Trams in Berlin

Berlin tramway

Operation
Locale Berlin, Germany
Horsecar era: 1865 (1865)–1910 (1910)
Status Converted to electricity
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (standard gauge)
Propulsion system(s) Horses
Electric tram era: since 1895 (1895)
Status Operational
Lines 22[1] (+2 suburban lines)
  • 9 MetroTram lines[2]
  • 13 regular tram lines[3]
Operator(s) Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) (since 1929)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (standard gauge)
Propulsion system(s) Electricity
Electrification 600 V DC Overhead
Route length 190 km (118 mi)[4]
Stops almost 800
Passengers (2013) 174.7 million[5]
Map of the network, as of September 2015
Map of the network, September 2015
Website Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) (in German)

The Berlin tramway (German: Straßenbahn Berlin) is the main tram system in Berlin, Germany. It is one of the oldest tram networks in the world having its origins in 1865[6] and is operated by Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), which was founded in 1929.[6] It is notable for being the third largest tram system in the world, after Melbourne and St. Petersburg.[7] Berlin's streetcar system is made up of 22 lines[1] that operate across a standard gauge network, with almost 800 stops and measuring almost 190 kilometres (120 mi) in route length and 430 kilometres (270 mi) in line length.[4] Nine of the lines, called Metrotram, are operated 24 hours per day, and are identified with the letter 'M' before their number;[2] the other thirteen lines are regular city tram lines and are identified by just a line number.[3]

Most of the recent network is within the confines of the former East Berlin—tram lines within West Berlin having been replaced by buses during the division of Berlin (the first extension into West Berlin opened in 1994 on today's M13). In the eastern vicinity of the city there are also three private tram lines that are not part of the main system, whereas to the south-west of Berlin is the Potsdam tram system with its own network of lines.

History

In 1865, a horse tramway was established in Berlin. In 1881, the world's second electric tram line opened. Numerous private and municipal operating companies constructed new routes, so by the end of the 19th century the network developed quite rapidly, and the horse trams were changed into electric ones. By 1930, the network had a route length of over 630 km (391 mi) with more than 90 lines. In 1929, all operating companies were unified into the BVG. After World War II, BVG was divided into an eastern and a western company but was once again reunited in 1992, after the fall of East Germany. In West Berlin, by 1967 the last tram lines had been shut down. With the exception of two lines constructed after German reunification, the Berlin tram continues to be limited to the eastern portion of Berlin.

Berlin horsebus

Horse buses

Horse tram car of the Große Berliner Pferde-Eisenbahn, built in 1885

The public transport system of Berlin is the oldest one in Germany. In 1825, the first bus line from Brandenburger Tor to Charlottenburg was opened by Simon Kremser, already with a timetable.[8] The first bus service inside the city has operated since 1840 between Alexanderplatz and Potsdamer Bahnhof. It was run by Israel Moses Henoch, who had organized the cab service since 1815.[9][10] On 1 January 1847, the Concessionierte Berliner Omnibus Compagnie (Concessionary Berlin Bus Company) started its first horse-bus line. The growing market witnessed the launch of numerous additional companies, with 36 bus companies in Berlin by 1864.

Horse trams

On 22 June 1865, the opening of Berlin's first horse tramway marked the beginning of the age of trams in Germany, spanning from Brandenburger Tor along today's Straße des 17. Juni (17 June Road) to Charlottenburg. Two months later, on 28 August, it was extended along Dorotheenstraße to Kupfergraben near today's Museumsinsel (Museum Island), a terminal stop which is still in service today. Like the horse-bus, many companies followed the new development and built horse-tram networks in all parts of the today's urban area. In 1873, a route from Rosenthaler Platz to the Gesundbrunnen was opened, to be operated by the new Große Berliner Pferde-Eisenbahn (Great Berlin Horse Railway) which would later become the dominant company in Berlin under the name of Große Berliner Straßenbahn (GBS; Great Berlin Tramway).

Electrification

Electric car of the GBS, built in 1901
Car of Berlin's last class with open platforms, built in 1907
Car of the same class, modernized in 1925

On 16 May 1881, the region of Berlin again wrote transport history. In the village of Groß-Lichterfelde, which was incorporated into Berlin-Steglitz 39 years later, Werner von Siemens opened the world's second electric tramway. The electric tram in Groß-Lichterfelde was built to 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) metre gauge and ran from today's suburban station, East Lichterfelde, to the cadet school on Zehlendorfer Straße (today Finckensteinallee). Initially, the route was intended merely as a testing facility. Siemens named it an "elevated line taken down from its pillars and girders" because he wanted to build a network of electric elevated lines in Berlin. But the skeptical town council did not allow him to do this until 1902, when the first elevated line opened.

The first tests of electric traction on Berlin's standard gauge began on 1 May 1882, with overhead supply and in 1886 with chemical accumulators, were not very successful. Definitively, electric traction of standard-gauge trams in Berlin was established in 1895. The first tram line with an overhead track supply ran in an industrial area near Berlin-Gesundbrunnen station. The first line in more a representative area took place with accumulators for its first year, but got a catenary, too, four years later. In 1902, the electrification with overhead wiring had been completed, except for very few lines on the periphery.

The last horse-drawn tram line closed in 1910.

Underground trams

On 28 December 1899, it became possible to travel underground, even under the Spree, upon completion of the Spreetunnel between Stralau and Treptow. Owing to structural problems, it was closed on 25 February 1932. From 1916 to 1951, the tram had a second tunnel, the Lindentunnel, passing under the well-known boulevard Unter den Linden.

Great variety of companies until the formation of the BVG

The history of tramway companies of the Berlin Strassenbahn is very complicated. Besides the private companies, which often changed because of takeovers, mergers, and bankruptcies, the cities of Berlin, Spandau, Köpenick, Rixdorf; the villages Steglitz, Mariendorf, Britz, Niederschönhausen, Friedrichshagen, Heiligensee and Französisch Buchholz, and the Kreis Teltow (Teltow district) had municipal tramway companies.

