U-Bahn
Encyclopedia
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
for underground rapid transit or metro. Five systems take its name, with only four of them being metro systems:
- Berlin U-BahnBerlin U-BahnThe Berlin is a rapid transit railway in Berlin, the capital city of Germany, and is a major part of the public transport system of that city. Opened in 1902, the serves 173 stations spread across ten lines, with a total track length of , about 80% of which is underground...
- Hamburg U-BahnHamburg U-BahnThe Hamburg U-Bahn is a rapid transit system serving the cities of Hamburg, Norderstedt and Ahrensburg in Germany. Although technically an underground, most of the system's track length is above ground. The network is interconnected with the city's S-Bahn system, which also has underground...
- Munich U-BahnMunich U-BahnThe Munich U-Bahn system is an electric rail rapid transit network in Munich, Germany. "U-Bahn" is the German contraction for Untergrundbahn or "subway." It is operated by the municipally owned Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft...
- Nuremberg U-BahnNuremberg U-BahnThe Nuremberg U-Bahn is a metro run by VAG Nürnberg , which itself is a member of the VGN . The Nuremberg U-Bahn is Germany's newest metro...
The Vienna U-Bahn
Vienna U-Bahn
The Vienna U-Bahn is a rapid transit system consisting of five lines. It is the backbone of one of the best performing public transport systems worldwide according to UITP in June 2009. More than 1.3 million passengers use the Vienna U-Bahn every day...
in Austria is also a metro system.
Stadtbahn (Premetro, Light Rail)
One "U-Bahn" system is in fact a light railLight rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
or premetro
Premetro
A premetro is a tramway or light railway which includes segments built to rapid transit standards, usually as part of a process of conversion to a metro railway, mainly by the construction of tunnels in the central city area...
due to its partly integration in street traffic:
- Frankfurt U-BahnFrankfurt U-BahnThe Frankfurt U-Bahn, together with the Frankfurt S-Bahn and the Frankfurt Straßenbahn, is the backbone of the public transport system of Frankfurt, Germany. Its name derives from the German term for underground, Untergrundbahn. The U-Bahn opened in 1968 and now consists of 87 stations on nine...
Further German light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
or premetro
Premetro
A premetro is a tramway or light railway which includes segments built to rapid transit standards, usually as part of a process of conversion to a metro railway, mainly by the construction of tunnels in the central city area...
systems are therefore called U-Stadtbahn where running underground ("U") or only Stadtbahn is the German term for light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
):
- Bielefeld Stadtbahn
- Bonn StadtbahnBonn StadtbahnThe Bonn Stadtbahn is a part of the local public transit system in Bonn and the surrounding Rhein-Sieg area. Although with six actual Stadtbahn lines and three tram lines it is relatively small, two of the Stadtbahn lines connect to the much larger Cologne Stadtbahn .The entire network comprises...
- Cologne StadtbahnCologne StadtbahnThe Cologne Stadtbahn is a light rail system in the German city of Cologne, including several surrounding cities...
- Hanover StadtbahnHanover StadtbahnThe Hanover Stadtbahn is a Stadtbahn light rail system in the city of Hanover, Germany that opened in September 1975, gradually replacing the city's tramway network over the course of the following 25 years. As of 2005, it transports 115 million passengers per year...
- Rhine-Ruhr StadtbahnRhine-Ruhr StadtbahnRhine-Ruhr Stadtbahn includes all Stadtbahn lines in the integrated public transport network of Rhine-Ruhr covering the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan area in western Germany, except of Cologne Stadtbahn and Bonn Stadtbahn.-History:...
and its subnetworks - Stuttgart StadtbahnStuttgart StadtbahnThe Stuttgart Stadtbahn is a light rail system in Stuttgart, Germany. It is operated by the Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG , which also operates the bus systems in that city...
Stadtbahn (Tram-Train)
German tram-trainTram-train
A tram-train is a light-rail public transport system where trams run both on an urban tramway network and on main-line railways to combine the tram's flexibility and availability and the train's greater speed...
systems are generally called Stadtbahn; only two among them feature premetro
Premetro
A premetro is a tramway or light railway which includes segments built to rapid transit standards, usually as part of a process of conversion to a metro railway, mainly by the construction of tunnels in the central city area...
sections, although a metro
Metro
Metro is an abbreviation of metropolitan, and is the name of many products and services relating to urban areas, especially public transport systems.-Rapid transit systems:...
(U-Bahn) has never been planned there:
- For the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn serving tramTramA tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
sections in HeilbronnHeilbronnHeilbronn is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is completely surrounded by Heilbronn County and with approximately 123.000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state....
, KarlsruheKarlsruheThe City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
, Bad Wildbad, Wörth am RheinWörth am RheinWörth am Rhein is a municipality in the southernmost part of the district of Germersheim, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Rhine, approx. 10 km west of the city center of Karlsruhe and just north of the German-French border....
and further suburbs of KarlsruheKarlsruheThe City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
, a tunnel is being built along the main shopping street in the city center of KarlsruheKarlsruheThe City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
. - The KasselKasselKassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
tram-trainTram-trainA tram-train is a light-rail public transport system where trams run both on an urban tramway network and on main-line railways to combine the tram's flexibility and availability and the train's greater speed...
system is called RegioTram including tramTramA tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
section in KasselKasselKassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
and its suburbs. It includes a short tunnel next to Kassel HauptbahnhofKassel HauptbahnhofKassel Hauptbahnhof is a "DB" railway station in the city of Kassel, in the German state of Hesse. Situated in the central borough of Mitte, it is the city's second important railway station after the opening of Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe in 1991; and so it is the only Hauptbahnhof that is not the main...
RegioTram platforms which are on the ramp replacing former main railway platforms.
U-Straßenbahn (Sub-Surface Tram)
Sub-surface tramTram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
systems are called U-Straßenbahn in Germany where running underground ("U").