Berlin Stadtbahn

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Berlin Stadtbahn
standard gauge
Electrification
Route map

from
Karlshorst
0.0
Ostbahnhof
1.1
Jannowitzbrücke
U8
2.2
Alexanderplatz
U2U5U8
2.9
Hackescher Markt
4.0
Nord-Süd-Tunnel S1S2S25 U6
5.4
Hauptbahnhof
7.1
Bellevue
8.2
Tiergarten
Landwehrkanal
9.0
Zoologischer Garten
U2U9
10.0
Savignyplatz
11.2
Charlottenburg
U7
North/south curve to Ring line
Source: German railway atlas[1]

The Berlin Stadtbahn is the historic east-west

Westkreuz
, although this is not technically correct.

The line connects the city's Zoo, Bellevue Palace, snakes around the governmental district to the Berlin Hauptbahnhof and Friedrichstraße, crosses Museum Island[a], and moves on to Alexanderplatz (Fernsehturm) and beyond.

First completed in 1882, it spans 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) and 11 stations. 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) of its length are elevated on 731 masonry viaduct arches. A further 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) of the line is situated on 64 bridges, that cross adjoining streets and (three times) the river Spree. The remaining length of the line is on an embankment.

Today it is one of the busiest tracks of railway in Germany,

Intercity-Express. Six of the Stadtbahn stations have platforms on these tracks, although not all trains stop at all stations, depending on the class and route of the train.[1]

History

Planning

In 1871, eight

terminal stations at the city's edge or outside the city limits. This was very impractical for many passengers, who were forced to use hackney carriages
to transfer from one train to another. Therefore, a railway line was planned to connect these terminuses with each other.

In 1872, the Deutsche Eisenbahnbaugesellschaft (German Railway Construction Company - DEG) filed the planning application for a railway line through the city, connecting the then-Schlesischer Bahnhof (today

mobilisation when not properly interconnected.[5]

On 15 July 1878 the Königliche Direktion der Berliner Stadteisenbahn (Royal Directorate of Berlin City Railways), under the management of Ernst Dircksen, was commissioned to manage the site. The directorate at first reported to the Prussian Ministry of Transport and later became a subsidiary of the Ministry of Public Operations.

Park Inn Berlin
, near station Hackescher Markt

The planned railway had two tracks each for freight and passenger traffic. Having taken similar projects in London and New York City into consideration, passenger traffic received priority over freight trains. Furthermore, the new railway line was not only to serve as a connection between the mainline termini in Berlin, but would also offer connections to the Berlin Ringbahn and the suburban rail lines.

The traffic routing was not only influenced by the location of the already existing stations the line was supposed to connect, but also by land availability in the city centre. One of the original drafts, which called for building the line along Leipziger Straße, had to be scrapped because of overly high land prices. The

Alexanderplatz and Jannowitzbrücke stations.[6]

Berliner Stadteisenbahn: Station Savignyplatz with a Prussian T2

Its elevated nature sets the Stadtbahn apart from the previous Berliner Verbindungsbahn, built in 1851, which was built at street level and was a hindrance to travel.

Construction

Work on the line started in 1875 and the Stadtbahn was opened on 7 February 1882 for local traffic; it opened on 15 May the same year for long-distance trains. The costs of construction, including purchase of the land, were estimated at about 5 million

Goldmark per kilometre. The line would later become the core route of the Berlin S-Bahn. The Stadtbahn was originally equipped with longitudinal iron sleepers on the Haarmann system,[7] however these were replaced with wooden sleepers
in the early 20th century.

The line initially only had 9 stations. Two stations were later added: Tiergarten (5 January 1885) between Zoologischer Garten and Bellevue, and Savignyplatz (1 August 1896) between Charlottenburg and Zoologischer Garten.

Since 1 May 1888 the Stadtbahn also connected to Stralau-Rummelsburg (

Westkreuz
) in the west.

Initial operation

Suburban trains

Suburban trains operated on the local tracks, the so-called city track. At first, these were either services to the suburbs or connections to the Berlin Ringbahn, running as "half ring trains", using the Stadtbahn and either the northern or the southern Ringbahn. The trains were pulled by locomotives, which ran on coke to minimise the smell. Doors on the train compartments had to be opened by the passengers themselves and stations were not called out on the train.

These trains ran from 4 o'clock in the morning to 1 o'clock at night, typically at intervals between two and five minutes, depending on the time of day. Fares in the early 20th century were 10 pfennig in 3rd class and 15 pfennig in 2nd class.

Freight traffic

The freight traffic to the central market at

on the ring line.