The most important private operating company was the Große Berliner Pferde-Eisenbahn (Great Berlin Horse Railway), which called itself Große Berliner Straßenbahn (GBS) (Great Berlin Tramway) after starting the electrification. GBS acquired nearly all of the other companies through the years. In 1920, the GBS merged with the municipal companies BESTAG and SSB to become the Berliner Straßenbahn (Berlin Tramway), which was reorganized in 1929 into the newly formed municipal Berliner Verkehrs-AG (BVG) (Berlin Transport Company). Besides the tramway, the BVG also took over the elevated and underground rail lines and the bus routes which were previously operated primarily by the Allgemeine Berliner Omnibus-Actien-Gesellschaft (ABOAG) (General Berlin Bus Corporation).

The following table includes all companies that operated tramways in today's Berlin before the formation of the BVG. The background color of each line marks the drive method which the respective company used to serve their lines at the time of the formation (blue = horse tram, yellow = steam tram, white = electric tram, red = benzole tram).

First line opened Operating company Gauge (mm) Takeover date Taken over by Special remarks
1865-06-22 Berliner Pferde-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (BPfEG) 1,435 1894-09-26 BChS first horse tram in Germany
1871-11-01 Westend-Terrain-Gesellschaft H. Quistorp & Co. 1,435 1878 BPfEG
1873-07-08 Große Berliner Pferde-Eisenbahn (GBPfE) 1,435 1898-01-25 GBS
1877-01-01 Neue Berliner Pferdebahn-Gesellschaft (NBPfG) 1,435 1900-01-01 GBS
1879-04-01 Große Internationale Pferde-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (GIPfEG) 1,435 1886 GBPfE founded already in March 1872
1881-05-16 Elektrische Straßenbahn der Gemeinde Groß-Lichterfelde 1,000 1895-03-04 ESGLSS Germany's first electric tramway
1882-10-18 Cöpenicker Pferde-Eisenbahn (CPE) 1,435 1903 SSC
1885-06-13 Pferde-Eisenbahn der Gemeinde Rixdorf 1,435 1887-01-01 GBPfE
1886-05-05 Davy, Donath & Co. 1,435 1888-12-22 BDK
1887-08-06 Pferde-Eisenbahn der Gemeinde Mariendorf 1,435 1888-01-01 GBPfE
1888-05-18 Wilmersdorf-Schmargendorfer Dampfstraßenbahn Reymer & Masch (WSD) 1,435 1888-12-22 BDK
1888-07-01 Dampfstraßenbahn Groß-Lichterfelde - Seehof - Teltow 1,435 1891-05-31 DLSTS
1888-12-22 Berliner Dampfstraßenbahn-Konsortium (BDK) 1,435 1898-10-01 WBV also operated some horse trams
1891-05-17 Straßenbahn Friedrichshagen 1,000 1906-12-16 SSC in 1894 taken over by the village, electrificated and regauged to standard gauge as of the takeover by SSC
1891-05-31 Dampfstraßenbahn Groß-Lichterfelde - Seehof - Teltow - Stahnsdorf 1,435 1906-04-01 TKb
1891-06-04 Pferdebahn Tegeler Chaussee - Tegel 1,435 1891-06-04 GBPfE
1891-08-01 Pferde-Eisenbahn der Gemeinde Britz 1,435 1891-08-01 GBPfE
1892-06-05 Spandauer Straßenbahn Simmel, Matzky & Müller (SpS) 1,000 1920-12-08 Berliner Straßenbahn on 1894-09-01 management taken over by Allgemeine Deutsche Kleinbahn-Gesellschaft (ADKG), electrification finished on 1896-03-18, from 1899-03-04 management by AEG, regauged to standard gauge on 1907-10-26, bought by the city of Spandau on 1909-07-01
1892-07-01 Pferde-Eisenbahn der Gemeinde Niederschönhausen 1,435 1892-07-01 GBS
1894-09-26 Berlin-Charlottenburger Straßenbahn (BChS) 1,435 1919-05-15 GBS electrification finished on 1900-10-01
1895-03-04 Elektrische Straßenbahnen Groß-Lichterfelde - Lankwitz - Steglitz - Südende (ESGLSS) 1,000 1906-04-01 TKb
1895-09-10 Siemens & Halske 1,435 1899-07-01 BESTAG
1898-01-25 Große Berliner Straßenbahn (GBS) 1,435 1920-10-01 Berliner Straßenbahn electrification finished on 1902-12-15, bought by the Zweckverband Groß-Berlin on 1909-09-20
1898-10-01 Westliche Berliner Vorortbahn (WBV) 1,435 1919-05-15 GBS also operated some horse trams, electrification finished on 1900-06-19
1899-07-01 Berliner Elektrische Straßenbahn-AG (BESTAG) 1,435 1920-12-01 Berliner Straßenbahn
1899-07-01 Südliche Berliner Vorortbahn 1,435 1919-05-15 GBS
1899-10-21 Straßenbahn Berlin-Hohenschönhausen 1,435 1906-12-10 NBSNO
1899-12-18 Gesellschaft für den Bau von Untergrundbahnen (Straßenbahn Schlesischer Bahnhof - Treptow) (SST) 1,435 1909-06-22 Berliner Ostbahnen opened the Spreetunnel
1901-08-15 Straßenbahn Niederschöneweide - Cöpenick (SNC) 1,435 1909-06-22 Berliner Ostbahnen
1901-10-01 Gesellschaft für elektrische Hoch- und Untergrundbahnen in Berlin (tramway line Warschauer Brücke-Zentralviehhof) 1,435 1928-04-01 BSBG on 1910-01-01 tram line was sold to SSB, instead of it opening of a new tram line from Warschauer Brücke to Scharnweber-/Gürtelstraße, later extended to Wagnerplatz (today Roedeliusplatz) in Lichtenberg
1903 Städtische Straßenbahn Cöpenick (SSC) 1,435 1920-10-01 GBS
1904-07 Pferde-Eisenbahn der Gemeinde Französisch-Buchholz 1,435 1907-12-19 BESTAG electrification as of takeover by BESTAG
1905-12-03 Straßenbahn der Gemeinde Steglitz 1,435 1921-04-16 Berliner Straßenbahn
1906-04-01 Teltower Kreisbahnen (TKb) 1,000/1,435 1921-04-16 Berliner Straßenbahn steam tram of DLSTS was electrificated on 1907-03-30
1906-12-10 Neue Berliner Straßenbahn Nordost (NBSNO) 1,435 1910-05-03 NÖBV
1908-03-23 Elektrische Straßenbahn Spandau-Nonnendamm 1,435 1914-10-01 SpS founded by Siemens & Halske
1908-07-01 Städtische Straßenbahnen Berlin (SSB) 1,435 1920-10-01 Berliner Straßenbahn
1909-06-22 Berliner Ostbahnen 1,435 1920-05-01 GBS
1910-05-03 Nordöstliche Berliner Vorortbahn (NÖBV) 1,435 1919-05-15 GBS
1910-08-07 Straßenbahn des Flugplatzes Johannisthal 1,435 1910-10 service suspended last horse tram in Berlin
1912-03-09 Schmöckwitz-Grünauer Uferbahn 1,435 1924-08 Berliner Verkehrs-GmbH electrification finished on 1912-07-23
1913-05-29 Straßenbahn der Gemeinde Heiligensee an der Havel 1,435 1920-10-01 Berliner Straßenbahn
1920-10-01 Berliner Straßenbahn 1,000/1,435 1923-09-10 BSBG meter gauge routes are of former TKb
1923-01-08 Kleinbahn Spandau-West - Hennigsdorf 1,435 1929-01-01 BVG electrification later by BVG
1923-09-10 Berliner Straßenbahn-Betriebs-GmbH (BSBG) 1,000/1,435 1929-01-01 BVG meter gauge routes are of former TKb
1924-08 Berliner Verkehrs-GmbH 1,435 1925-03-01 BSBG

