History of the tram in Berlin

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The history of the tram in Berlin begins in 1865 with the opening of a horse-drawn tram from the Brandenburg Gate to Charlottenburg . In 1881 the world's first electric tram drove in Groß-Lichterfelde (a district of Berlin since 1920 ) . By the beginning of the 20th century, the network was converted to electrical operation. By 1930 it had a route length of more than 630 kilometers and over 90 lines were operated. In 1929 all transport companies merged to form the BVG . When the city ​​was divided after the Second World War , the BVG became a western and an eastern company on August 1, 1949, which were reunited in 1992. All tram lines in West Berlin were shut down by 1967 . With the exception of three routes built after reunification, Berlin trams in the 21st century will only run in the eastern part of the city .

From the beginning to the BVG

Berlin horse bus

Horse buses

Local public transport in Berlin is the oldest in Germany. As early as 1825, Simon Kremser's horse-drawn buses drove from the Brandenburg Gate to Charlottenburg, and later also from other gates to the surrounding area. The first bus line within the Berlin customs wall was operated from 1840 by Kommerzienrat Israel Moses Henoch , who had been a cab entrepreneur since 1815 , with three buses between Alexanderplatz and Potsdamer Bahnhof , but without a fixed timetable. In 1847 the Concessionierte Berliner Omnibus Compagnie began setting up five lines and fixed timetables. In 1864 there were 36 bus companies in Berlin.

Horse trams

Horse-drawn carriage of the Great Berlin Horse Railway , built in 1885
Berlin 1885 with horse trams

The age of the tram began in Germany on June 22, 1865. The Berlin Horse Railway Company E. Besckow started operations. The first line ran from the Brandenburg Gate via Berliner Straße (today the axis Straße des 17. Juni , Otto-Suhr-Allee ) to Charlottenburg to the former horse station at the intersection of Spandauer Damm and Sophie-Charlotten-Straße. It was extended on August 28 via Dorotheenstrasse to Kupfergraben on Museum Island . The terminal is still in operation (as of winter 2019).

As before with the horse-drawn bus, other entrepreneurs followed the new development and built horse-drawn tram routes in all parts of the city. In 1873 a line from Rosenthaler Platz to Gesundbrunnen opened , operated by the newly founded Great Berlin Horse Railway, which later became the dominant transport company in Berlin under the name Great Berlin Tram (GBS).

First electric tram in Lichterfelde, 1881

The electric

On May 16, 1881, Werner von Siemens opened the world's first electric tram in what was then Groß-Lichterfelde , a part of Berlin's Steglitz district only 39 years later . Siemens described it as an " elevated railway taken from the pillars and girders " because its actual goal was to build an electrical elevated railway network in Berlin. In order to convince the hesitant political decision-makers of the advantages of the electric drive, Siemens chose the former material railway in Lichterfelde as a demonstration object. Since the concerns of the Berlin magistrate were not allayed, Siemens was not able to put the first Berlin elevated railway into operation until 21 years later.

The electric tram in Lichterfelde received its power from the tracks, so the route had to be fenced in for safety reasons. The meter-gauge route ran from the Lichterfelde train station to the Prussian main cadet institute in Finckensteinallee. A trip cost more than the average hourly wage at the time.

Electric railcar type Alt-Berolina of the Great Berlin Tram , built in 1901

In the following year, on May 1, 1882, electrical operation began on an existing horse-drawn railway line in Charlottenburg, here with a two-pole overhead line. In addition to technical problems, there were also reservations of the Berlin city administration (and the emperor) against overhead lines. That is why accumulators were also used as a power source, in 1886 on a trial basis in Charlottenburg between the horse station and Lützowplatz, in the longer term from 1895 from Charlottenburg to the Brandenburg Gate from 1897 even to the Kupfergraben.

The Berlin Horse Railway signed a contract with Siemens & Halske in 1893 for the electrification of its route network in Berlin and Charlottenburg. In the same year Siemens & Halske entered into negotiations with the municipality of Pankow in order to be able to tackle another electric railway. This railway was on 10 September 1895 between the Prince Avenue corner Badstraße in Gesundbrunnen and Broad Street in Pankow in operation and was the first electric tram within the then city limits of Berlin.

The GBS opened its first "Electric" on May 1, 1896; the route led from the city center to the site of the trade exhibition in the municipality of Treptow . In 1899 the line, which had previously been operated with battery cars, also received an overhead line. In 1901 all lines were equipped with overhead lines. On August 21, 1902, the last inner-city horse-drawn tram line was converted to electric operation, and the use of battery-powered railcars ended in the same year.

tunnel

From December 18, 1899, it was possible to travel underground in Berlin even before the opening of the subway : the 450-meter-long Spree tunnel between Treptow and Stralau , shown at the 1896 trade fair , was handed over to the tram. The tunnel had construction defects and had to be closed on February 15, 1932. After being badly damaged by a bomb during the war and flooded by Spree water, it was filled in after 1945. The tram had a second tunnel from 1916 to 1951, the Lindentunnel , with which the boulevard Unter den Linden was crossed underground - Kaiser Wilhelm II did not want the boulevard to be defaced by the overhead lines of an electric tram.

Railcar type Maximum 30 of the GBS , built in 1912; behind it sidecar of the BVG-Ost, Werdau 1950

Tram companies

The company history of the Berlin tram is complicated. In addition to private companies, which changed frequently due to takeovers , mergers and bankruptcies , the urban and rural communities of Berlin , Spandau , Cöpenick , Rixdorf / Neukölln , Steglitz , Mariendorf , Britz , Niederschönhausen , Friedrichshagen , Heiligensee and French owned Buchholz as well as the Teltow district at least temporarily own municipal tram company.