Long-distance trains

In the first years of the Stadtbahn, many trains previously terminating at the old terminuses

Potsdamer Bahnhof
operated via the Stadtbahn to reduce the load on the terminus stations. By the end of the 19th century, however, most of these train runs had to terminate at their old destination stations again due to the increasing local traffic on the Stadtbahn.

The remaining traffic on the Stadtbahn mostly consisted of express trains to

Breslau
. Suburban trains to Spandau and Strausberg also ran on the Stadtbahn's long-distance tracks until 1928.

Trains heading west usually left from the Schlesischer Bahnhof station, those heading east from Charlottenburg. Depots were situated in Rummelsburg (then called Bw Karlshorst) and Grunewald.

Station Jannowitzbrücke

Station expansions and viaducts

In 1914, the

Alexanderplatz and Schlesischer Bahnhof were replaced. The suburban line's platforms were raised to a height of 96 centimetres.[8]

A second long-distance platform and a new hall were built at

Zoo station
from 1934 to 1940. The station hall was only glazed in the 1950s, however. The notable terraced vestibule dates from the same time.

Electric operation

The S-Bahn logo

On 11 June 1928 the suburban line Potsdam-Stadtbahn-

Kaulsdorf, Spandau and Grünau as well as the Berlin Ringbahn
, were fully electrified. Therefore, suburban services to Spandau could be moved from the long-distance tracks to the local tracks. The last steam trains disappeared in 1929 when the ring became fully operated by electric trains. Half-ring trains operated only as peak time services. In December 1930 the term S-Bahn and the symbol of a white S on a green circle were introduced for the city, ring and suburban services.

Post-War situation

After

eastern Germany
; only a few trains ran towards the western zones. Some trains from the Soviet zone terminated on the Stadtbahn.

During the Berlin Blockade, the long-distance traffic came to an almost complete halt. The Stadtbahn was useful for the re-established S-Bahn, however, now with connections to places line Königs Wusterhausen, Strausberg, Staaken and Falkensee.

From 18 May 1952, when all Berlin terminal stations and all other long-distance stations in

GDR
(East German) railways ran on the Stadtbahn in 1953.

Transit train at Zoo station 1976

After the

border crossing into East Berlin.[10]
Through trains between Zoo and Ostbahnhof only existed in international traffic, for example the Paris to Warsaw trains. Later, through coaches and shuttle trains connecting to the night trains to Scandinavia crossed the intra-German border on the Stadtbahn as well.

Due to a quirk in legislation, the West Berlin parts of the Stadtbahn belonged to the

Deutsche Reichsbahn, which made it (and therefore the GDR government) one of the largest landowners in West Berlin. Regular quarrels erupted between the DR, the GDR government, the West Berlin Senate
and the Allied occupation powers.

Prices for the West Berlin S-Bahn were kept slightly below the fares of the West Berlin BVG. In East Berlin, a flat fee of 0.20 Mark was charged until 1991. West Berlin politics and most of the populace fully boycotted the S-Bahn, which was run by the East German railways, and introduced bus and U-Bahn lines running parallel to the S-Bahn network and the Stadtbahn.

Restoration during the Cold War

Despite problems, the

Westkreuz railway station which had been built on swamp
land.

Meanwhile, the number of S-Bahn lines running in West Berlin was reduced to just three as a consequence of a strike carried out by the Deutsche Reichsbahn's West Berlin-based employees in September 1980.

On 9 January 1984 a treaty between the GDR and the West Berlin Senate came into force and turned over the responsibility for operation of the S-Bahn in West Berlin to the West Berlin transport authority, the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe. Soon thereafter, talks with the GDR commenced regarding improvements of the Stadtbahn in West Berlin as well as the modernisation of the Zoologischer Garten station. The Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was also carefully restored to its original 1880s look and became a listed building. In East Berlin, the Ostbahnhof was partially rebuilt and renamed to Hauptbahnhof, in time for the 750th anniversary of Berlin's founding in 1987.[11]

After reunification

The fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification made for a sudden spike of importance for the Stadtbahn. The first InterRegio train ran to Cologne in 1990. Since 1991, Intercity trains to Karlsruhe, Cologne and Hamburg used the Stadtbahn. The Hamburg line was soon extended to Dresden and Prague, and the former Interzonenzug trains from Munich were converted to InterCity trains and now ran on the Stadtbahn as well.

The western part of the Stadtbahn was electrified on 4 July 1993 up to Zoologischer Garten station. The eastern part of the line up to Ostbahnhof had been electrified since 1987. As soon as electrification reached the Zoo station,

ICE
trains began to use the station.