On the day of its formation, the BVG had 89 tramway lines: a network of 634 km (394 mi) in length, over 4,000 tramway cars, and more than 14,400 employees. An average tram car ran over 42,500 km (26,400 mi) per year. The Berlin tramway had more than 929 million passengers in 1929, at which point, the BVG already had increased its service to 93 tramway lines.

In the early 1930s, the Berlin tramway network began to decline; after partial closing of the world's first electric tram in 1930, on 31 October 1934, the oldest tramway of Germany followed. The Charlottenburger Chaussee (today Straße des 17. Juni) was rebuilt by Nazi planners following a monumental East-West-Axis, and the tramway had to leave. In 1938, however, there were still 71 tramway lines, 2,800 tram cars and about 12,500 employees. Consequently, the bus network was extended during this time. Since 1933, Berlin also had trolley buses.

During World War II, some transport tasks were given back to the tramway to save oil. Thus an extensive transport of goods was established. Bombings (from March 1943 on) and the lack of personnel and electricity caused the transportation performance to decline. Due to the final Battle for Berlin, the tramway system collapsed on 23 April 1945.[11]

The network since 1945

BVG class TM36, built in 1927, sometimes ran out of control, due to its innovative controlling system

The BVG was—like most other Berlin institutions—split into two different companies on 1 August 1949. Two separate companies were installed, the BVG West in the three western sections (with 36 tram lines) and the BVG Ost (Berlin Public Transit Authority East) (with 13 lines) in the Soviet sector. The latter became in 1969 the VEB Kombinat Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVB). On 14 October 1950, traffic on the lines from West Berlin to the Brandenburgian suburbs Kleinmachnow and Schönefeld stopped, and on 15 January 1953, traffic over the downtown sector border did, too.

From 1949 to 1955, both companies exchanged the Thomson-Houston type trolley poles of their tramcars line by line for pantographs.

West

Articulated Tatra KT4D tramcar of the BVB, built 1980

From 1954 onwards, a shift took place in the public transit plans of West-Berlin. From that moment, plans aimed at discontinuing the tramway service and replacing it with extended underground and bus lines. The tramway was considered old-fashioned and unnecessary since Berlin already had a well-developed underground network. From 1954 to 1962 numerous tram lines were replaced with bus routes and extended underground lines and stops. By 1962, the western part of the city had only 18 tram lines left out of the original 36.

On 2 October 1967 the last tramcar traveled through West-Berlin over the last line, which carried number 55 - from Zoo Station via Ernst-Reuter-Square, the City Hall in Charlottenburg, Jungfernheide S-Bahn station, Siemensdamm, Nonnendammallee, Falkenseer Platz, and Neuendorfer Allee to Spandau, Hakenfelde.

Today, many MetroBus lines follow the routes of former tram lines.

The separation of the city resulted in many problems and difficulties for the public transportation system. Tram lines could no longer travel through the city's center as usual, and the main tram garage was moved to Uferstraße in Western Berlin.