The most important private operator was the Great Berlin Horse Railway , which was called Great Berlin Tram (GBS) after the start of electrification and which gradually bought up almost all other companies. On December 13, 1920, GBS merged with BESTAG and SSB to form the Berlin tram . In parallel to this merger, the remaining companies agreed on uniform transport tariffs in the course of the 1920s.

List of Berlin tram companies
opening Operating company Track width
(in mm) 		taken over on taken over by particularities
06/22/1865 BPfE Berlin horse train 1435 09/26/1894 BCS first horse-drawn tram in Germany, experiments with steam operation and battery powered rail cars
11/01/1871 Westend Terrain Society H. Quistorp & Co. 1435 1878 BPfE Operational management by BPfE
07/08/1873 GBPfE Great Berlin horse train 1435 01/25/1898 GBS Experiments with steam operation and battery railcars
01/01/1877 NBPf New Berlin horse tram company 1435 01/01/1900 GBS
04/01/1879 GIPfEG Great International Horse Railroad Company 1435 1886 GBPfE Operational management by GBPfE
05/16/1881 Electric train in Groß-Lichterfelde 1000 March 1895 ESGL first electric tram in the world, initially power supply via the rails, 1890/93 conversion to overhead lines
06/04/1881 Horse tram Tegeler Chaussee - Tegel 1435 1881 GBPfE Operational management by GBPfE
10/18/1882 CPfE Cöpenicker Horse Railway 1435 08/11/1903 SSC
06/13/1885 Horse-drawn railway in the municipality of Rixdorf 1435 01/01/1887 GBPfE Operational management by GBPfE
05/05/1886 Berlin steam tram ( Davy, Donath & Co. ) 1435 1888 BDK
08/06/1887 Horse-drawn railway of the municipality of Mariendorf 1435 01/01/1888 GBPfE Operational management by GBPfE
05/18/1888 WSD Wilmersdorf - Schmargendorfer steam tram Reymer & Masch 1435 12/22/1888 BDK
07/01/1888 Groß-Lichterfelde - Seehof - Teltow steam tram 1435 05/31/1891 DLSTS
1888 BDK Berlin steam tram consortium 1435 10/01/1898 WBV also operated horse rides
05/17/1891 Friedrichshagen tram 1000 December 16, 1906 SSC in the winter horse business, taken over by the municipality in 1894, electrified with takeover by the SSC and converted to the standard gauge
05/31/1891 DLSTS Groß-Lichterfelde - Seehof - Teltow - Stahnsdorf steam tram 1435 04/01/1906 TKB
08/01/1891 Horse-drawn railway in the municipality of Britz 1435 08/01/1891 GBPfE
06/05/1892 Spandau tram Simmel, Matzky & Müller 1000 03/17/1896 SpS on September 1, 1894 operations management at the Allgemeine Deutsche Kleinbahn-Gesellschaft
06/01/1892 Horse-drawn railway of the community of Niederschönhausen 1435 06/01/1892 GBPfE
09/26/1894 BCS Berlin-Charlottenburg tram 1435 05/15/1919 GBS Trials with battery-powered railcars, completion of electrification on October 1, 1900, introduction of line numbers (N – Z) on May 6, 1902
03/04/1895 ESGL Electric tram Groß-Lichterfelde – Lankwitz – Steglitz – Südende 1000 04/01/1906 TKB
09/10/1895 Siemens & Halske 1435 07/01/1899 BESTAG
03/18/1896 SpS Spandau tram 1000/1435 December 8th, 1920 GBS 1906/07 gauge change to 1435 mm
01/25/1898 GBS Big Berlin tram 1435 12/13/1920 BSt on May 6, 1902 introduction of line numbers (1-199), completion of electrification on December 15, 1902; Acquired on September 20, 1919 by the Zweckverband Groß-Berlin , also battery operation
10/01/1898 WBV Western Berlin suburban railway 1435 05/15/1919 GBS also operated horse trams, completion of electrification on June 19, 1900, introduction of line numbers (A – M) on May 6, 1902
07/01/1899 BESTAG Berlin electric trams 1435 12/13/1920 BSt
07/01/1899 SBV Southern Berlin suburban train 1435 05/15/1919 GBS on May 6, 1902 introduction of line numbers (I – V)
10/21/1899 Tram Berlin – Hohenschönhausen 1435 12/10/1906 NBSNO
December 18, 1899 BO Berlin East Railways 1435 08/01/1920 GBS operated the Spree tunnel
10/01/1901 Flb Flat line of the company for electric elevated and underground railways in Berlin (tram Warschauer Brücke - Central cattle yard) 1435 04/01/1928 BSBG on January 1, 1910 sale of the route to the SSB, for building new, later one of the Warsaw bridge to Scharnweber- / belt road to Wagner (today Roedeliusplatz ) in Lichtenberg extended
08/11/1903 SSC Cöpenick municipal tram 1435 December 8th, 1920 GBS
July 1904 Horse-drawn tram in the French-Buchholz community 1435 December 19, 1907 BESTAG electrification took place when BESTAG took over
December 3rd, 1905 GWB Tram of the municipality of Steglitz 1435 04/16/1921 BSt
04/01/1906 TKB Teltower Kreisbahnen 1000/1435 04/16/1921 BSt The DLSTS steam train was not electrified until March 30, 1907
12/10/1906 NBSBO New Berlin trams northeast 1435 05/03/1910 NöBV
07/01/1908 SSB Urban trams Berlin 1435 12/13/1920 BSt
09/30/1908 SpN Electric tram Spandau – Nonnendamm 1435 10/01/1914 SpS by Siemens & Halske founded
05/03/1910 NöBV Northeast Berlin suburban railway 1435 05/15/1919 GBS
08/07/1910 Tram of the Johannisthal airfield 1435 October 1910 shut down last horse tram in the Berlin urban area
03/09/1912 SGU Schmöckwitz – Grünauer Uferbahn 1435 03/01/1925 BSBG Electrification on July 25, 1912
05/29/1913 SGH Tram of the community Heiligensee an der Havel 1435 December 3rd, 1920 GBS
12/13/1920 BSt Berlin tram 1000/1435 09/10/1923 BSBG 1000 mm sections ex TKB
01/08/1923 Spandau-West – Hennigsdorfer Kleinbahn 1435 01/01/1929 BVG Operational management by BSt, electrification on November 11, 1929
09/10/1923 BSBG Berlin tram company 1000/1435 01/01/1929 BVG 1000 mm sections ex TKB
01/01/1929 BVG Berliner Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft 1000/1435 last meter-gauge lines closed on February 15, 1930 (lines 42 and 97)
01/01/1938 BVG Berlin transport companies 1435 Conversion into a municipal company

