Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe

Outline
Head Office
Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe (LVB) GmbH
Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 12 • 04107 Leipzig
Germany
http://www.lvb.de
Ownership
95 % Local authority (Stadt Leipzig, "City of Leipzig"),
through the municipal undertaking
Leipziger Versorgungs- und Verkehrsgesellschaft
(LVV, "Leipzig Supply and Public Transport Company")
5% District (Landkreis) of Leipziger Land
Passengers
ca. 123 million (at 2004)
Vehicles
105 Motorbuses
304 Powered trams (motor trams)
119 Unpowered trams (trailers)
Stops and Stations
ca. 606 Motorbus stops
ca. 515 Tramcar stops
Trackage
324.4 km Operable track length
149.9 km System (segment) length
1,458 mm Gauge
This article is a translation of the German article Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe. Images are those that appear in the German-language article.

The Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe or LVB, literally translated into English as the Leipzig Transport Company, operates the tramway and bus transport services in Leipzig, Germany. The LVB route network is a part of the regional public transport association Mitteldeutscher Verkehrsverbund. LVB was formed by the merger, from 1 January 1917, of two predecessor undertakings, the Großen Leipziger Straßenbahn (GLSt, "Greater Leipzig Tramway Company") and the Leipziger Elektrischen Straßenbahn (LESt, "Leipzig Electric Tramway Company"). The merged undertaking was also known as GLSt until it was reorganized and renamed as the LVB, from 29 July 1938.

Contents


Organization

The company is organized as a holding company. LVB owns infrastructure such as track, depots and land, and all vehicles. It holds the concession ("license") for public transport in Leipzig, and is responsible for organization, planning and management of public transport. It provides these services through its various subsidiary undertakings. The LVB Group [1] consists of the following undertakings:

These subsidiaries were organized to facilitate tendering of public transport and reduction of public subsidies. They serve outside clients in addition to LVB.

Vehicles

Tramcars

External link: Straßenbahnfuhrpark der Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe ("LVB Tramcar Fleet") (German)

Motorbuses

External link: Busfuhrpark der Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe ("LVB Motorbus Fleet") (German)

Lines

Motorbus route letters were replaced by route numbers with the timetable change effective 5 October 1997. In addition, the tramway service network was again revised from 2001 and a marketing campaign began under the name Das Neue Netz ("The New Network"). Thus the following numbering scheme applies currently in Leipzig:

Tramway Lines

The Leipzig tramway network is the second-largest in Germany (after Berlin) and has a radial lattice structure. In contract to a tangential network, here all lines form the shape of a star. With the exception of Line 2 , all lines operate via the main railway station (Hauptbahnhof) and serve at least one of the three town center stops on the Goerdelerring, Augustusplatz and Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz. With the exception of Line 14, the tramway services provide a basic 10-minute interval (15-minute interval during evening and weekend service hours). As the result of overlay of lines, central segments are served as frequently as 2-3 minutes. Lines 3 and 13 provide, only outside of peak periods, a combined 10-minute interval between Großzschocher and Heiterblick, branching to serve different terminals. Some services are short workings and are designated with a letter "E". These operate to and from intermediate terminal points (except lines 11E and 4E). Line 4E works through at Hauptbahnhof to or from Line 12. Lines 12 and 4E operate to their respective central terminals during peak periods (Prager-/Riebeckstraße or Riebeck-/Stötteritzer Straße), where line numbers are changed.

Motorbus Lines

Lines 60, 70, 80 and 90 are also called Stadtbus-Linien ("City Bus Lines") and serve a prominent function within the bus network. They operate as tangential services, transverse to the radial tramway network, and provide a basic service interval of 10 minutes. They provide cross connections between the tramway services and thereby rank with the most intensively-used bus lines.

In addition, Line 89 has a distinguishing characteristic: it is the only line in the historic town center and the pedestrian precincts (Fußgängerzonen), and is therefore called the "City-Linie" ("City Line"). For operation in the narrow roads of the historic center, LVB uses mostly Mercedes-Benz O520 Mercedes-Benz Cito vehicles. The line number 89 recalls the year of the political turning point, 1989 (the "Monday demonstrations" (Montagsdemonstrationen) against the DDR regime began at the Nikolaikirche church in 1989 September).