List of West Berlin trams from 1949 to 1967[12]
Line Stretch withdrawn Replaced by Current Lines
Stand 2014
2 Bernauer Straße, Sektorengrenze – Schöneberg, Gotenstraße Ecke Torgauer Straße 01.06.1964 A84, A90 245, M10***
3* U Fehrbelliner Platz – Grüntaler Straße Ecke Osloer Straße 01.08.1964 A89 U7, M13***, 104, 106
6 Charlottenburg, Richard-Wagner-Platz – Neukölln, Elsenstraße /Ecke Heidelberger Straße 01.07.1961 A73 M46
15 Marienfelde, Daimlerstraße – Neukölln, Schulenburgpark 01.07.1966 A77 246, 277
21 Straßenbahnhof Moabit, Wiebestraße – Kreuzberg, Friesenstraße 22.01.1953 A24 TXL, M41, 248
23* Moabit, Zwinglistraße – Wollankstraße, Sektorengrenze 02.05.1960 A70 M27
24* Bernauer Straße, Sektorengrenze – Wollankstraße, Sektorengrenze 02.05.1960 no replacement no replacement
25 Schöneberg, Gotenstraße – Bernauer Straße, Sektorengrenze 01.09.1961 U9, A64 U9, 106, 247
26 Spreewaldplatz – Tempelhof, Industriestraße 29.09.1963 no replacement U7, M29, 277
27 Spreewaldplatz – Buckow, Alt-Buckow 01.10.1964 A91 M44, 344
28 Bahnhof Gesundbrunnen, Rügener Straße – Tegelort, Almazeile 01.06.1958 U6, verl. A20 U6, 222
29 Bahnhof Gesundbrunnen, Rügener Straße – Alt-Heiligensee 01.06.1958 U6, verl. A14 U6, 124
35** Gartenfeld – Kopenhagener Straße, Sektorengrenze 01.10.1960 A72 U7, X33, M27, 327
36** Kopenhagener Straße, Sektorengrenze – Bahnhof Gesundbrunnen, Rügener Straße 02.05.1960 A71 327
40 Dahlem, Clayallee – Steglitz, Birkbuschstraße 01.10.1959 A68 X83, 186
41 Bernauer Straße, Sektorengrenze – Alt-Tegel 01.06.1958 A61 U6, U8, 122
44 Invalidenstraße Ecke Heidestraße – Steglitz, Birkbuschstraße 02.05.1963 A86 U7, 186, 245
47 Britz, Gradestraße – Rudow, Stadtgrenze 01.10.1966 A41 171
51 Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten – Roseneck 01.05.1957 A60 249
53 Charlottenburg, Richard-Wagner-Platz – Spandau, Hakenfelde 02.05.1967 A56 136, M45
54 Charlottenburg, Richard-Wagner-Platz – Spandau, Johannesstift 02.05.1967 A54, AS1 M45
55 Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten – Spandau, Hakenfelde (via Siemensstadt) 02.10.1967 A55 U7, 136, 139
57 Wilmersdorf, Emser Platz – Grunewald, Roseneck 01.11.1954 A50 115
60 Schöneberg, Lindenhof – Charlottenburg, Königin-Elisabeth-Straße 02.05.1962 A74 U7, 309, 106
66 Schöneberg, Wartburgplatz – Steglitz, Thorwaldsenstraße 02.05.1963 A83 187
68 Bahnhof Wedding, Nettelbeckplatz – Bahnhof Wittenau (Nordbahn) 01.06.1958 A62 M21, X21
73* Potsdamer Platz, Sektorengrenze – Bahnhof Lichterfelde Ost 02.05.1962 A48,
verl. A53 		M48, M85, M11
74* Potsdamer Platz, Sektorengrenze – Lichterfelde, Finckensteinallee 02.05.1963 A83, A84 M48, M85, 184
75 Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten – Spandau, Hakenfelde (via Kantstraße) 24.01.1966 A94, A97 X34, X49, 136, M49
76 (I) Grunewald, Roseneck – Anhalter Bahnhof 01.07.1954 A19 M19
76 (II) Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten – Spandau, Johannisstift (ab 1959) 24.01.1966 A94, A97 X34, X49, M45, M49
77 Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten – Lichterfelde, Goerzallee 02.05.1963 A85 U9, M85, 188, 285, M46
78 Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten – Lichterfelde Süd, Lindenstraße 02.05.1963 A85 U9, M85, 188, 285, M46
79 Grunewald, Hagenplatz – U Nollendorfplatz 01.07.1954 A29 M29
88 Kreuzberg, Wiener Brücke – Steglitz, Stadtpark 01.03.1961 A75 M29, M48/M85, 246, 181
94 Oranienplatz – Neukölln, Schulenburgplatz 01.10.1959 A67 M41
95* Sonnenallee Ecke Schwarzer Weg – Mehringplatz 02.05.1965 A95 M41
96* U Mehringdamm – Lichterfelde, Goerzallee Ecke Darser Straße 02.05.1966 A96 117, 184, 248
98 U Tempelhof – Marienfelde, Daimlerstraße 01.10.1961 A77 U6, 277
99 U Tempelhof – Bahnhof Lichtenrade 01.10.1961 A76 U6, M76, X76
* former BVG-West/BVG-Ost before 15.01.1953
** former BVG-West/BVG-Ost before 15.01.1953 (but only belongs to BVG-West)
*** after reunification it was reopened
actually, some of the stretches are no longer usable.

East

Tram in East Berlin, 1977.

Soviet Moscow was, with its tram-free avenues, the role model for East-Berlin's transport planning. The car-oriented mentality of West Berlin also settled in the East since a lot of tram lines closed here as well in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1967, the lines through the city center closed down at the same time as the new city expansion on Alexanderplatz started to grow.

However, complete elimination of the city's tram network was neither planned nor even discussed.