The table contains in chronological order all companies that operated tram routes in Berlin before the BVG was founded. The background color of the respective line marks the type of traction with which the company started operations (blue = Horse tram, red = Steam train, White = electric train, green = benzene-powered train).

As the Berlin region grew, it was necessary to coordinate local public transport between the individual municipalities and cities. On April 1, 1912, therefore, the special purpose association Greater Berlin was formed by law . In addition to Berlin, this included the cities of Charlottenburg, Wilmersdorf, Schöneberg, Rixdorf (Neukölln), Lichtenberg and Spandau, as well as the districts of Teltow and Niederbarnim . One of the tasks was seen in the coordinated transport policy. At the time the association was founded, the following 15 tram companies existed in this area:

On October 1, 1920, the united community of Greater Berlin was formed. By the end of the year almost all tram operations in this area had largely been merged. Only the Teltower Kreisbahnen , whose headquarters were still in the Teltow district, were only taken over by the Berlin tram on April 16, 1921 . At the same time the tram of the municipality of Steglitz came to the Berlin tram , whose operating rights were with the TKB. From that day on, there were still the following tram companies in Berlin:

  • BSt - Berlin tram
  • Flb - flat railway of the company for electric elevated and underground railways (was part of the underground)
  • SGU - Schmöckwitz – Grünauer Uferbahn (there was an operational management contract with the AG for railway construction and operation )

By November 5, 1921, all lines of the companies taken over were classified in the BSt line number system.

Tramless day in Berlin

The financial situation of the Berlin tram company established on December 13, 1920, had deteriorated further and further in the following years. The route network taken over from the numerous predecessor companies had not yet been adapted to the economic management from a single source and had numerous sections with insufficient utilization. Over-indebtedness reached a level in September 1923 during the inflation of 1923 that the city of Berlin could no longer bear. The expenditures for wages and operating resources, especially electricity, rose faster and faster. Despite regular wage increases, however, the income was no longer sufficient because the population's purchasing power, adjusted for inflation, fell.

The necessary measures were discussed very controversially in the Berlin city council . According to the plans of the Berlin magistrate , the previously purely municipal company Berliner Straßenbahn should file for bankruptcy in order to be able to dismiss around 7,000 drivers, conductors and workshop workers. In a new private limited company, Berliner Straßenbahn-Betriebsgesellschaft mbH , only around 4,000 workers were to continue to be employed. In addition, it was planned to withdraw from the Reichsmanteltarifvertrag and waive retroactive wage increases. The range of routes should be significantly reduced from around 90 to around 30. The intended reduction of the distance between journeys to initially only 15 minutes on the remaining lines was commented very critically in the daily press.

The city council approved the proposal after heated debates. At the end of Saturday, September 8, 1923, all 89 lines of the Berlin tram were shut down, bankruptcy was declared for this company and the staff were laid off.

On Sunday, September 9, 1923, with the exception of the flat railway and the Uferbahn , there were no trams in Berlin.

This business interruption was necessary in order to convert operations to the new tram operating company under private law . The new company tried to justify the necessity of the change by publishing the previous daily losses. As the Vossische Zeitung reported, the other Berlin transport companies - the omnibus company , the elevated railway and the ring railway of the Reichsbahn - tried to increase their travel offers in order to take over tram passengers. However, the other transport companies could not avoid further increases in ticket tariffs. At the same time, a new transfer tariff was introduced for the tram.

Berlin tram company

On Monday, September 10, 1923, tram traffic - reduced to just 32 lines - was resumed by the newly founded company Berliner Straßenbahn-Betriebs-GmbH (BSBG) . In addition to the announced 15-minute intervals, emergency vehicles with trailers ran on sections. For the drivers, however, in addition to reduced wage rates, a change in working conditions came into force. The working time has been extended by 1½ hours a day compared to the previous conditions, because only the pure working time, but no longer the work breaks, are taken into account.

In the months and years that followed, the number of routes and trips was gradually expanded again.

