Ebertplatz (KVB)

Metro Station Ebert Square is the largest underground junction of the Cologne Stadtbahn. It is designed as a four-track railway junction, which is traversed in the direction of operation. The Ebert course is one of the most important interchange points between high -floor and low -floor network and is frequented daily by nearly 35,000 in-and -outs.

The Ebert place was already an important hub for the Cologne tram. In the course of the first extension of the underground tram network, the full node has moved underground. Great importance to the performance of the system - in contrast to previous tunnels was - also due to the initial funding by state funds. Almost all driving relationships can be navigated without crossing other relations. These underground height free branches were created. In addition, the stops plant has an underground turning loop.

The station was originally designed to operate with equipment carriage. In addition to the turning loop testifies also the fact that originally the right of each track a lateral platform existed, the outer tracks were originally separated even by safety gate from the platforms of the inner tracks. The platforms were all 35 cm above the top of rail. A subsequent increase of the platforms for high-floor light rail vehicles was planned from the beginning; in particular all ended escalators to 90 cm and were to reach from the platform level only via ramps.

Since the laying of the line 12 from the inner-city in the rings Tunnel in December 2003, the station is traversed completely free of intersections, the high-floor and low-floor lines run since then by separate tracks. Thus, a barrier-free reconstruction was possible. These have faced the problem that had been assumed in the original plan assumes that all lines in the medium term would be converted to high-floor light rail vehicles. The shell had to be a change in the track heights only a few centimeters, which is why the central platforms had to be divided into platforms of different heights lengthwise. Since the central platforms were it considered too narrow, you finally decided to move the outer tracks on the surface of the unneeded side platforms and thereby make room for the expansion of the middle platforms.

The renovation began in the spring of 2008 and ended in March 2009, the displacement of the outer tracks during a six week closure in the school summer holidays took place. At the same elevator shafts were created from the platforms to the bin level.