Trains on the Berlin U-Bahn

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The trains on the Berlin U-Bahn are split into two categories: Kleinprofil ("small profile", used by the U1, U2, U3 and U4) and Großprofil ("large profile", used by the U5, U6, U7, U8 and U9) lines. The names refer to the size of the train's coaches. Großprofil coaches have a width of 2.65 meters and a height of 3.40 meters, and Kleinprofil coaches are only 2.30 meters wide and 3.10 meters high. Technically speaking these are two distinct train networks. Both networks use the Normalspur with a track width of 1435 millimeters and use direct current at a voltage of 750 Volts. Because Großprofil and Kleinprofil use different types of power rails (Kleinprofil vehicles touch the power rail from above, Großprofil ones from below) the trains usually cannot operate on the same route. However, on the Nord-Süd-Bahn in the years between 1923 and 1927 and on the E line (today's U5) between 1961 and 1978, Kleinprofil trains with speciallly adapted power pickups ran on Grossprofil tracks. They were fitted with special wodden boards on the sides to close the gap between platform and train. These wooden boards were jokingly called Blumenbretter ("flower boards") by the Berlin population.

Also, the polarity of the power rails differs. In the Kleinprofil the power rail is the positive and the track the negative end, in the Großprofil it is the other way around. In East Berlin the polarity of the track section Thälmannplatz/Otto-Grotewohl-Straße - Pankow, Vinetastraße was the same as in the Großprofil. After reunification, this exception to the normal Kleinprofil polarity was reversed by the BVG, even though there are benefits to this arrangement (there is less corrosion of metal parts in the tunnel with the Großprofil polarity).

The newest types of U-Bahn are H for the Großprofil and Hk for the Kleinprofil. The oldest vehicles still in service are of the F74 type (Großprofil) and of the A3-64 type (Kleinprofil).

[edit] Track gauges

[edit] Kleinprofil

Kleinprofil train types
A-I	1901–1904
	1906–1913	improved train steering
	1924–1926	built from steel
A-II (Amanullah)	1928–1929
A3-60	1960/61
A3-64	1964
A3-66	1966
A3L66	1966	built from aluminum
A3L67	1967/68
A3L71	1972/73
A3L82	1982/83
A3L92	1993–1995
G (Gustav)	1974	prototype
G-I (Gisela)	1978–1983
G-II	1983
G-I/1	1986–1989
HK	from 2000 onwards	two trains at present, 20 more ordered for the October of 2006

For the first U-Bahn line of Berlin two test vehicles were ordered from the Cologne coach factory van der Zypen & Charlier. One of these vehicles was used by Wilhelm II in 1908, leading to their nickname Kaiserwagen ("emperor's coach"). The train width of 2.30 meters was already fixed at this point. At that time, trains and subways were still modelled after streetcars. The first production vehicles, which were appropriately titled A-I, were built in the Warschauer Brücke workshop. At the U-Bahn's opening in 1902 42 multiple units and 21 pure railroad cars were ready for service. Unlike the test vehicles, the seating was along the walls of the train, which was considered more comfortable. This arrangement is still used today. These trains had a top speed of 50 km/h.

From 1906 to 1913 vehicles from the fifth batch delivered were added. These had an improved steering system, which made the 8-car trains that had become a necessity in the meanwhile possible.

A speciality that is no longer in use were smoking compartments in the U-Bahn and a third class of cars. Car classes were only abandoned as late as 1927.

In 1926 the Schöneberg U-Bahn, which had been independent and had used their own vehicles up to that point, joined the ranks of the existing U-Bahn trains. Because a connection to the rest of the network had been planned from the beginning, the Schöneberg trains had been built to the specifications of the main network.

From 1928 to 1929 a new type of Kleinprofil was introduced, the A-II cars. The most notable difference to the A-I type was that the A-II only had three windows and two sliding doors. Berliners called these trains Ammanullah-cars because the Afghan king Amanullah Khan had supposedly steered one of these trains during his 1928 Berlin visit.