From 1924 the BSBG began to procure new tram cars in larger numbers, e.g. B. around 1,300 cars of the type later known as the T 24 / B24 . The architect and designer Bruno Paul was involved in the design of these cars . In addition, older cars were equipped with a closed standard driver's cab in order to standardize operation and to improve the working conditions of the drivers.

Under the leadership of the architect Jean Krämer and with the support of the structural engineer Gerhard Mensch , work began on replacing the small and outdated carriage sheds with modern depots. These include the new construction of the Britz depot in Gradestrasse, which opened in 1926, and the new Müllerstrasse depot, which opened in 1927 .

In 1924, on behalf of BSBG, Krämer also designed the traffic tower at Potsdamer Platz in order to curb the increasing number of irregularities and delays in regular services.

List of tram lines on September 10, 1923
line from to comment
1 City ring
3 Big ring
4th East-West Ring
7th West ring
13 Moabit, Gotzkowskystraße and Turmstraße Silesian train station
15th Moabit, Bremer Strasse at the corner of Birkenstrasse Neukölln, Hermannplatz
23 Mitte, Leipziger Platz Pankow, Damerowstrasse
Pankow, Damerowstrasse Buchholz, church One-man operation
Pankow, Kreuzstrasse Niederschönhausen, Kaiserweg and Platanenstraße One-man operation
28 Tegel, main street Britz, town hall
Tegel, main street Tegelort One-man operation
Tegel, main street Heiligensee One-man operation
Reinickendorf, Berliner Strasse at the corner of Scharnweberstrasse Wittenau railway station (northern line) One-man operation
Britz, town hall Buckow West One-man operation
32 Mitte, Charlottenstrasse at the corner of Unter den Linden Reinickendorf, Pankower Allee
41 Reinickendorf, town hall Kreuzberg, Baerwaldstraße and Gneisenaustraße
44 Görlitz train station Wilmersdorf, Kaiserplatz
47 Northrend, tram station Britz, Rudower Strasse and Jahnstrasse
Britz, Rudower Strasse and Jahnstrasse Rudow One-man operation
54 Middle, Am Kupfergraben Spandau, market
Spandau, market Hook field One-man operation
57 Prenzlauer Berg, Danzigerstraße and Pappelallee Wilmersdorf, Emser Platz
Wilmersdorf, Emser Platz Grunewald, Roseneck One-man operation
60 Weißensee, castle Schöneberg, Rubensstrasse and Canovastrasse
Schöneberg, Mühlenstrasse Lindenhof One-man operation
64 Hohenschönhausen, Degnerstrasse Charlottenburg, Sophie-Charlotte-Platz
Charlottenburg, Sophie-Charlotte-Platz Heerstrasse station One-man operation
69 Wilmersdorf, Kaiserplatz Lichtenberg, Frankfurter Allee and Hubertusstraße
Lichtenberg, Frankfurter Allee and Hubertusstraße Friedrichsfelde, church One-man operation
72 Mitte, Alexanderplatz Weissensee, Antonplatz
Mitte, Alexanderplatz Heinersdorf, church
74 Prenzlauer Berg, Kniprodestrasse and Elbinger Strasse Lichterfelde, Handelplatz
76 Halensee, Hobrechtstrasse Frankfurter Allee train station
Friedrichshain, Frankfurter Allee and Koenigsberger Strasse Lichtenberg, Viktoriaplatz One-man operation
76/91 Ring: Wilmersdorf-Grunewald One-man operation
83 Mahlsdorf train station Reversible lock
84 Altglienicke, church Friedrichshagen station
87 Steglitz, city park Köpenick, Lindenstrasse and Bahnhofstrasse
91 Görlitz train station Wilmersdorf, Wilhelmsaue
98 Neukölln, Venusplatz Pichelsdorf
99 Wedding, Seestrasse and Amrumer Strasse Mariendorf, Lichtenrader Chaussee
Reinickendorf, Pankower Allee Mariendorf, Lichtenrader Chaussee
120 Spandau-West train station Hennigsdorf, Rathenaustraße and Spandauer Allee Benzene operation
J Zoologischer Garten station Lichterfelde, Unter den Eichen at the corner of Drakestrasse
LH Steglitz station Lichterfelde-Ost train station Meter gauge
M. Steglitz station Mariendorf, Kaiserstraße at the corner of Chausseestraße Meter gauge
Z Lichterfelde-Ost train station Stahnsdorf

On March 9, 1927, the Berliner Straßenbahn-Betriebs-Gesellschaft , the Hochbahngesellschaft and the Allgemeine Berliner Omnibus AG signed the so-called Community of Interest Agreement, with which the 20-pfennig standard tariff between the three modes of transport came into force on March 15, 1927 . The tariff allowed a one-time change within a means of transport or to the tram or subway, and from January 1, 1928 also to the bus.

Foundation of the BVG

Type TM 34 tram, built in 1929
Railcar type TM36 of the BVG , built in 1929

On January 1, 1929, the Berlin tram operating company was transferred to the newly founded urban Berliner Verkehrs-AG ( BVG ). The BVG also took over the elevated and underground railways of the elevated railway company as well as the bus services of the Allgemeine Berliner Omnibus-Actien-Gesellschaft (ABOAG).

On the very day of the BVG this 89 tram lines and a network operating with 634 km length of the route , had 4,000 trams and employed 14,400 people alone in the tram. The tram operated 170 million kilometers per year and carried 929 million passengers in 1929. At the end of 1929 there were 93 tram lines.

