strasse and Köhlstrasse; then along a newly constructed street which continues in an easternly direction from Köhlstraße. Traveling along the newly-built IKEA am Butzweilerhof retail center (location of the 2nd station), the track crosses another newly constructed street which emerges from the lengthed Richard-Byrd-Straße. The extension ends at the intersection of Richard-Byrd-Straße and Von-Hünefeld-Straße.
The extension opened on December 12, 2010.
Future expansion
The current expansion project under construction is a new North-South tunnel (Nord-Süd-Stadtbahn, NSS). On March 3, 2009 the building of the City's archiveHistorisches Archiv der Stadt Köln
The Historical Archive of the City of Cologne is the municipal archive of Cologne, Germany. It ranks among the largest communal archives in Europe....
collapsed into a Stadtbahn's tunnel under construction on the Severinstraße, killing two people. Poor construction, the theft of necessary iron reinforcements and several ground water break-ins into the tunnel, which were not reported and not controlled properly by construction supervision, are among the alleged causes for this catastrophe. Because of the ensuing delay in construction, the opening of the NSS is estimated for 2015 or even as late as 2017. In order to make use of already completed tunnels and stations, a shorter service running from Dom/Central Station to Rathaus (city hall) is planned to start operation in December 2012, re-routing line 5 from its current terminus at Reichenspergerplatz to serve the new NSS. A further expansion to Heumarkt could be operated from 2013. The extra cost of approximately 4 million Euros is planned to mitigate the negative perception of the NSS project due to the collapse as well as budget increases, late completion (originally planned for 2011) and disruption. Other partial openings are not deemed feasible before the complete opening in 2015/2017.
The new 3 km long tunnel will be the first newly built line since the opening of the original downtown tunnel in 1968. Every line opened in between had been just a replacement for current or previous surface lines.
The oldest tunnel of the Cologne Stadtbahn is currently served by 30 trains per hour in each direction. Many consider this beyond the tunnel's capacity. Because the tunnel was built using a cut-and-cover technique, it follows major roads distant from the old city center with its narrow alleys. To solve both problems, an additional pair of tunnels was bored directly underneath the historic downtown areas. As a bonus, travel time of line 16 will decrease by about 10 minutes, because the NSS enables it to avoid the detour from Ubierring to Barbarossaplatz, only to return to the Rhine at the Central Station
Köln Hauptbahnhof
Köln Hauptbahnhof is the central railway station in Cologne, Germany.The station is an important local, national and international hub, with many ICE, Thalys and Intercity trains calling there, as well as regional RegionalExpress, RegionalBahn and local S-Bahn trains...
. It is also the final step in the separation of the high-floor and low-floor networks.
In order to avoid the possible destruction of archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
artefacts underneath one of the oldest cities in Germany, the NSS was bored down to nearly 30 meters below ground level. At the location of the future stations however, archaeological digs were still required and are cited as one of the reasons for the already significant cost overruns. While initially estimated to cost around 600 million euro, the current price tag is calculated at around 960 million euros. Because the second stage, connecting the tunnel to the line along the Rhine river has not yet been tendered, but is expected to cost another 100 million, total cost is likely to exceed 1 billion euros.
Rolling stock
In 1973, Cologne received two prototypes of the Type B LRV
Stadtbahnwagen B
The Stadtbahnwagen Typ B is a light rail vehicle used by several Stadtbahn networks in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It was mainly developed by Düsseldorf-based DUEWAG, who also built the majoritiy of vehicles in a consortium with Siemens and Kiepe...
. Since then, 172 units of four generations were delivered to Cologne until 1996. The first generation (series 2000) is currently being retired, while the second generation (series 2100) is due to receive a major overhaul for at least another 15 years of service.
After tests with a low-floor tram from Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, a similar vehicle was developed for Cologne by Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
, later known as the Flexity Swift
Flexity Swift
The Flexity Swift tram is a family of urban and inter-urban light-rail vehicles manufactured by Bombardier Transportation for a wide number of customers across Europe...
family. A total of 124 low-floor trams were delivered between 1995 and 1998, referred to as "K4000". These vehicles received numbers starting with 4001.
When DUEWAG
DUEWAG
The DUEWAG AG was one of Germany's major manufacturers for rail vehicles. The business was sold in 1999 to Siemens transportation.- History :The company was founded in 1898 as Waggonfabrik Uerdingen AG in Uerdingen...
, producer of the Type B light rail vehicle was sold to Siemens Transportation Systems
Siemens AG
Siemens AG is a German multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company....
and later dissolved, additional Type B cars were no longer available. When a new series of high-floor vehicles, to be named "K5000", was needed, Siemens presented the "CitySprinter". In August 1999, after two months of testing, the CitySprinter prototype crashed into another tram at 50 km/h (31.1 mph) at the "Christophstraße/MediaPark
MediaPark
The MediaPark is a urban regeneration neighborhood in Cologne, Germany, completed by the turn of the millennium. It was set up to accommodate companies of the media and communication industry, as well as cultural institutions, a hotel and some apartment buildings. The MediaPark is situated in...
" U-Bahn station. The accident was caused by a simultaneous electronics shutdown resulting in the train's inability to apply its brakes. Eight people sustained serious injuries. The second prototype produced was never delivered. Instead, Bombardier derived a high-floor tram from the K4000. 59 units were delivered in 2002 and 2003. The numbering was changed to 5101 at short notice to avoid re-using the number 5001, which had been the number of the ill-fated CitySprinter. Another 15 vehicles are exprected to be delivered before 2010.
When it was decided to create a second low-floor network, an option for more K5000 was changed to additional low-floor vehicles. Bombardier developed a new low-floor tram based more on the K5000 than on the K4000. These new trams were named "K4500". Delivery of 69 units started in 2005 and was completed in late 2007.
See also
- Transportation in CologneTransportation in CologneThis article covers transportation in and around the city of Cologne, Germany.- Road transport :- Ring roads :The city of Cologne possesses one of the most comprehensive urban ring road systems. The beltways were laid out during the end of the 19th and in the early 20th centuries and today are...
- List of Cologne KVB stations
- List of rapid transit systems
External links
- Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe Homepage
- Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe Timetable Search in English
- VRS/Rhein-Sieg Transit Authority Timetable Search in English
- Official Homepage for the Nord-Süd-U-Bahn Construction Project (in German only)
German/English
- Christoph Groneck: Köln/Bonn Stadtbahn Album, Robert Schwandl Verlag 2005, ISBN 3-936573-07-7
German
- Dieter Höltge/ Axel Reuther: Straßen- und Stadtbahnen in Deutschland Band 7: Köln, Düren, Aachen, EK-Verlag, 2001, ISBN 3-88255-338-3
- Doris Lindemann / Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe (Hg): Kölner Mobilität - 125 Jahre Bahnen und Busse, Du Mont Verlag 2002, ISBN 3-8321-7177-0