Night Bus Lines ("Nightliner")

A network of night bus services was introduced at 1998 August and thus the night service (known as "owl service" in the U.S. and Canada) was completely rearranged. At easily-remembered times - 1:11, 2:22, 3:33 - however only at the main railway station - (Hauptbahnhof), nine services departed for various points throughout the town.

These services were introduced with much advertising and enjoyed such great popularity that two-axle vehicles were replaced by articulated buses, and service on some tramway services was extended to 1:11.

Service N10 was introduced from 2004 December, operating on Friday/Saturday and Saturday/Sunday nights, however for the 3:33 departure an upgraded N9 service to Connewitz/Klemmstrasse takes the place of service N10.

From 2 April 2006 the night bus network was again improved. In addition to the services described above on Nightliner services N1 - N9, additional departures from the Hauptbahnhof are provided at 1:45 and 3:00. These supplementary services terminate at major intermediate points and are designated with the letter "E".

History

On 18 May 1872, the Leipziger Pferdeeisenbahn (LPE, "Leipzig Horse Railway) opened service. The Reudnitz tram depot was the first in Leipzig and the location of the LPE head office. Twenty-five years after opening, the LPE owned 1,013 horses, 172 tramcars and five depots. A competing tramway enterprise, the Leipziger Elektrische Straßenbahn (LESt, "Leipzig Electric Tramway Company") started construction of an electric tramway network in 1895. This prompted the LPE to begin electrification. The Große Leipziger Straßenbahn (GLSt, "Greater Leipzig Tramway Company") organized as the legal successor to the LPE, managed to open the first electric tramway in Leipzig on 17 April 1896. The LESt opened service soon thereafter, on 20 May 1896. To the regret of many residents, the last horse tramway service operated on 16 April 1897.

Suburban lines were developed from 1900, and motorbus services from 1913. After the First World War, the privately owned companies were dissolved and replaced by a municipal undertaking, which operated under the old name Große Leipziger Straßenbahn (GLSt). This was renamed Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe (LVB, "Leipzig Transport Company") from 1938, incorporating motorbus, trolleybus and taxi services. In 1949, following establishment of the DDR, LVB was integrated with other (formerly private) enterprises taken into state ownership. It became part of the (nationalized) transport undertakings operated as Volkseigener Betrieb Kombinate ("People's Collective Enterprises") in 1970. Following the fall of the DDR, LVB was reorganized as a company with limited liability (GmbH), owned by the Leipzig local authority and the district (Landkreis) of Leipzig.

A detailed overview of the development of the Leipzig tramway, segment by segment, may be found in the article Leipzig Tramway Network History.

Historic Tramcars

Motor Tram Type 13:

Technical Data
Series 416-505
In Service 5 November 1906
Builder GLSt central workshops, Leipzig
Electrical Equipment AEG / LEW
Controller Two, Type K26w
Motors Two, BM 20/600, 16 kW
Brakes Air, hand

Motor Tram Type 27:

Technical Data for Motor Tram Number 981
Built 1913/1929
Seats 18 (cross seats)
Standing places 20
Mass 11.9 tonnes
Length 8.86 m
Axlebase (wheelbase) 2 m
Brakes Air (motor compressor), electric, hand
Controller Schleifringfahrschalter AEG-FB3sp41
Motors Two, AEG-USL253a, 34 kW

Motor Tram Type 29:

Technical Data
Series 1001-1056
In Service 18 June 1930
Builder Linke-Hofmann-Busch AG, Bautzen
Electrical Equipment Sachsenwerk, Dresden-Niedersedlitz
Controllers Two, Type SNF
Motors Four, GBv 237, 45 kW
Brakes Air, electric, hand, track

Motor Tram Type 30:

Technical Data
Series 1601-1615
In Service 13 October 1951

See also