In the early 1930s, the Berlin tram network slowly began to shrink. After the meter-gauge network (including the historic, first electric tram route) in Lichterfelde and Steglitz (lines 42 and 97) was replaced by bus services in February 1930, the route opened in 1865 through Charlottenburger Chaussee followed on October 31, 1934 (since 1953 Straße of June 17 ), which was converted into a monumental east-west axis in the course of Germania planning . At the beginning of 1935, the BVG discontinued the transport of parcels by tram, which was introduced in 1917 . In 1938 there were still 71 tram lines, 2,800 vehicles and around 12,500 employees. The bus network, on the other hand, was systematically expanded, and trolleybuses have also been running in Berlin since 1933 .

Second World War

During the Second World War, trams increasingly took on the task of transporting buses and trucks to save gasoline and diesel fuel ; Among other things, extensive freight transport was set up. Many companies and some ports were given a siding to the tram. In the course of the war, due to a lack of personnel and electricity as well as the Allied air raids on Berlin (especially from March 1943), the tram's performance continued to decline until operations collapsed on April 23, 1945 during the final phase of the Battle of Berlin .

Despite the immense destruction of routes, vehicles and depots, trams started running again in the outskirts of Berlin from May 20, 1945, and 328 km of trams could be reopened by the end of 1945.

Conversion of pantographs

When some economic life began to sprout again, there was a change from the previous pantographs to pantographs . In addition to the replacement of the pantographs, this also included changes to the overhead lines, the course of which should have as few corners as possible for pantographs, but should be zigzagged for brackets to avoid selective wear of the contact strip. In the western part of the city the first line was changed on April 12, 1948, in the east in 1951. The changeover was completed in 1955. Because of this change, museum vehicles from the pre-war period now usually have “wrong” pantographs.

List of tram lines on January 1, 1929
line from to comment
1 City ring
2 Bahnhofsring
3 Big ring
4th East-West Ring
5 Outer ring
6th Südring
7th West ring
8th North ring
9 Ostring
12 Siemensstadt, administration building Neukölln, Köllniche Allee
13 Moabit, Gotzkowskystraße and Turmstraße Klingenberg power plant
14th Moabit, Gotzkowskystraße and Turmstraße Kreuzberg, Friesenstrasse and Schwiebusser Strasse
15th Wilhelmsruh, Hauptstrasse New parish churchyard Neukölln
115 Moabit, Bremer Strasse at the corner of Birkenstrasse Buckow-Ost, hospital
19th Gesundbrunnen, Schwedenstrasse and Badstrasse Schöneberg, Eisenacher Strasse at the corner of Hauptstrasse
119 Niederschönhausen, Friedensplatz Schöneberg, Rubensstrasse and Canovastrasse
120 Spandau-West train station Hennigsdorf, Rathenaustraße and Spandauer Allee Benzene operation
21st Wedding, Augustenburger Platz Britz, town hall
23 Anhalter Bahnhof Rosenthal train station
24 Schöneberg, Gotenstrasse Buchholz, church
25th Tegel, main street Mariendorf, racecourse
27 Tegel, main street Britz, town hall
28 Tegelort Britz, Germania promenade
128 Heiligensee Britz, Germania promenade
29 Reinickendorf-West, sports field Buckow West
32 Reinickendorf, Humboldtstrasse and Teichstrasse Britz, Germania promenade
132 Reinickendorf, Humboldtstrasse and Teichstrasse Neukölln, Köllniche Allee
35 Wedding, Togostraße and Seestraße Tempelhof, Kaiserin-Augusta-Strasse
36 Schönholz, Provinzstrasse and Germanenstrasse Neukölln, Kranoldstrasse
40 Gesundbrunnen, Grünthaler Strasse and Bornholmer Strasse Zehlendorf, Dahlemer Weg
41 Tegel, main street Tempelhof, General-Pape-Strasse
Reinickendorf-West, sports field Kreuzberg, Kreuzbergstrasse
42 Steglitz station Lichterfelde-Ost train station Meter gauge
Lichterfelde-Ost train station Lichterfelde-West train station
43 Prenzlauer Berg, Kniprodestrasse and Elbinger Strasse Dahlem, Queen-Luise-Strasse
44 Görlitz train station Steglitz, Birkbuschstrasse and Siemensstrasse
45 Pankow, Damerowstrasse at the corner of Mendelstrasse Steglitz, Birkbuschstrasse and Siemensstrasse
47 Pankow, Bürgerpark Rudow
48 Northrend, tram station Neukölln station
148 Gesundbrunnen, Grünthaler Strasse and Bornholmer Strasse Neukölln, Schulenburgpark
49 Niederschönhausen, Blankenburger Strasse Görlitz train station
51 Nordend, Schillerstrasse Grunewald, Roseneck
53 Westend, Reichskanzlerplatz Lichtenberg, Gudrunstrasse
54 Prenzlauer Berg, Danziger Strasse and Weißenburger Strasse Hook field
154 Frankfurter Allee train station Johannesstift
55 Treptow, Bouchéstrasse Spandau-West, Nauener Strasse
56 Pankow, Lindenpromenade Lichterfelde-Ost train station
57 Pankow, Bürgerpark Grunewald, Roseneck
58 Neukölln station Spandau, city park
60 Weißensee, Rennbahnstrasse Schöneberg, Rubensstrasse and Canovastrasse
61 Weißensee, castle Steglitz, city park
62 Weißensee, Rennbahnstrasse Charlottenburg train station
63 Moabit, Gotzkowskystraße and Turmstraße Britz, town hall
64 Middle, Dönhoffplatz Garden field
65 Friedrichshain, Samariterstraße Schöneberg, Rubensstrasse and Canovastrasse
66 Hohenschönhausen, Falkenberger Strasse Tempelhof, Adolf-Scheidt-Platz
68 Wittenau railway station (northern line) Mountains of hearts
69 Friedrichsfelde, church Friedenau, Südwestkorso at the corner of Laubacher Strasse
70 Mitte, Behrenstrasse and Kanonierstrasse Johannisthal
71 Weißensee, Rennbahnstrasse Steglitz, Hindenburgdamm
72 Weißensee, Rennbahnstrasse Grunewald Stadium
73 Heinersdorf, Kronprinzenstrasse and Neukirchstrasse Tempelhof Airport
74 Prenzlauer Berg, Kniprodestrasse and Elbinger Strasse Lichterfelde, Zehlendorfer Strasse at the corner of Sternstrasse
174 Prenzlauer Berg, Greifswalder Strasse and Danziger Strasse Lichterfelde, Handelplatz
75 Middle, Am Kupfergraben Hook field
76 Grunewald, dog throat Lichtenberg, Gudrunstrasse
176 Grunewald, dog throat Lichtenberg, Gudrunstrasse
77 Quiet life Zehlendorf, Dahlemer Weg
177 Zoologischer Garten station Lichterfelde-Süd, Eugen-Kleine-Brücke
Lichterfelde-Süd, Eugen-Kleine-Brücke Teltow, Schützenplatz Division due to bridge closure
78 Prenzlauer Berg, Danziger Strasse and Weißenburger Strasse Grunewald, Roseneck
79 Prenzlauer Berg, Nordkapstraße and Bornholmer Straße Halensee station
82 Middle, Dönhoffplatz Stralau, church
Stralau, church Treptow, place at the Spree tunnel through Spree tunnel
83 Mahlsdorf train station Reversible lock
84 Altglienicke, Straße am Falkenberg Friedrichshagen, waterworks
86 Koepenick train station Schmoeckwitz
87 Mitte, Behrenstrasse and Markgrafenstrasse Köpenick, hospital
187 Mitte, Behrenstrasse and Markgrafenstrasse Friedrichshagen station
88 Treptow train station Steglitz, city park
89 Charlottenburg, Spandauer Strasse Lichtenberg, Gudrunstrasse
90 Friedrichshain, Warsaw Bridge Lichtenberg, Wagnerplatz
91 Halensee station Oberspree train station
191 Görlitz train station Grunewald, Roseneck
92 Treptow, Bouchéstrasse Grunewald, Roseneck
93 Treptow, town hall Westend, Reichskanzlerplatz
95 Schöneberg, Eisenacher Strasse at the corner of Hauptstrasse Koepenick train station
96 Mitte, Behrenstrasse and Markgrafenstrasse Lichterfelde-Ost train station
97 Steglitz station Mariendorf, Kaiserstraße at the corner of Chausseestraße Meter gauge
98 Moabit, Ottostraße at the corner of Alt-Moabit Baumschulenweg station
99 Wedding, Togostraße and Seestraße Lichtenrade station
199 Northrend, tram station Marienfelde, Daimlerstrasse
100 Lichterfelde-Ost train station Machnower lock