Modernisation from 1994

In October 1994 the track was closed and a large-scale modernisation programme was launched. The viaduct sections were checked and strengthened, and the tracks were bedded in

RegionalExpress lines.[12]

Between 2001 and July 2002, part of the Stadtbahn was realigned over the construction of the new Berlin Hauptbahnhof. The realigned section consisted of two 450 m-long bridges spanning the station and the adjacent Humboldthafen port.

Until the summer of 2006, the Stadtbahn was the main thoroughfare for long-distance trains, which usually stopped at Zoologischer Garten and Ostbahnhof (which was renamed in 1998). When the new Hauptbahnhof opened on 28 May 2006 the importance of the line diminished slightly, as many trains now would use the new north-south line connected to the Hauptbahnhof. The remaining intercity trains on the Stadtbahn, mainly those heading toward Hanover and Cologne, now usually call at Hauptbahnhof and Ostbahnhof.[13]

In 2022 the concrete bedding installed between 1994 and 1998 was found to have developed difficult to repair fatigue damage. The attachment points of the thought to be much more durable solution had to be replaced quickly due to safety concerns. As of 2023, the concrete isn't slated to be replaced either; the work would be too complicated and take too much time, because of the viaduct structure.[14]

Current operation

The S-Bahn tracks of the Stadtbahn currently carry the following routes (as of December 2020):

The longer distance tracks carry Regionalbahn and Regional-Express routes RE1 (Magdeburg to Eisenhüttenstadt), RE2 (Rathenow to Cottbus), RE7 (Dessau to Wünsdorf-Waldstadt) and RB14 (Nauen to Berlin Schönefeld Airport). Although most InterCity and Intercity-Express trains now use the north-south tunnel route via Hauptbahnhof, some trains do still remain on the Stadtbahn's long distance tracks. These trains, mainly those heading toward Hanover and Cologne, usually call at Hauptbahnhof and Ostbahnhof.[16][13]

Notes

  1. ^ Where, notably, none of the lines stop.

References

  1. ^ .
  2. ^ Hubert Staroste. "DIE SANIERUNG DER BERLINER STADTBAHN AUS SICHT DER DENKMALPFLEGE". Heidelberg University.
  3. ^ "Drei Kilometer neue Schienen: Berliner Stadtbahn bleibt auf Jahre eine Baustelle". Der Tagesspiegel Online.
  4. ^ "Die Berliner Stadtbahn". Illustrirte Zeitung (in German). 25 February 1882.
  5. .
  6. ^ "Die Linienführung der Berliner Stadteisenbahn". Zeitschrift für Bauwesen (in German). 1884.
  7. ^ for details in English, see United States Patent 201,667 of 1878
  8. ^ "Fünfzig Jahre Berliner Stadtbahn". Die Reichsbahn (in German). 1932.
  9. ^ Bousset, Johannes (1935). Die Berliner U-Bahn (in German). W. Ernst & Sohn. p. 140.
  10. .
  11. ^ Deutsche Bahn AG (23 September 2006). "Stations in Berlin, the railway capital". Archived from the original on 11 February 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2007.
  12. .
  13. ^ a b Die Bahn am Ball (in German). Deutsche Bahn AG. 2006. pp. 130–36.
  14. ^ Jörn Hasselmann (23 May 2023). "Drei Kilometer neue Schienen: Berliner Stadtbahn bleibt auf Jahre eine Baustelle" (in German). Tagesspiegel. Bei Inspektionen hatte die Bahn im September 2022 Schäden an rund eintausend Befestigungspunkten dieser Festen Fahrbahn entdeckt. Diese seien „nicht vorhersehbar" gewesen, müssen aber aus Sicherheitsgründen schnell behoben werden. Diese Befestigungen werden in diesem Jahr auf dem östlichen Abschnitt erneuert. Der westliche Abschnitt zwischen Hauptbahnhof und Charlottenburg soll im kommenden Jahr folgen. „Wir zahlen Lehrgeld", hatte der regionale Konzernbevollmächtigte Alexander Kaczmarek bei der Vorstellung des Bauprogramms im Februar geklagt.
  15. ^ "Stadtplan" [City Map] (in German). S-Bahn Berlin GmbH. Archived from the original on 11 February 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  16. ^ "Liniennetz Regionalverkehr" [Route map regional railways] (PDF) (in German). Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg. Retrieved 4 May 2011.[permanent dead link]

Further reading

  • Die Stadtbahn, Signal-Sonderausgabe, Berliner S-Bahn-Museum (in German). Berlin: Verlag GVE. 1996. .

External links