Berlin Stadtbahn

The Berlin Stadtbahn ("city railway") is a major railway thoroughfare in the German capital Berlin.

The line was originally built in the 1880s and runs through Berlin from east to west. It connects the eastern district of Friedrichshain with Charlottenburg in the west via the stations of Berlin Ostbahnhof, Alexanderplatz, Friedrichstraße, Hauptbahnhof, Zoologischer Garten and Charlottenburg.

The Berlin Stadtbahn is often also defined as the slightly longer route between Ostkreuz and Westkreuz, although this is not technically correct.

History

In 1871, eight main line railways existed in Berlin, each with its own terminal station at the city's edge or outside the city limits. This was very impractical for many passengers, who were forced to use hackney carriages to transfer from one train to another. Therefore a railway line was planned to connect these terminuses with each other.

In 1872, the "Deutsche Eisenbahnbaugesellschaft" (German Railway Construction Company - DEG) filed the planning application for a railway line through the city, connecting the then-Schlesischer Bahnhof (today Berlin Ostbahnhof) to Charlottenburg, and continuing to Potsdam. In December 1873, the state of Prussia as well as the private rail enterprises Berlin-Potsdamer Eisenbahn, Magdeburg-Halberstädter Eisenbahn and Berlin-Hamburger Bahn bought shares in the DEG, and jointly founded the "Berliner Stadteisenbahngesellschaft" (Berlin City Railway Company). However, things did not go as expected and the DEG went into bankruptcy in 1878, which forced the Prussian state government to take over operations, pay for the construction of the line with state money and to reimburse the former private owners of the DEG. [cite paper|publisher=Illustrirte Zeitung|title=Die Berliner Stadtbahn|date=1882-02-25] The state's interest in the line was attributed to the military, which after the 1870-1871 Franco-Prussian War was of the opinion that the railway networks would hinder mobilisation when not properly interconnected. [cite book|title=Berlin: Spatial Structure of a Divided City|last=Elkins|first=Thomas Henry|publisher=Routledge|pages=p. 114|year=1988|isbn=0416922201]

On July 15, 1878 the "Königliche Direktion der Berliner Stadteisenbahn" (Royal Directorate of Berlin City Railways), under the management of Ernst Dircksen, was commissioned to manage the site. The directorate at first reported to the Prussian Ministry of Transport and later became a subsidiary of the Ministry of Public Operations.

The planned railway had two tracks each for freight and passenger traffic. Having taken similar projects in London and New York City into consideration, passenger traffic received priority over freight trains. Furthermore, the new railway line was not only to serve as a connection between the mainline terminuses in Berlin, but would also offer connections to the Berlin Ringbahn and the suburban rail lines.

The traffic routing was not only influenced by the location of the already existing stations the line was supposed to connect, but also by land availability in the city centre. One of the original drafts, which called for building the line along Leipziger Straße, had to be scrapped because of overly high land prices. The moat of a 17th century fortress was filled up between today's stations Hackescher Markt and Jannowitzbrücke and, since it was public land, was used for building the railway line. This explains some of the curvy sections on the Stadtbahn, especially between the stations Alexanderplatz and Jannowitzbrücke. [cite paper|title=Die Linienführung der Berliner Stadteisenbahn|publisher=Zeitschrift für Bauwesen|date=1884]

The Stadtbahn line mostly is built as an elevated rail line with viaducts totalling eight kilometres of length and including 731 masonry viaduct arches. Two kilometres of the line length are situated on 64 bridges, and the remaining length of the 12 km line is on an embankment. This sets the Stadtbahn apart from the previous Berliner Verbindungsbahn, built in 1851, which was built at street level and was a hindrance to travel. The Stadtbahn was originally equipped with vertical iron sleepers, however these were replaced with wooden sleepers in the early 20th century.

Work on the line started in 1875, and the Stadtbahn was opened on February 7, 1882 for local traffic; it opened on May 15 of the same year for long-distance trains. The costs of construction, including purchase of the land, were estimated at about 5 million Goldmark per kilometre. The line would later become the core route of the Berlin S-Bahn.

The original stations, seen from west to east, were:
* Charlottenburg
* Zoologischer Garten
* Bellevue
* Lehrter Stadtbahnhof, today Berlin Hauptbahnhof
* Friedrichstraße
* Börse, Marx-Engels-Platz in the GDR, since 1992 Hackescher Markt
* Alexanderplatz
* Jannowitzbrücke
* Schlesischer Bahnhof, named Berlin Hauptbahnhof in the 1980s and early 90s, today Ostbahnhof

Since May 1, 1988 the Stadtbahn also connected to Stralau-Rummelsburg in the east and Westend in the west.

Two stations were added between Charlottenburg and Zoologischer Garten as well as between Zoologischer Garten and Bellevue:
* Savignyplatz (August 1, 1896)
* Tiergarten (January 5, 1885)

Operation and extensions

Suburban trains

Suburban trains operated on the local tracks, the so-called "city track". At first, these were either services to the suburbs or connections to the Berlin Ringbahn, running as "half ring trains", using the Stadtbahn and either the northern or the southern Ringbahn. The trains were pulled by locomotives, which ran on coke to minimise the smell. Doors on the train compartments had to be opened by the passengers themselves and stations were not called out on the train.