Division of the BVG

The BVG was also divided in the course of the political division of Berlin on August 1, 1949. Two separate companies emerged, the BVG-West in the three western sectors (36 tram lines) and the BVG-East (13 lines) in the Soviet sector, from 1969 VEB Kombinat Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVB). On October 14, 1950, traffic on the tram lines from West Berlin to the Brandenburg area (to Stahnsdorf and Schönefeld ) was discontinued, and on January 15, 1953, regular traffic across the inner-city sector border was discontinued. The reason for the latter event was the fact that the BVG-Ost used women as drivers, which was not allowed in the West at that time and therefore the joint line operation was terminated. The lines of one half of the city now ended at the border, the passengers crossed this on foot and continued with the line of the same name of the other company (and the same ticket).

West Berlin

Trams are gradually being replaced by other means of transport from 1954

From 1954, there was a change in traffic policy in West Berlin, aimed at replacing tram traffic by extending the underground and bus routes. A formal resolution was not reached in this regard, rather the change crystallized only gradually. It started with an order for new, much-needed trams and buses. A loan of twelve million marks for the purchase of 40 trams and 20 buses was applied for to finance them . On the part of the Berlin Senate and the top of the BVG, more and more concerns were expressed, among other things, the tests with the new tram prototype TED 52 were not promising. However, these problems were not of a technical nature, but of an operational nature. The TED 52 was a one-way car and could therefore not be used on many routes, and the long train length caused difficulties for the conductors when handling the trams.

As a further argument against the tram, the city administration referred to other European metropolises in which the trams were also discontinued. The tram was considered obsolete and superfluous at the time, as Berlin already had a good basic underground network. The rapidly growing surface traffic would only hinder the tram (which often ran on its own track). This problem can only be solved through tunnels. Based on these arguments, the loan was finally converted and, with the approval of the Berlin Senate, used to purchase 120 (double-decker) buses.