Those lines were built in order to connect the new housing estates Marzahn, Hohenschönhausen, and finally Hellersdorf to the city's tram network from the late 1970s to the early 1990s:

Date Roads
02.08.1951 Ehrlichstraße, Blockdammweg
02.08.1951 Buschallee (zw. Kniprodeallee [heute Hansastraße] und Suermondtstraße), Suermondtstraße
02.08.1951 Markgrafendamm, Hauptstraße (zw. Markgrafendamm und Karlshorster Straße)
15.02.1953 Groß-Berliner Damm
13.06.1953 Falkenberger Straße (heute Gehrenseestraße, Gartenstadt Hohenschönhausen)
17.05.1954 Friedenstraße, Friedrichsberger Straße, Lebuser Straße
28.01.1962 S-Bahnhof Adlershof (Westseite)
14.12.1965 Langhansstraße (zw. Gustav-Adolf-Straße und Prenzlauer Promenade)
18.05.1966 Stralauer Platz
01.08.1966 Holzmarktstraße (zw. Krautstraße und Andreasstraße)
16.09.1966 Stahlheimer Straße (zw. Wichertstraße und Wisbyer Straße)
12.12.1966 Mollstraße (zw. Leninplatz [heute Platz der Vereinten Nationen] und Hans-Beimler-Straße [heute Otto-Braun-Straße])
02.01.1967 Mollstraße (zw. Hans-Beimler-Straße [heute Otto-Braun-Straße] und Prenzlauer Allee)
14.11.1971 Bleicheroder Straße, Stiftweg
02.11.1975 Herzbergstraße (ab Siegfriedstraße), Allee der Kosmonauten (bis Rhinstraße), Rhinstraße (zw. Allee der Kosmonauten und Straße der Befreiung [heute Alt-Friedrichsfelde])
06.04.1979 Allee der Kosmonauten (zw. Rhinstraße und Schleife Elisabethstraße)
17.03.1980 Altenhofer Straße, Leninallee (heute Landsberger Allee), S-Bahnhof Marzahn
06.10.1982 Marzahner Promenade, Bruno-Leuschner-Straße (heute Raoul-Wallenberg-Straße), Allee der Kosmonauten (zw. Leninallee [heute Landsberger Straße] und Schleife Elisabethstraße), Trasse Lea-Grundig-Straße/Max-Hermannstraße/Trusetaler Straße (bis Schleife Henneckestraße)
21.12.1984 Wartenberger Straße, Rüdickenstraße, Zingster Straße
01.04.1985 Rhinstraße (zw. Hauptstraße und Allee der Kosmonauten)
01.04.1985 Leninallee (heute Landsberger Alle, zw. Allee der Kosmonauten und Betriebshof Marzahn)
06.10.1986 Schleife Henneckestraße bis Schleife Ahrensfelde
10.08.1987 Kniprodeallee, Falkenberger Chaussee (bis Prerower Platz)
20.08.1988 Falkenberger Chaussee (zw. Prerower Platz und Schleife Falkenberg)

Following which, some of them are closed, and that is too near to the Berlin Wall:

Date Roads
14.10.1950 Waltersdorfer Chaussee, Mittelstraße (Schönefeld)
19.03.1951 Königstraße, Spandauer Straße (zw. Königstraße und Molkenmarkt), Schloßplatz, Werderstraße, Französische Straße (bis Charlottenstraße, Lindentunnel, Oberwallstraße, Jerusalemer Straße)
02.01.1952 Elsenstraße (zw. Plesser Straße und Heidelberger Straße)
03.03.1952 Stalinallee (zw. Andreasstraße und Jacobystraße)
16.06.1952 Charlottenstraße (zw. Unter den Linden und Clara-Zetkin-Straße)
16.01.1953 Ebertstraße (zw. Potsdamer Platz und Clara-Zetkin-Straße)
16.01.1953 Breite Straße (Mitte)
16.01.1953 Wollankstraße (zw. Sektorengrenze und Breite Straße (Pankow))
16.01.1953 Kopenhagener Straße, Hauptstraße (zw. Sektorengrenze und Wilhelmsruh (Pankow))
16.01.1953 Bornholmer Straße (zw. Sektorengrenze und Björnsonstraße)
27.03.1953 Rosenfelder Straße, Irenenstraße, Weitlingstraße, Lückstraße, Nöldnerstraße, Stadthausstraße, Türrschmidtstraße
11.01.1956 Kommandantenstraße, Beuthstraße
25.06.1957 Bulgarische Straße (bis Alt-Treptow)
05.06.1959 Groß-Berliner Damm
30.08.1959 Alt-Stralau, Tunnelstraße
13.11.1959 Bulgarische Straße (zw. Alt-Treptow und Köpenicker Landstraße)
01.08.1960 Puschkinallee, Am Treptower Park (zw. Puschkinallee und Elsenstraße)
13.08.1961 Clara-Zetkin-Straße (zw. Ebertstraße und Planckstraße), Ebertstraße (zw. Brandenburger Tor und Reichstagufer)
13.08.1961 Oberbaumbrücke
23.08.1961 Heinrich-Heine-Straße (zw. Dresdner Straße und Schmidstraße)
19.09.1961 Köpenicker Straße (zw. Schillingbrücke und Brückenstraße)
28.01.1962 Adlergestell (zw. Dörpfeldstraße und Köpenicker Straße)
03.08.1962 Elisabethstraße, Karl-Marx-Allee (zw. Elisabethstraße und Leninallee)
07.01.1965 Hannoversche Straße
14.12.1965 Gustav-Adolf-Straße (zw. Langhansstraße und Prenzlauer Promenade)
01.04.1966 Idastraße, Wackenbergstraße, Buchholzer Straße, Blankenburger Straße
18.05.1966 Fruchtstraße (zw. Mühlendamm und Am Ostbahnhof)
04.07.1966 Breslauer Straße (zw. Andreasstraße und Krautstraße)
25.08.1966 Heinrich-Heine-Straße (zw. Schmidstraße und Köpenicker Straße)
16.09.1966 Krügerstraße, Wichertstraße (zw. Stahlheimer Straße und Gudvanger Straße), Gudvanger Straße (zw. Wichertstraße und Krügerstraße)
10.10.1966 Jacobystraße, Kleine Frankfurter Straße, Leninallee (zw. Alexanderplatz und Leninplatz)
10.10.1966 Am Ostbahnhof (zw. Fruchtstraße und Andreasstraße)
20.10.1966 Charlottenstraße, Taubenstraße (Wendeschleife)
19.12.1966 Prenzlauer Straße, Hans-Beimler-Straße (zw. Alexanderplatz und Mollstraße), Weinmeisterstraße, Jüdenstraße (Wendeschleife)
20.01.1967 Münzstraße, Memhardstraße, Alexanderplatz, Alexanderstraße (zw. Alexanderplatz und Wallnerstraße)
12.12.1967 Stralauer Allee, Markgrafendamm
19.10.1968 Wallnerstraße, Raupachstraße (Wendeschleife), Alexanderstraße (zw. Wallnerstraße und Holzmarktstraße)
01.07.1969 Dönhoffplatz (Wendeschleife)
01.07.1969 Stralauer Platz, Mühlenstraße, Warschauer Straße (zw. Mühlenstraße und Helsingforser Platz)
13.10.1969 Karlshorster Straße, Stubenrauchbrücke
24.08.1970 Leipziger Straße, Spittelmarkt, Wallstraße, Inselstraße, Köpenicker Straße (zw. Inselstraße und Brückenstraße), Brückenstraße, Jannowitzbrücke, Holzmarktstraße, Andreasstraße, Lebuser Straße, Friedrichsberger Straße, Friedenstraße
01.04.1971 Baumschulenstraße, Hasselwerderstraße, Schnellerstraße (zw. Hasselwerderstraße und Bruno-Bürgel-Weg), Bruno-Bürgel-Weg
08.11.1971 Damerowstraße
14.07.1973 Wiener Brücke (Wendeschleife), Karl-Kunger-Straße, Plesser Straße, Elsenstraße, Am Treptower Park (zw. Elsenstraße und Bulgarische Straße), Köpenicker Landstraße, Schnellerstraße (zw. Köpenicker Landstraße und Brückenstraße), Wendeschleife S-Bahnhof Schöneweide
01.11.1975 Straße der Befreiung
01.03.1983 Falkenberger Straße, Arnimstraße