These trains ran from 4 o'clock in the morning to 1 o'clock at night, typically at intervals between two and five minutes, depending on the time of day. Fares in the early 20th century were 10 pfennig in 3rd class and 15 pfennig in 2nd class.

Freight traffic

The freight traffic to the central market at Alexanderplatz was carried by seven special trains per day, of which four ran at night, two during the day and one in the evening. Furthermore, the line carried the normal freight traffic toward Charlottenburg, Moabit, Wedding, Zentralviehhof, Weißensee, Frankfurter Allee, Rixdorf, Tempelhof, Wilmersdorf-Friedenau and to Halensee.

Long-distance trains

In the first years of the Stadtbahn, many trains previously terminating at the old terminuses Lehrter Bahnhof, Görlitzer Bahnhof or Potsdamer Bahnhof operated via the Stadtbahn to reduce the load on the terminus stations. By the end of the 19th century, however, most of these train runs had to terminate at their old destination stations again due to the increasing local traffic on the Stadtbahn.

The remaining traffic on the Stadtbahn mostly consisted of express trains to Hanover and Cologne via the Lehrter Bahn, Kanonenbahn trains to Dessau, trains to Königsberg and Danzig on the Preußische Ostbahn and trains to Frankfurt/Oder and Breslau. Suburban trains to Spandau and Strausberg also ran on the Stadtbahn's long-distance tracks until 1928.

Trains heading west usually left from the Schlesischer Bahnhof station, those heading east from Charlottenburg. Depots were situated in Rummelsburg (then called "Bw Karlshorst") and Grunewald.

Station expansions and viaducts

In 1914, the Friedrichstraße station was rebuilt; the long-distance section of the station was expanded to four tracks and the current station hall was built. Between 1922 and 1932, the Stadtbahn viaduct was thoroughly modernised in order to handle the ever increasing train weight. Also, the train sheds of Alexanderplatz and Schlesischer Bahnhof were replaced. The suburban line's platforms were raised to a height of 96 centimetres. [cite paper|title=Fünfzig Jahre Berliner Stadtbahn|publisher=Die Reichsbahn|date=1932]

A second long-distance platform and a new hall were built at Zoo station from 1934 to 1940. The station hall was only glazed in the 1950s, however. The notable terraced vestibule dates from the same time.

Electric operation

On June 11, 1928 the suburban line Potsdam-Stadtbahn-Erkner was fully equipped with DC third rail gear. [de icon cite book|title=Die Berliner U-Bahn|year=1935|last=Bousset|first=Johannes|publisher=W. Ernst & Sohn|pages=p. 140] Five trains of the new DRG Class ET 165 – the type appropriately named "Stadtbahn" – went into service, still sharing the track with steam trains. By November 1928, all lines leading toward the Stadtbahn, namely the lines from Kaulsdorf, Spandau and Grünau as well as the Berlin Ringbahn, were fully electrified. Therefore, suburban services to Spandau could be moved from the long-distance tracks to the local tracks. The last steam trains disappeared in 1929 when the ring became fully operated by electric trains. Half-ring trains operated only as peak time services. In December 1930, the term "S-Bahn" and the symbol of a white S on a green circle were introduced for the city, ring and suburban services.

Post-War situation

After World War II, the Stadtbahn lay devastated by bombs, but was rebuilt very quickly. Because Stalin wanted to travel by train to the Potsdam Conference, the Stadtbahn was converted to the Russian 1524 mm broad gauge in 1945. The national importance had diminished with the loss of eastern Germany; only a few trains ran towards the western zones. Some trains from the Soviet zone terminated on the Stadtbahn.

During the Berlin Blockade, the long-distance traffic came to an almost complete halt. The Stadtbahn was useful for the re-established S-Bahn, however, now with connections to places line Königs Wusterhausen, Strausberg, Staaken and Falkensee.

From May 18, 1952, when all Berlin terminal stations and all other long-distance stations in West Berlin were closed, the station Zoologischer Garten remained the only long-distance station for the western part of the city. The last domestic train of the GDR (East German) railways ran on the Stadtbahn in 1953.

After the Berlin Wall was built in 1961, Zoologischer Garten became the West Berlin and Ostbahnhof the East Berlin "de facto" central station. The station Friedrichstraße now was the terminal point of the separated West and East Berlin S-Bahn lines and departure point for the Interzonenzug (Inter-zone train) services between West Berlin and West Germany. Friedrichstraße station was separated into Eastern and Western parts with steel walls, and enabled West Berliners to change to S-Bahn trains running on the Nord-Süd-Bahn and the U6 line of the Berlin U-Bahn without passing through GDR border controls. The station also featured a border crossing into East Berlin. [cite book|title=Tales from the Berlin Wall. Recollections of Frequent Crossings.|last=Katona|first=Marianna S.|publisher=BoD|pages=pp. 31-35|isbn=3833404396|year=2005] Through trains between Zoo and Ostbahnhof only existed in international traffic, for example the Paris to Warsaw trains. Later, through coaches and shuttle trains connecting to the night trains to Scandinavia crossed the intra-German border on the Stadtbahn as well.