This was not a direct decision to abolish the tram, but it was the logical consequence of the non-renewal of the rolling stock. From 1954 the tram lines were gradually replaced by omnibuses and in individual cases by the subway, which was generously expanded in the following decades. It started with lines 76 and 79 on Kurfürstendamm, they were replaced by bus lines 19 (since 2004 M19 ) and 29 (M29).

Line closures of trams and trolleybuses

First, the north of West Berlin became tram-free, in 1958 the Müllerstraße and Tegel depots closed , followed by the closure of the Reinickendorf depot on September 30 and the suspension of line 35, the last in the Reinickendorf district . At the end of 1962 there were still 18 tram lines in the western part of the city.

On March 22, 1965, the last trolleybus line in West Berlin was shut down. Unlike in other countries (e.g. Switzerland), the means of transport could not prevail here and neither became a serious competitor nor a replacement for the tram.

At the end of 1965, BVG-West was still operating eight tram lines, and the closings continued at a rapid pace. On October 2, 1967, a tram ran for the last time in West Berlin: the last line with the number 55, the one from Zoo station via Ernst-Reuter-Platz - Charlottenburg town hall - Jungfernheide station - Siemensdamm - Nonnendammallee - Falkenseer Platz - Neuendorfer Road to Spandau, Hakenfelde drove, was closed.

Many Metrobus lines have followed the course of earlier tram lines since the 21st century .

List of West Berlin tram lines - routing on the last day of operation
line course set on replaced by

line

Current lines
as of 2014
02 Bernauer Strasse, sector boundary - Schöneberg, Gotenstrasse at the corner of Torgauer Strasse 06/01/1964 A84, A90 245, M10 ***
03 * U Fehrbelliner Platz - Grüntaler Straße and Osloer Straße 08/01/1964 A89 U7, M13 ***, 104, 106
06th Charlottenburg, Richard-Wagner-Platz - Neukölln, Elsenstrasse / corner of Heidelberger Strasse 07/01/1961 A73 M46
15th Marienfelde, Daimlerstrasse - Neukölln, Schulenburgpark 07/01/1966 A77 246, 277
21st Tram station Moabit, Wiebestraße - Kreuzberg, Friesenstraße 01/22/1953 A24 TXL, M41, 248
23 * Moabit, Zwinglistraße - Wollankstraße, sector limit 05/02/1960 A70 M27
24 * Bernauer Strasse, sector boundary - Wollankstrasse, sector boundary 05/02/1960 Without replacement Without replacement
25th Schöneberg, Gotenstrasse - Bernauer Strasse, sector boundary 09/01/1961 U9, A64 U9, 106, 247
26th Spreewaldplatz - Tempelhof, Industriestrasse 29.09.1963 Without replacement U7, M29, 277
27 Spreewaldplatz - Buckow, Alt-Buckow 10/01/1964 A91 M44 , 344
28 Gesundbrunnen train station, Rügener Strasse - Tegelort, Almazeile 06/01/1958 U6, ext. A20 U6, 222
29 Gesundbrunnen train station, Rügener Strasse - Alt-Heiligensee 06/01/1958 U6, ext. A14 U6, 124
35 ** Gartenfeld - Kopenhagener Straße, sector boundary 10/01/1960 A72 U7, X33, M27, 327
36 ** Copenhagener Strasse, sector boundary - Gesundbrunnen station, Rügener Strasse 05/02/1960 A71 327
40 Dahlem, Clayallee - Steglitz, Birkbuschstrasse 10/01/1959 A68 X83, 186
41 Bernauer Strasse, sector boundary - Alt-Tegel 06/01/1958 A61 U6, U8, 122
44 Invalidenstraße at the corner of Heidestraße - Steglitz, Birkbuschstraße 05/02/1963 A86 U7 , 186, 245
47 Britz, Gradestrasse - Rudow, city limits 10/01/1966 A41 171
51 Zoologischer Garten station - Roseneck 05/01/1957 A60 249
53 Charlottenburg, Richard-Wagner-Platz - Spandau, Hakenfelde 05/02/1967 A56 136 , M45
54 Charlottenburg, Richard-Wagner-Platz - Spandau, Johannesstift 05/02/1967 A54, AS1 M45
55 Zoologischer Garten station - Spandau, Hakenfelde (via Siemensstadt) 10/02/1967 A55 U7, 136, 139
57 Wilmersdorf, Emser Platz - Grunewald, Roseneck 11/01/1954 A50 115
60 Schöneberg, Lindenhof - Charlottenburg, Königin-Elisabeth-Strasse 05/02/1962 A74 U7 , 309 , 106
66 Schöneberg, Wartburgplatz - Steglitz, Thorwaldsenstrasse 05/02/1963 A83 187
68 Wedding station, Nettelbeckplatz - Wittenau station (northern line) 06/01/1958 A62 M21, X21
73 * Potsdamer Platz, sector boundary - Lichterfelde Ost station 05/02/1962 A48,
ext. A53		 M48, M85 , M11
74 * Potsdamer Platz, sector boundary - Lichterfelde, Finckensteinallee 05/02/1963 A83, A84 M48, M85 , 184
75 Zoologischer Garten station - Spandau, Hakenfelde (via Kantstraße) 01/24/1966 A94, A97 X34, X49, 136 , M49
76 (I) Grunewald, Roseneck - Anhalter Bahnhof 07/01/1954 A29 M29
76 (II) Zoologischer Garten station - Spandau, Johannis pen (from 1959) 01/24/1966 A94, A97 X34, X49, M45, M49
77 Zoologischer Garten station - Lichterfelde, Goerzallee 05/02/1963 A85 U9, M85, 188 , 285, M46
78 Zoologischer Garten station - Lichterfelde Süd, Lindenstrasse 05/02/1963 A85 U9, M85, 188 , 285, M46
79 Grunewald, Hagenplatz - U Nollendorfplatz 07/01/1954 A19 M19
88 Kreuzberg, Wiener Brücke - Steglitz, Stadtpark 03/01/1961 A75 M29, M48 / M85, 246, 181
94 Oranienplatz - Neukölln, Schulenburgplatz 10/01/1959 A67 M41
95 * Sonnenallee corner Schwarzer Weg - Mehringplatz 05/02/1965 A95 M41
96 * U Mehringdamm - Lichterfelde, Goerzallee and Darser Straße 05/02/1966 A96 117, 184, 248
98 U Tempelhof - Marienfelde, Daimlerstrasse 10/01/1961 A77 U6, 277
99 U Tempelhof - Lichtenrade station 10/01/1961 A76 U6, M76, X76
* Former joint route BVG-West / BVG-Ost with vehicles from both administrations (until January 15, 1953)
** Former joint route BVG-West / BVG-Ost with BVG West vehicles (until January 15, 1953)
*** Tram line rebuilt after 1990
Current lines shown in italics correspond completely or largely to the course of the tram lines at the time of closure.