After Reunification

Double-end "GT6N-ZR.2" trams in BVG yellow

In 1992, the West Berlin transport company BVG took over the East Berlin's BVB. (In addition to bus and subway lines, the new BVG also ran the trams, which now only circulated in the former East Berlin districts.)

There was an attempt to shut down the tram routes running to Pankow, because the trams in Schönhauser Allee run parallel to the U2 line, which does not run to Rosenthal, however.

In 1995, the first stretch of tram route along Bornholmer Straße was opened to the west in two stages. The Rudolf-Virchow-Klinikum and the metro stations located in Seestraße, Wedding, and Osloer Straße in Gesundbrunnen have since re-connected to the tram network.

Since 1997, the tram stops right at the Friedrichstraße station. Previously, passengers changing between modes of transport here had to take a long walk to get to the restored train station. Since then, the trams terminate along the reversing loop "Am Kupfergraben" near the Humboldt University and the Museum Island.

The following year saw the re-opening of tram facilities at Alexanderplatz. These routes now come directly from the intersection with Otto-Braun-Straße across the square, stopping both at the U2 underground station and the overground station for regional and commuter trains, where there is a direct interchange to the U5 and U8 lines. The increase of tram accident victims in the pedestrian zone feared by critics has not occurred.

In 2000, the tram tracks were extended from the previous terminus at Revalerstraße past the Warschauer Straße S-Bahn station to the U-Bahn station of the same name. Since there is no room for a return loop, a blunt ending track was established. In order to accomplish this, bi-directional vehicles were procured. However, the tracks, which were further extended in 1995 to the Oberbaumbrücke, have not yet been expanded to Hermannplatz as had been planned long before.

Since 2000, the tram in Pankow runs beyond the previous terminus Pankow Kirche on to Guyotstraße, connecting the local development areas to the network.

On 12 December 2004, BVG introduced the BVG 2005 plus transport concept. The main focus was the introduction of Metro lines on densely traveled routes, which do not have any subway or suburban traffic. In the tram network, therefore, nine MetroTram lines were introduced and the remaining lines were partially rearranged. The numbering scheme is based on that of 1993, but has undergone minor adjustments. MetroTram and MetroBus lines carry a "M" in front of the line number.

Single metro lines operate on the main radial network; As a rule the line number corresponds to that of 1993; The M4 from the lines 2, 3 and 4, the M5 from the 5, and so on. In addition, the two Pankow lines 52 and 53 were included as a line M1 in the scheme. The supplementary lines of these radials continue to carry 10 numbers, unless they have acted as amplifiers of the respective metro service. Metro services of the ring and tangential net received a number in the 10er range, the supplementary lines retained the 20er number. An exception is the subsequently established line 37, which, together with the lines M17 and 27, travels a common route. Of the 50 lines the only remaining was the 50, the 60 lines remained largely unaffected by the measures.

In 2006, the second line was opened in the western part of the city, and the M10 line moved beyond its former terminus Eberswalderstraße along Bernauer Straße in Gesundbrunnen to the Nordbahnhof in the district of Mitte.

In May 2007, a new line from Prenzlauer Tor along Karl-Liebknecht-Straße towards Alexanderplatz was put into operation, where the line M2 leads directly to the urban and regional train station instead of the current circulation through Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz to Hackescher Markt. The previous route along Alt and Neu Schönhauser Straße no longer carries regular services but operates only as a feeder line.