After World War II a new batch of the previously used vehicles became a necessity - the trains had become badly damaged in the war. At this point the new A3 type, modelled after its big Großprofil brother DL, was designed. There were three batches of this type in the years 1960/61, 1964 and 1966. However, because these were built from steel, the new trains required a large amount of electricity. So, based on the A3, the A3L type built from aluminum was developed. In 1982 the design was slightly modified, but remained compatible to the existing trains and could be used interchangeably with them. They were called A3L82.

While in West Berlin newer and newer vehicles were built and used, in East Berlin the pre-war A-I and A-II trains were still running. Finally, in 1975 the Thälmannplatz — Pankow route got four prototypes of the new GI double multiple unit, called Gustav in popular parlance. Just like before, seats were located alongside the train walls. The top speed was 70 km/h. The smallest unit of these trains were half trains made up of two double multiple units. After intensive testing the LEW Henningsdorf factory began manufacturing the trains. The production models had lower side windows and a changed front, but were technically the same. 114 cars were built until 1982. There were 24 more, but those were delivered to Greece for a train line there. They were returned to Berlin in 1984/85.

In the year 1988 a new batch of GI-trains was delivered, but with technical changes that made coupling them with the older cars impossible. Because of these changes the new trains were called GI/1. Their popular nickname was Gisela. A speciality of these cars was the fact that they had only two doors per side, unlike the other Kleinprofil trains, which had three.

In the years 1993–1995 another new series of Kleinprofil trains were manufactured for the BVG. They were based on the A3L82, but were painted grey on the inside, unlike the earlier trains, which had wooden panelling. That was not the only change, however - they were the first Kleinprofil trains to use three-phase electric power. These trains were called A3L92.

In allusion to the Großprofil series H two prototypes were built in 2000, which had the designation HK - originally, the plan had been to call them A4. Unlike their Großprofil model these trains are not totally connected for the passengers. A full train can be divided into two half trains. At present, only the two prototypes are in service. BVG, however, is planning on adding more trains of this type in the course of 2006. The production of the first train started in May 2005.

Today, only trains of the Hk, GI/1 and A3(U/L) types are in active service.

[edit] Großprofil

Großprofil train types
A-IK (Blumenbretter)	1923–1927 1945–1968	cars of the Kleinprofil type A-I
B I (Tunneleulen)	1924–1928	improved train steering
B II	1927–1929	a new batch of B-I cars
C I (Langwagen)	1926/1927
C II	1929
C III	1930
C IV	1930/1931	test type
D (Stahldoras)	1955/1965
DL65 (Doras)	1965/1966	built from poor metals
DL68	1968–1970
DL70	1970–1973
E I	1956/1957	prototype
E III	1962–1990
F74	1973–1975
F76	1976–1978
F79	1979–1981
F84	1984/1985
F87	1987/1988
F90 (Jäger)	1990/1991
F92	1992/1993
H95	1994/1995
H98	1998/1999
H01	2000–2002

When the city of Berlin planned the new Nord-Süd-Bahn, it ordered two cars in the Großprofil with a much greater width of 2.65 meters from the Linke-Hoffmann factory in Breslau. These were delivered in 1914 and put to trials by the Siemens company. The new cars with their bigger passenger capacity of 111 seats were intended to save money on the construction of platforms, because fewer cars were required to carry the passengers. This turned out to be a problem which could only be solved in the 1950s and 1990s through enlargenment of the existing platforms.

For the U-Bahn of the AEG company, today's U8, two prototypes were ordered from the Cologne train factory van der Zypen & Charlier. They were built in 1916, but were never put into service. The Berlin train authority used the two trains from 1921 on, on a suburb route.

Because Berlin or more specifically the Nord-Süd-Bahn AG had no Großprofil trains for the opening of the Hallesches Tor – Stettiner Bahnhof route, the running of that route was handed to the (then) privately owned Hochbahngesellschaft, which serviced the route using Kleinprofil trains with wooden boards (the so-called Blumenbretter, "flower boards") attached to the sides.