Due to a quirk in legislation, the West Berlin parts of the Stadtbahn belonged to the Deutsche Reichsbahn, which made it (and therefore the GDR government) one of the largest landowners in West Berlin. Regular quarrels erupted between the DR, the GDR government, the West Berlin senate and the Allied occupation powers.

Prices for the West Berlin S-Bahn were kept slightly below the fares of the West Berlin BVG. In East Berlin, a flat fee of 0.20 Mark was charged until 1991. West Berlin politics and most of the populace fully boycotted the S-Bahn, which was run by the East German railways, and introduced bus and U-Bahn lines running parallel to the S-Bahn network and the Stadtbahn.

Restoration during the Cold War

Despite problems, the Deutsche Reichsbahn made improvements to the line and reconstructed at great expense the Westkreuz railway station which had been built on swamp land.

Meanwhile, the number of S-Bahn lines running in West Berlin was reduced to just three as a consequence of a strike carried out by the Deutsche Reichsbahn's West Berlin-based employees in September 1980.

On January 9, 1984, a treaty between the GDR and the West Berlin Senate came into force and turned over the responsibility for operation of the S-Bahn in West Berlin to the West Berlin transport authority, the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe. Soon thereafter, talks with the GDR commenced regarding improvements of the Stadtbahn in West Berlin as well as the modernisation of the Zoologischer Garten station. The Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was also carefully restored to its original 1880s look and became a listed building. In East Berlin, the Ostbahnhof was partially rebuilt and renamed to "Hauptbahnhof", in time for the 750th anniversary of Berlin's founding in 1987. [cite web|url=http://www.db.de/site/bahn/en/db__group/corporate__group/history/topics/berlins__stations/berlins__stations.html|author=|Deutsche Bahn AG|accessdate=2007-01-28|date=2006-09-23|title=Stations in Berlin, the railway capital]

After reunification

The fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification made for a sudden spike of importance for the Stadtbahn. The first InterRegio train ran to Cologne in 1990. Since 1991, InterCity trains to Karlsruhe, Cologne and Hamburg used the Stadtbahn. The Hamburg line was soon extended to Dresden and Prague, and the former Interzonenzug trains from Munich were converted to InterCity trains and now ran on the Stadtbahn as well.

The western part of the Stadtbahn was electrified on July 4, 1993 up to Zoologischer Garten station. The eastern part of the line up to Ostbahnhof had been electrified since 1987. As soon as electrification reached the Zoo station, ICE trains began to use the station.

Modernisation in 1994 - 1998

In October 1994, a large-scale modernisation programme was started on the Stadtbahn. The viaducts were checked and strengthened, and the tracks were bedded in concrete to improve durability and comfort. Almost all stations saw large financial investments and were thoroughly modernised. Long-distance traffic between Zoo and Ostbahnhof stations was interrupted during the construction period and the S-Bahn trains temporarily used the long-distance line.On March 24, 1998 the Stadtbahn was reopened, now carrying up to three ICE and IC lines as well as five RegionalExpress lines. [de icon cite book|title=Die deutschen Länder: Geschichte, Politik, Wirtschaft|last=Wehling|first=Hans-Georg|publisher=VS Verlag|year=2004|pages=p. 78|isbn=353143229X] Part of the Stadtbahn was realigned as part of the construction of the new Berlin Hauptbahnhof, with construction commencing in 2001 and completed in July 2002. The realigned section consisted of two 450 m-long bridges spanning the station and the adjacent Humboldthafen port. Until the summer of 2006, the Stadtbahn was the main thoroughfare for long-distance trains, which usually stopped at Zoologischer Garten and Ostbahnhof (which was renamed in 1998). When the new Hauptbahnhof opened on May 28, 2006, the importance of the line diminished slightly, as many trains now would use the new north-south line connected to the Hauptbahnhof. The remaining intercity trains on the Stadtbahn, mainly those heading toward Hanover and Cologne, now usually call at Hauptbahnhof and Ostbahnhof. [de icon cite book|publisher=Deutsche Bahn AG|title=Die Bahn am Ball|author=Staff writer|year=2006|pages=pp. 130-136]

Further reading

* Die Stadtbahn, Signal-Sonderausgabe, Berliner S-Bahn-Museum, Berlin 1996, Verlag GVE, ISBN 3-89218-046-6

References

External links

*de icon [http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/cgi-bin/hidaweb/getdoc.pl?LIST_TPL=lda_list.tpl;DOK_TPL=lda_doc.tpl;&KEY=obj%2009011323 Entry in the listed building directory of the Berlin Senate]