On 14 December 2014, MetroTram line M5 was extended from Hackesher Markt S-Bahn station to Berlin Hauptbahnhof via Naturkundemuseum (Berlin U-Bahn) U-Bahn station.[13] This was followed on 29 August 2015 by the extension of lines M8 and M10 from Nordbahnhof to Hauptbahnhof.[14]

There are also some minor closures:

Closures from 1990
Date Roads
01.01.1993 Trasse S-Bahnhof Adlershof/Köpenicker Straße, Köpenicker Straße, Grünauer Straße, Am Falkenberg
23.05.1993 Hauptstraße (bis Karlshorster Straße)
20.12.1997 Am Weidendamm (zw. Friedrichstraße und Planckstraße), Planckstraße (zw. Am Weidendamm und Georgenstraße)
29.09.2000 Parkstraße, Elfenallee, Gravensteinstraße (Wendeschleife), Grünstraße
30.05.2007 Alte Schönhauser Straße, Neue Schönhauser Straße (besteht als Betriebsstrecke weiter)
26.08.2013 Chausseestraße (zw. Invalidenstraße und Wöhlertstraße), Schwartzkopffstraße, Pflugstraße, Wöhlertstraße

Lines

Map as of 2009

BVG tramway net has 22 urban lines.[1][15] MetroTram also uses the symbol :

Mitte, Am Kupfergraben - Niederschönhausen, Schillerstraße / Rosenthal Nord
S+U Alexanderplatz/Dircksenstraße - Am Steinberg (- Heinersdorf)
S Hackescher Markt - Hohenschönhausen, Zingster Straße / Falkenberg
(S+U Hauptbahnhof -) S Hackescher Markt - Hohenschönhausen, Zingster Straße
(S Hackescher Markt -) Landsberger Allee/Petersburger Straße - Hellersdorf, Riesaer Straße
(S+U Hauptbahnhof -) Landsberger Allee/Petersburger Straße - Ahrensfelde/Stadtgrenze
S+U Hauptbahnhof - S+U Warschauer Straße
Wedding, Virchow-Klinikum - S Warschauer Straße
(Falkenberg -) Hohenschönhausen, Gehrenseestraße - S Schöneweide
Mitte, Am Kupfergraben - Weißensee, Pasedagplatz
S+U Frankfurter Allee - Ahrensfelde/Stadtgrenze
S Springpfuhl - Hellersdorf, Riesaer Straße
S+U Lichtenberg/Gudrunstraße - S Schöneweide (via Eldenaer Straße, Frankfurter Tor, Boxhagener Straße)
Krankenhaus Köpenick - Weißensee, Pasedagplatz
S+U Lichtenberg/Gudrunstraße - S Schöneweide (via Rhinstraße, Treskowallee)
(Wedding, Virchow-Klinikum -) Prenzlauer Berg, Björnsonstraße - Französisch Buchholz, Guyotstraße
Johannisthal, Haeckelstraße - Friedrichshagen, Altes Wasserwerk
Adlershof, Karl-Ziegler-Straße - Rahnsdorf/Waldschänke
Wendenschloß - S Mahlsdorf
Adlershof, Karl-Ziegler-Straße - Mahlsdorf, Rahnsdorfer Straße
Krankenhaus Köpenick - S Schöneweide
S Köpenick - Alt-Schmöckwitz

Tram line 68 was named by the National Geographic Society as one of the ten "Great Streetcar routes" worldwide.[16]

Future Plans

Since December 2016, Berlin has planned major light rail expansion which has been revived. Earlier plans has been there since 2000 for completion between 2005 and 2010.[17]. There will be no tramway closures.

Four tram projects already under development by BVG will be prioritised for construction with work beginning from 2017 to 2021. These comprise:

Five more tram lines will also be developed and construction will begin after 2021, these will see trams returning to the parts of the inner West Berlin for the first time since 1960s, as well as the already dense network expansion in the city. These include:

These are the long-term plans after 2026, which will have more direct tram networks at the West Berlin area:

The construction of tram at Wista Adlershof

In Johannisthal a route over the Sterndamm and the Stubenrauchstraße to the subway station Zwickauer Damm in Rudow or (planning variant) to the subway station Johannisthaler Chaussee. By the way choose the residential areas around the Zwickauer Damm and the Eisenhutweg a better public transport connection. For this route, space was reserved for the tram tracks as a preliminary step in the construction of the Hermann Gladenbeck Bridge over the A 113 and the Massantenbrücke over the Teltowkanal 2004. Likewise, the existing track bed of the Neukölln-Mittenwalder railway can be used behind the mass bridge / Hermann-Gladbeck bridge, which is just a short distance behind the underground station Zwickauer Damm.

Until 2006, there were deliberations to suspend parts of the lines M1, M2, 12, 27, 60 and 61 as soon as the parts of the road, then considered unprofitable, were to be renewed for further operation. [60] However, these were not realized, in fact some of the mentioned routes have now been refurbished, the cycle times have been consolidated on them, or, as already mentioned, there are even plans for extensions.

Fleet

Open Day 2009 of BVG at Berlin-Lichtenberg depot. In front of the maintenance shop typical Berlin trams are presented. From left to right, new to old.

The Berlin tram has three different families of vehicles. In addition to Tatra high-floor vehicles there are low floor six-axle double articulated trams in unidirectional and bidirectional version (GT6N and GT6N-ZR), and since 2008, the new Flexity Berlin. The Tatra KT4 trams were phased out by 2017, and T6A2/B6A2 trams were phased out by 2007, those are Communism-era trams.

The number of trams has shrunk continuously. The BVB had 1,024 vehicles, while currently there are about 600. The reduction is possible because the new low-floor cars on average achieve more than twice the mileage per year (100,000 km) (62,000 mi), and, being longer, carry more passengers and therefore rarely operate in double header.

In July 2006, the cost of energy per vehicle-kilometer was:

GT6N

Between 1992 and 2003 45 bidirectional T6N-ZRs and 105 unidirectional GT6Ns were purchased. The cars have a width of 2.30 m (8 ft) and a length of 26.80 m (88 ft). They can carry 150 passengers and can run as coupled sets.