Only after the hyperinflation was over Großprofil cars could finally be ordered. In 1924, the first 16 multiple units and 8 normal passenger cars were delivered. Because they had big elliptical front windows, they were commonly called Tunneleulen ("tunnel owls"). The cars were 13.15 meters long and had 3 double sliding doors. This series was called BI.

From 1927 to 1928 20 further multiple units and 30 passenger cars were delivered to the Nord-Süd-Bahn AG. Because they had an improved propulsion system, they got the designation BII. The last BI and BII trains were retired in the summer of 1969.

As early as 1926, the first CI trains were trialed. They were 18 meters long and were tested thoroughly, before production started with the CII and CIII types. On the outside, CII and CIII trains were identical, but they were very different on the inside. The electricity driving the train was routed directly through the steering in the CII ("Schaltwerksteuerung"), while the CIII used the safer "Schützensteuerung" (with only a weak control current running through the controls).

In 1930 the first CIV cars were delivered. For the first time, aluminum was used as a construction material. This way, weight could be reduced by 12%. Especially these CIV cars, but also some CII and CIII trains were seized by the Soviet occupation forces in 1945, which were stationed in the Friedrichsfelde workshop at that time. The trains were transported to Moscow and were used in the Metro until 1966.

After World War II the trains of the Berlin U-Bahn were very worn out, making a new series of trains necessary. From 1957 on the new D type trains were delivered. They were made of steel, making them very heavy. In 1965, the DL type was developed, which was constructed from lighter metals. This way, weight was reduced by 26%. Just like in earlier types the seats were located along the sides of the train. Because the BVB (the East Berlin public transport authority) needed more trains for their new route to Hönow, they bought 98 cars of this type from the BVG. They were called DI in the east. Of course, they were painted in the East Berlin color scheme of ebony and yellow. The last trains of this type were retired at the end of the year 2004. The traditional farewell run of this sries was on February 27, 2005.

In East Berlin, the vehicle situation was poor. Because the C-trains had been transported to Moscow as stated above, there were no Großprofil trains left for the E line. So, just like in the beginning years of the Großprofil, Kleinprofil vehicles with boards attached to the sides were used. These trains had the designation AI K.

In 1958, the VEB Waggonbau Ammendorf built two prototypes of the new EI train. Because it was made of steel, its weight was enormous, and would have required too great an amount of energy to be used regularly, so there were no production models of those train were built. Plans for an EII type train were dropped in 1962 because of political problems. Finally, those responsible in the GDR ministry of transporthad the idea of converting S-Bahn trains, which had become surplus because of the boycott of the S-Bahn in the west. The project began in the summer of 1962. Six trains of the S-Bahn type 168 were converted in the Reichsbahnausbesserungswerk Schöneweide (RAW) until the end of 1962. All in all, five batches of this new U-Bahn train type, called EIII, were delivered. Now, the Kleinprofil trains could finally be moved back from the E line to the A line, which sorely needed the trains due to a very large number of passengers on the segment between Schönhauser Allee and Alexanderplatz. The EIII trains were retired as soon as 1994, because they had become extremely uneconomical after the reunification.

In West Berlin, the new F type followed the D and DL types. These trains were longer, built from light metal and had a different seating arrangement, with the two double seats in a 90 degree angle to the train. Production models of this type were built from 1972 onward. Another second batch was dleivered in 1976. In the year 1980 a new variation called F79 was introduced. It used the new three-phase electric power, which would be used on all future models as well. Later the F84 and F87 followed, but there were no major changes to the basic design. From 1990 on, the BVG bought more trains, which were called F90/F92, which also featured no major changes. Minor changes included improved automatic doors that closed more quietly.

In the meanwhile, the F type had become quite old-fashioned, and the BVG decided to commission another new type. A train with completely joined compartments was chosen, and the seats along the car walls returned. This type was called H. In 1995 the first prototypes (H95)were delivered to the BVG. In 1998 and 2000 further batches (H97 and H01) were ordered from Adtranz. The interior was mainly painted white and yellow. The cars can only be uncoupled in a depot.

Today, only trains of the F and H types are in active service.