Line of the Berlin U-Bahn
Stations	Transfers

U5 is a line on the Berlin U-Bahn

Berlin U-Bahn

The 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...

. It runs from Alexanderplatz in Mitte

Mitte (locality)

Mitte is a central locality of Berlin in the homonymous district of Mitte. Until 2001 it was itself an autonomous district....

 eastwards through Friedrichshain

Friedrichshain

Friedrichshain is a part of Berlin's borough of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, and like Kreuzberg across the river it has its own distinct character, with the result that the new double name is hardly ever used outside government administration. From its creation in 1920 until Berlin's 2001...

, Lichtenberg

Lichtenberg (locality)

Lichtenberg is a locality of Berlin in the homonymous district of Lichtenberg. Until 2001 it was an autonomous district with the localities of Fennpfuhl, Rummelsburg, Friedrichsfelde and Karlshorst.- History :...

 and Friedrichsfelde

Friedrichsfelde

Friedrichsfelde is a German locality within the borough of Lichtenberg, Berlin.-History:The locality was first mentioned in a document of 1265 with the name of Rosenfelde. In 1699 it was renamed Friedrichsfelde after the Prince-Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg...

, surfaces in Biesdorf to pass Kaulsdorf

Kaulsdorf

The following places in Germany are called Kaulsdorf:* Kaulsdorf , a quarter in the borough Marzahn-Hellersdorf of Berlin* Kaulsdorf , a municipality in the district Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, in Thuringia...

 and Hellersdorf

Hellersdorf

Hellersdorf is a locality in the borough of Marzahn-Hellersdorf in Berlin. Between 1986 and Berlin's 2001 administrative reform, it was a borough in its own right, consisting of the current area of Hellersdorf as well as Kaulsdorf and Mahlsdorf.-History:...

 above ground and finally reaches city limits at Hönow

Hönow

Hönow is a village in Brandenburg, Germany, near the border of Berlin. It belongs to the municipality of Hoppegarten, in the district of Märkisch-Oderland; and its population is of 8,300 inhabitants.-Geography:...

.

U5 at present only connects to other U-bahn lines at its Alexanderplatz terminus, although work is ongoing to extend it across central Berlin to Berlin Hauptbahnhof

Berlin Hauptbahnhof

' , is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. It began full operation two days after a ceremonial opening on 26 May 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof, and until it opened as a main line station, it was a stop on the Berlin S-Bahn suburban railway temporarily...

, providing further U-Bahn and S-Bahn interchanges.

History

Plans from the pre-WWI-era for a rapid transit

Rapid transit

A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...

 underneath Große Frankfurter Straße, the present-day Karl-Marx-Allee

Karl-Marx-Allee

The Karl-Marx-Allee is a monumental socialist boulevard built by the GDR between 1952 and 1960 in Berlin Friedrichshain and Mitte. Today the boulevard is named after Karl Marx....

 were not carried out until in 1927 construction started. The constructions were planned and led by Johannes Bousset. The first section, then named line E, between Alexanderplatz and Friedrichsfelde

Friedrichsfelde (Berlin U-Bahn)

Friedrichsfelde is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the in the Friedrichsfelde district.It opened on 21 December 1930 as the terminus of Berlin's new eastern U-Bahn line from Alexanderplatz, then called Line E. Alfred Grenander designed its stations in a uniform style...

 was inaugurated on December 21, 1930 (However, it is not shown on the Pharus-Plan 1930 map).

The U5 was the only line to be entirely within East Berlin, and the only line to be actively extended by the East German authorities, during the time when Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 was divided by the Wall

Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...

. Work on this extension was started in 1969. In June 1973 the first extension was opened, to Tierpark station

Tierpark (Berlin U-Bahn)

Tierpark is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the . It is named after the Tierpark Berlin, one of the two zoological gardens in Berlin.The station opened in 1973 and was the eastern terminus of line U5 until 1988....

, serving the Tierpark zoo. The extension opened on June 6, 1973. The final extension, to the developing areas in the boroughs of Marzahn

Marzahn

Marzahn is a locality within the borough of Marzahn-Hellersdorf in Berlin. Berlin's 2001 administrative reform led to the former boroughs of Marzahn and Hellersdorf fusing into a single new borough...

 and Hellersdorf, went into service on July 1, 1988 (Elsterwerdaer Platz

Elsterwerdaer Platz (Berlin U-Bahn)

Elsterwerdaer Platz is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the . It is named after the town of Elsterwerda. The station opened in 1988 to serve the new development of Biesdorf and is near the village commons and the Biesdorf Center shopping mall . Until 1989, it was the eastern terminus of what is...

) and July 1, 1989 (Hönow

Hönow (Berlin U-Bahn)

Hönow is a Berlin U-Bahn station and the eastern terminus of the line. It borders Hönow, a village of the Hoppegarten municipality in the state of Brandenburg....

). After the unification of East and West Berlin on October 3, 1990 the line was renumbered as U5.

Future plans

There have long been plans to extend the U5 westward. The short U55 line

U55 (Berlin U-Bahn)

U55 is a U-Bahn line in the German capital city of Berlin. It connects the new Berlin Hauptbahnhof, or main railway station, to an interchange with the S-Bahn at Brandenburger Tor...

 opened in August 2009, and runs from Berlin Hauptbahnhof

Berlin Hauptbahnhof

' , is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. It began full operation two days after a ceremonial opening on 26 May 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof, and until it opened as a main line station, it was a stop on the Berlin S-Bahn suburban railway temporarily...

 via the Bundestag U-Bahn station

Bundestag (Berlin U-Bahn)

Bundestag is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the . The name of this station was changed in April 2006 from Reichstag to Bundestag after deputations from the Bundestag which sits in the Reichstag building.-History:...

 to Brandenburger Tor station.
The designation of the line as U55 indicates that it is ultimately intended to become part of the U5 line

U5 (Berlin U-Bahn)

U5 is a line on the Berlin U-Bahn. It runs from Alexanderplatz in Mitte eastwards through Friedrichshain, Lichtenberg and Friedrichsfelde, surfaces in Biesdorf to pass Kaulsdorf and Hellersdorf above ground and finally reaches city limits at Hönow....

.

Construction of the link to enable this commenced in April 2010 and is expected to be completed by 2017. The link will be 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) in length, and connect the Brandenburger Tor terminus of the current U55 to the Alexanderplatz terminus of the current U5. Along its route it will serve new U-bahn stations at Berliner Rathaus, Museumsinsel and Unter den Linden

Unter den Linden

Unter den Linden is a boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is named for its linden trees that line the grassed pedestrian mall between two carriageways....

, with the latter providing an interchange with line U6

U6 (Berlin U-Bahn)

U6 is a 19.9 km-long line on the Berlin U-Bahn with 29 stations. It belongs to the Großprofilnetz, that is larger profile rail vehicles run through its larger tunnels...

.