U4 (Berlin U-Bahn)

The U4 line of the Berlin U- Bahn has five stations and is 2.9 km long. It leads from Nollendorf to Innsbruck space and therefore only runs within a single hamlet. The line was never extended beyond their original length and also for the future no major expansions more are planned. She was once the pride of the then independent town of Schöneberg, and even today is their traffic- importance in the supply of the district. She is on the line U55, which should go up in the original 2019 line U5: Future / In 4 years, the shortest metro line in Berlin.

Course

The range of U4 starts under the Else- Lasker-Schüler - road Nollendorfplatz and initially runs under the Motz towards southwest to Viktoria -Luise-Platz. Then, the route swings with a left turn under the Münchener Straße and follow it up to the Rosenheimerstraße. From there it passes through the Heilbronner Straße to the Bavarian court, where it crosses the U7, and further under the Innsbruckerstraße to Innsbruck's Place. Since 1933, a switch to the S -Bahn ring line there is possible.

Line characteristic colors and names

Since the traits of today's line drove U4 from 1926 to 1954 and on the east-west elevated railway towards Kreuzberg (up Kottbusser gate or Warschauer Straße ), this line designation B ( also received first B Ⅰ, later B Ⅱ, then B Ⅰ, in May In 1957 B ⅲ ) and later as a green line characteristic color. With the conversion to numbers in 1966 she received the designation line 4 until 1972 was it shown on line network plans in blue. There was a change of color in a bright yellow and a year later because of better visibility in yellow ocher. As of 1961, the Schöneberg Underground ended already at Nollendorfplatz because the traffic flows in the direction of Zoologischer Garten / Kurfürstendamm relocated and became the then- line guide for Kottbusser Tor or the Silesian Gate not required.

History

The town of Schöneberg wanted to tap into their territory well and so we started up in 1903 on the idea to build a subway. We had discussions with the Berlin elevated railway company. However, the interests of the partners did not agree, because the short distance promised to bring any profit. So the city Schöneberg took the matter into their own hands and planned the first municipal subway in Germany. The course should lead as Unterpflasterbahn from Nollendorf that already stood the high station of the Berlin elevated and subway to the main road in the southern district of Schöneberg. An extension to the north has not been excluded, even over a distance up to Weissensee was thinking. First, however, the stations Nollendorfplatz were (own tunnel station in the Motz before the existing high station), Viktoria -Luise-Platz, Bayerischer Platz, City Park (now Rathaus Schöneberg ) and Main Street (now the Innsbruck court ) planned. South of the station main road the maintenance workshop should be built.

With all the construction work including the equipment of the route and the delivery of the vehicles, the Siemens & Halske was A.-G. commissioned. All standards of the existing Berlin High and subway were adjusted, since one future planned a direct connection to the network of the elevated railway company. Hence there was the execution of the route with the dimensions and the electrical equipment of the Berlin low-profile network. The groundbreaking ceremony took place at carnival -like atmosphere on 8 December 1908.

Parallel to the construction of the subway was the installation of the Rudolph Wilde Park, which was at that time as the City Park Station. Since the creation of the park was carried out on a for up to thirty meters deep marshy fen, has been used for its drainage and backfill the excavation of the tunnel shafts in a total volume of approximately 850,000 cubic meters. After two years of construction, the line was opened on 1 December 1910. The celebrations, however, were very cautious, as most Schöneberg conveyor subway, Mayor Rudolph Wilde, had died.

Since the Schöneberg Underground ( initially) was completely separated from the ( other ) Berliner network systems for these had to be built separately. These included his own car, a converter plant and depot with workshop. The only connections to the Berlin U- Bahn network, a pedestrian tunnel between the two stations Nollendorfplatz was built.

South of the station main road at the Innsbruck court of the tunnel was continued in the Eisackstraße. Here there was a three-pronged, located in the tunnel sweeping and parking area. From the western track the access track branched off to the workshop, which swung in a separate tunnel for Otzenstraße and there reached the light of day on the workshop premises. At the height of the corner Traeger-/Otzenstraße a tunnel exit is still recognizable today. At the end of the workshop grounds existed another short tunnel, which ended the access track. The company workshop received a fünfgleisige Wagenhalle and a two-pronged workshop hall. The small Schöneberg workshop was unnecessary with the operational opening of the new Umsteigebahnhofs Nollendorfplatz in 1926 and therefore 1932 shut down, because now a permissive vehicle replacement and the achievement of the great workshops of the elevated train at the stadium station ( renamed in 1951 in Olympic Stadium ) and Warsaw at the station bridge were possible. At the workshop, the grounds Waldenburg High School was built after the Second World War.

Although the city was Schöneberg builder and owner of the track, but transferred the operation of the Berlin elevated railway company. This means that passengers hardly noticed the different ownership, as a collective community, it was agreed one day before the opening.

On November 27, 2010 took place on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Schöneberg subway traffic with a special historical clothing ( type A1) instead.

Operation

The lines U4 and U55 are the only Berlin U -Bahn lines, where on weekend nights, no continuous night traffic is offered. On the U4 drive the shortest trains, the schedule consisting of only two cars.

The trains on the U4 line went from 1981 to 1985 in the experimental farm and 1985-1993 in passenger service automatically; technically no driver would have been necessary for this purpose. For this purpose, the entire U4 with the operations control system SelTrac was equipped, which included among other things the installation of an automatic train tracks in all, an adaptation of the interlocking systems and equipment of 16 low-profile two-car train with SelTrac - vehicle devices. SelTrac the company Standard Elektrik Lorenz (SEL ) allowed a driving in absolute braking distance by train stalls of only 50 to 90 seconds. In 1988 an additional attempt to Zugfahrerselbstabfertigung ( ZSA ), which was tested in passenger service from 1992 and later developed into the driver's self-handling.

Route planning

The far-reaching expansion plans from the early days of the Schöneberg subway can not be implemented today.

To the north, however, an extension to the Magdeburg court is contemplated since the 2000s, which is " to consider planning " in the coalition agreement of the Senate as an expansion target. According to planning status of the former Senate Department for Transport and businesses is intended to be held for the long-planned line U10 (current planning) a transfer possibility ( Genthiner road). In August 2012, however, the Senate announced to an inquiry from the House of Representatives that a significant modal shift for a rough estimate of LPP was not expected and therefore " is a further examination of the extension of the subway line U4 from the perspective of the Senate not currently a priority. "

To the south due to the extensions would be located on the same vertical position of the tunnel piece newly built in the 1970s motorway ring road at the Innsbruck court only with great effort. The U- Bahn tracks of the U4 would cut both the pedestrian distribution level as well as the upper part of the motorway tunnel. Even with a reduction of U4 would not only have the motorway tunnel, but also the platform of the planned tunnel in the occupation line U10 ( outdated planning) are approached. This would require appropriate ramp lengths that would south of the Bavarian course lead to a complete construction of the path portion. The time and effort would be relatively high because of the depth to be obtained by this route section, particularly in relation to traffic-related benefits of - then extended - U4.

It should be noted that this is in line U10 to those used at different times ( same ) working title of two different, unrealized in both cases, metro routes.