Berlin Northern Railway

Berlin Northern Railway
Berlin–Neubrandenburg–Stralsund
Overview
Native name Berliner Nordbahn
Locale Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Line number 6088
6030 S-Bahn to Oranienburg
Technical
Line length 222.6 km (138.3 mi)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in) standard gauge
Electrification
  • 15 kV/16.7 Hz AC Overhead catenary (main line)
  • 750 V DC third rail (S-Bahn: Berlin–Oranienburg)
Operating speed 160 km/h (99.4 mph) (maximum)
Route number 200.1, 200.85, 205,
209.12, 209.20
Route map

Legend
 Operating points and lines[1] 
from Rostock
222.6 Stralsund
from and to Sassnitz
to Greifswald
219.0 Voigdehagen
214.7 Zarrendorf
211.2 Elmenhorst
208.3 Wittenhagenformer station
Trebel
199.6 Grimmen
197.4 Vietlipp
to Tribsees
192.7 Rakowformer station
184.9 Toitz-Rustow
to Loitz
Peene
176.1 Demmin
from Tutow
Tollense
172.4 Zachariae
169.8 Utzedel
165.2 Sternfeld
Strehlower Bach
161.4 Gnevkow
157.4 Gültz
149.1 Altentreptow
Tollense
142.3 Neddemin
from Friedland
from Güstrow
from Waren
133.7 Neubrandenburg
to Pasewalk
125.4 Burg Stargard
117.6 Cammin (Meckl)former station
from Strasburg
113.4 Blankensee (Meckl)
105.2 Thurow
from Rostock
98.5 Neustrelitz Hbf
Neustrelitz Süd
to Mirow
95.2 Strelitz Alt junctionfrom Mirow
88.7 Drewin
85.2 Düsterförde
MVBrandenburg state border
from and to Templin
78.0 Fürstenberg (Havel)
Havel
74.7 Drögen
65.4 Dannenwalde
Wentowsee
60.8 Altlüdersdorf
from Neuglobsow
56.2 Gransee
53.6 Buberow
51.5 Gutengermendorf
from and to Herzberg
from Prenzlau
44.3 Löwenberg
40.8 Grüneberg
34.8 Nassenheide
Havel
31.5 to Wensickendorf
31.5 Fichtengrundsince 1896
31.5 from Wensickendorf
29.5 Sachsenhausen (Nordb)
27.4 Oranienburg,terminus of
to Kremmen
Oder-Havel Canal
25.7 Lehnitz
22.5 Borgsdorf
Briese
19.4 Birkenwerder
to Berlin outer ring
to Berlin outer ring
Berlin outer ring overpass
17.3 Hohen Neuendorf,terminus of
S-Bahn from Berlin outer ring
BrandenburgBerlin state border
13.0 Frohnau
10.9 Hermsdorf
Tegel stream
9.4 Waidmannslust,terminus of
Tegel–Friedrichsfelde industrial railway
8.1 Berlin-Wittenau
Nordgraben
from Basdorf
5.5 Wilhelmsruh
from Hennigsdorf
3.8 Schönholz
2.8 Wollankstraße
from Bernau
1.2 Bornholmer Straße
S-Bahn to Schönhauser Allee
and Gesundbrunnen

to Schönhauser Allee
and Gesundbrunnen

Berliner Ringbahn overpass
0.0 Berlin Old Nordbahnhof

The Belin Northern Railway German: Berliner Nordbahn) is a 223-kilometre-long main line route, that runs from Berlin via Neustrelitz and Neubrandenburg to Stralsund on the Baltic Sea coast. Nowadays, long-distance and regional traffic on the Nordbahn is routed at Hohen Neuendorf onto the Berlin Outer Ring to the Karower Kreuz and on to Berlin Main Station or Berlin-Lichtenberg.

History

Construction of the line was preceded by decades of planning from 1843 until 1870 when the newly founded Berlin Northern Railway Company (German: Berliner Nord-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft) gained the concessions from the states of Prussia and Mecklenburg-Strelitz. For financial reasons, the company was dissolved on 15 December 1875. The Prussian government acquired the unfinished railway and handed over further construction of it to the Lower Silesian-Markish Railway (Niederschlesisch-Märkische Eisenbahn). The opening took place in three stages:

The construction of the Northern Railway had a significant impact on the villages to the north of Berlin that were in the catchment area of the railway line. In some cases their population multiplied in the following decades. The term Nordbahn became part of place-names (for instance, Glienicke/Nordbahn) and newspapers used its name (Nordbahn-Nachrichten).

Water tower at Löwenberg station
Looking south from Löwenberg station

The Berlin terminus of the railway, but only for freight, was the first freight yard at Eberswalder Straße, now the site of Mauerpark. Passenger services began at the original Nordbahnhof (North Station) in Pankow, today's Wollankstraße station, still evident in the design of the station and its forecourt. At the end of the 19th century the terminus of the railway or passenger trains for Berlin regional services was relocated to the Stettiner Bahnhof (Stettin—now Szczecinstation), built on Invalidenstraße; the freight remained at Eberswalder Straße.

Up to 1912 separate suburban tracks were built next to the long distance tracks between Gesundbrunnen and Frohnau. At the same time the line was moved to an embankment, to eliminate level crossings. In 1926, the section from Frohnau to Borgsdorf was treated similarly.

In 1925 the suburban services were electrified on the DC system on the section from Gesundbrunnen to Oranienburg. The route later became part of the Berlin S-Bahn. In 1950 the Stettiner Bahnhof was renamed the Nordbahnhof. Electrical operations continued until the building of the Berlin Wall on 13 August 1961, when the line between Frohnau and Hohen Neuendorf was closed. The Berlin section of the Northern Railway had already been closed for mainline traffic to Nordbahnhof on 18 May 1952.

Immediately after the wall was built, the S-Bahn between Oranienburg and Hohen Neuendorf became an isolated operation. Subsequently, S-Bahn tracks were built and electrified along the Berlin outer ring between Hohen Neuendorf and Blankenburg. This line was connected in November 1961 to the main S-Bahn network. In Berlin, S-Bahn services continued to Frohnau until the handover of operating rights of the S-Bahn in West Berlin from the East German Railways to the BVG on 9 January 1984. Services were first closed and only resumed on 1 October 1984. Rehabilitation carried out on the S-train tracks in 1985 placed them on a track profile that would make the restoration of the old main line for long distance traffic difficult.

In 1992, the gap between Frohnau and Hohen Neuendorf was closed so that continuous S-Bahn services could resume on the Northern Railway to Oranienburg.

See also

References

  1. Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas). Schweers + Wall. 2009. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.

External links

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