134 cars were in a risky transaction leased to a US investor and leased back. The SNB has accrued more than €157 million ($205 million) to hedge potential losses from cross-border business.[19]

In the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012 the SNB began the carriage 1006 and 1016 a sample exercise. They were provided with a new drive technology and new software such as the Flexcitys. The only mutually detachable vehicles had to distinguish the new car numbers 1506 and the 1516.

Flexity Berlin

In April 2005, a European tender was issued for low floor trams, half unidirectional, and half bidirectional vehicles. The latter will respond better to the BVG and construction faults and build on certain routes for cost savings. The Vienna tramway tram type ULF was tested in passenger service.

On 12 June 2006, the BVG decided to procure new trams. These are based on the tested Incentro, referred to by Bombardier as Flexity Berlin. In October 2008, for €13 million ($17 million), four prototypes were ordered and since then extensively tested. There are one- and two-way cars, respectively 30.8 (101 ft) and 40 m (131 ft) in length, carrying about 180 or 240 passengers. Use in coupled sets is not possible.

On 29 June 2009, the Supervisory Board of the BVG decided to buy 99 Flexity cars, 40 of which will be long and 59 short versions, for €305.3 million ($397.9 million). In September 2011 the first 13 long cars began to be delivered. To replace all old Tatra cars a further 33 costing €92.3 million ($120.3 million) may need to be ordered in 2017.[20] The trams will be manufactured at Bombardier's Bautzen works or Hennigsdorf.

In June 2012 the Supervisory Board approved the BVG 2nd Serial recall of an additional 39 trams of type "Flexity Berlin." Considering the order over 99 vehicles from 2010, that means a total of 38 vehicles and 47 long bidirectional vehicles as well as 53 short bidirectional vehicles will be ordered from the manufacturer, Bombardier Transportation. Thus the SNB responds to both the very positive development of passenger numbers at the tram and allows bidirectional vehicles the eventual abandonment of turning loops and enhancing the design stops. Once this procurement is secured in 2017, then the old Tatra cars can be scrapped permanently. The State of Berlin's funded budget is €439.1 million ($572.7 million).[21]

The new cars are equipped with 2.40 m 10 cm wider than the existing low-floor trams. The track width was chosen so that modifications in the network are not necessary[22] This affects only the routes, which will operate on the Flexity. Köpenick and parts of the Pankow network, the web is unable to drive.

In December 2015, BVG exercised an option for another 47 Flexity trams from Bombardier to handle increased ridership.[23]

Tram depots

Depots are required for storage and maintenance purposes. BVG has seven operational tram depots, five of which are used for storage of service trams:

Out-of-service trams returning to Nalepastraße and Weissensee depot remain in-service until reaching the special tram stop at each depot.

General view

The Berlin tram network is today the largest one in Germany

Around Berlin there are some additional tram systems that do not belong to the BVG:

The last three companies are located in the eastern suburbs at the eastern edge of Berlin. Each of them has only one line.

See also

References

Inline references

  1. 1 2 3 "The company in brief Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe". BVG. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  2. 1 2 "Travel information - Overview of our lines (Metrotram)". BVG. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  3. 1 2 "Travel information - Overview of our lines (Tram)". BVG. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  4. 1 2 "Lines & Networks - Means of transport and lines - Tram - Trams". BVG. Archived from the original on 2014-07-27. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
  5. ↑ "Zahlenspiegel 2014" [Statistics 2014] (PDF) (in German). Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG). 31 December 2013. p. 2. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  6. 1 2 "Berliner Straßenbahn mit langer Tradition" [Berlin Trams' Long Tradition] (in German). BVG. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  7. ↑ "Wien hat das fünftgrößte Straßenbahnnetz der Welt" [Vienna has the fifth largest tramway network in the world]. www.wienerlinien.at (in German). Wiener Linien. 2011. Archived from the original on 2013-10-31. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
  8. ↑ Textagentur-Grimm.de: Simon Kremser
  9. ↑ Elfi Bendikat: Öffentliche Nahverkehrspolitik in Berlin und Paris 1839 bis 1914, p. 103, at Google Books (Walter de Gruyter), Seite 103
  10. ↑ http://www.ceciliengaerten-berlin.de/web/zeitrahmen/1800_1899.html Cecilengarten Berlin: Zeitrahmen
  11. ↑ Tram Travels: Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG)
  12. ↑ Wolfgang Kramer (2001), Arbeitskreis Berliner Nahverkehr e.V., ed. (in German), Linienchronik der Berliner Straßenbahn 1945–1993, Berlin
  13. ↑ http://www.bvg.de/de/Aktuell/Newsmeldung?newsid=380
  14. ↑ http://www.bvg.de/de/Aktuell/Newsmeldung?newsid=908
  15. ↑ Official BVG tramway map (PDF)
  16. ↑ http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/top-10/trolley-rides/#page=2
  17. ↑ http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/light-rail/berlin-plans-major-light-rail-expansion.html Berlin plans major light rail expansion
  18. ↑ Small request in the Berlin parliament, printed matter 15/13611 (PDF, 128 KB)
  19. ↑ Peter Neumann: Now threaten heavy losses, Berliner Zeitung, 14 November 2008
  20. ↑ Klaus Kurpjuweit. Traffic LPP-Flexity trams; art18614, 2836566 300 million for new streetcars In: The Guardian, 1. July 2009
  21. ↑ http://www.bvg.de/index.php/de/103842/name/Pressemitteilungen/article/1090651.html
  22. ↑ Jürgen Sember, Hans-Eckhard Warns:.. Purchasing new trams for the Berlin Transport Authority - European tender - an experience report In: ZEVrail Glasers Annalen 131, 10 October 2007, pp. 395-401
  23. ↑ "More Flexity Berlin trams ordered". Railway Gazette. 21 December 2015.

Bibliography

Works in English and German

Works in German

This article contains information from the German-language Wikipedia article Straßenbahn Berlin.

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