Trains on the Berlin U-Bahn

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. Therefore the trains have to operate on separate networks.

Both networks have standard gauge (1435 mm) track and are electrified at 750 Volts DC. Because Großprofil and Kleinprofil trains use different types of power supply the trains cannot nomally 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 specially adapted power pickups ran on Grossprofil tracks. They were fitted with special wooden boards on the sides to close the gap between platform and train. These wooden boards were jokingly called "Blumenbretter" ("flower boards").

Also, the polarity of the power rails differs. On the Kleinprofil lines the power rail is positively charged and the track is negative, on the Großprofil lines it is the other way around. In East Berlin the polarity of the track section Thälmannplatz/Otto-Grotewohl-Straße - Pankow, was the same as on the Großprofil lines. 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).

Track gauges

Kleinprofil

Two test vehicles were ordered for the first Berlin U-Bahn line from the Cologne coach builders, "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 on 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 placed 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.

Between 1906 and 1913, a fifth batch of vehicles was delivered; these had an improved steering system, making possible 8-car trains, which had become necessary due to rising traffic.

Originally there were smoking compartments and third class cars on the U-Bahn. Different classes were abandoned in 1927.

In 1926 the Schöneberg U-Bahn, which had been independent and had used their own vehiclesup to that point, were taken over by the main U-Bahn network. Because a connection to the rest of the network had been planned from the beginning, the Schöneberg trains had been built to the same specifications as 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 vehicles became necessary - the trains had been badly damaged in the war. At this point the new "A3" type, modelled on 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. As before, the 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 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, cars on these trains are not fully inter-connected for passengers. A full train can be divided into two half trains. The production of the first train started in May 2005. On the U2 these new trains now represent a majority of trains run.

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

Großprofil

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. They were delivered in 1914 and put through 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 created a problem with platform access, which could only be solved in the 1950s and 1990s through enlargenment of the 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 (now U6), 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 1920s German inflation 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 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%. 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 series 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 it would have required too great an amount of energy to be used regularly. No production models of those trains were built. Plans for an "EII" type train were dropped in 1962 because of political problems. Finally, those responsible in the GDR ministry of transport had 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 early 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 at 90 degrees to the sides of the train. Production models of this type were built from 1972 onward. Another second batch was dleivered in 1976. In 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.

References

*de|U-Bahn Berlin