East Berlin

Rekowagen BVG-East on chassis from 1924, reconstruction in 1957
Reko car with two sidecars on Bölschestrasse, January 1990
Tatra railcar KT4D of the BVB, built in 1980

With the more and more deep division of Berlin after 1948, there were major problems with the maintenance of the tram vehicles used by the East Berlin BVG. The main workshop of the tram was located on West Berlin Uferstrasse and could not be approached, or maintenance was not desired there. For the time being, numerous small businesses and the state-owned locomotive and wagon construction companies (LOWA) carried out the necessary general inspections and repairs. From 1954 the RAW Schöneweide took over these tasks. Thus the Reichsbahn repair shop was responsible for the S-Bahn as well as for the underground and trams.

If West Berlin was oriented towards metropolises such as Paris and London , Moscow, with its wide, tram-free thoroughfares, was the model for East Berlin's transport policy . As a result, numerous tram routes were shut down in the eastern part of the city as part of the car-oriented traffic planning of the 1950s and 1960s, especially in the districts of Mitte and Treptow . In 1967, when the new building on Alexanderplatz was completed, the lines through the center of East Berlin were shut down. The GDR wanted to present itself to tourists and other visitors (especially from western countries) with a modern center; trams were considered to be outdated in terms of traffic. Allegedly, due to the many accidents and tram delays, there was an economic loss of 2.5 million marks. However, the tram remained in the city center, albeit less visible, and continued to run close to the Friedrichstrasse train station (Am Kupfergraben). There were also closures later, including in Baumschulenstrasse and Leipziger Strasse .

A complete abandonment of the tram network was not envisaged, however, and at the end of the 1970s , new tram routes were built in order to develop new large estates such as Marzahn , later Hohenschönhausen and finally Hellersdorf . Some of these new routes were created before the settlement was completed, so that the construction workers could take the tram to the construction site. When building these lines, attention was paid to speed and integration into the cityscape, and so the new lines were largely given a track that was independent of road traffic.

Energy policy reasons also played a role. If the GDR had previously received oil from the Soviet Union at a preferential price, this was no longer possible after the oil crisis and so the tram powered by domestic energy sources ( lignite electricity), as in many other cities in the GDR, played the most important role in inner-city traffic . Nevertheless, there was no reintroduction of the tram in the East Berlin center, here the passenger flows through the U-Bahn line A (now part of the U 2 line ) and the S-Bahn were absorbed.

At the end of the 1980s, twelve lines ran in Berlin-Mitte. The end point Am Kupfergraben was reached with tight curves via Am Weidendamm - Planckstraße.

  • Lines 22/46 to Schönhauser Allee - Pankow - Rosenthal (22) / Niederschönhausen (46)
  • Line 70 to Pappelallee - Langhansstraße - Weißensee - Hohenschönhausen, Zingster Straße
  • Line 71 to Prenzlauer Allee - Heinersdorf.

The second important terminal was at the World Youth Stadium , today Schwartzkopffstraße underground station :

  • Lines 11/18 to Mollstraße - Leninallee (today Landsberger Allee) - Herzbergstraße (18) - Marzahn - Ahrensfelde (18)
  • Line 24 to Greifswalder Straße - Weißensee, Pasedagplatz
  • Line 63 to Mollstrasse - Konrad-Wolff-Strasse - Hohenschönhausen, Zingster Strasse.

The Hackesche Markt was the end point for the four remaining lines:

  • 20 to Prenzlauer Allee - Langhansstrasse - Weißensee - Herzbergstrasse - Lichtenberg
  • 28/58 to Greifswalder Straße - Weißensee - Hohenschönhausen - Zingster Straße (28) / Falkenberg (58)
  • 49 to Schönhauser Allee - Pankow - Buchholz.

Other lines ran from the city districts with endpoints on Eberswalder , Bornholmer and Warschauer Straße , in Schöneweide , Adlershof and Mahlsdorf, among others .

Passenger numbers were also influenced by tariff policy. The highly subsidized normal ticket for 20 pfennigs was valid for a journey on a single line without changing trains - from the start to the end. With a ticket you could get from the Kupfergraben across the city to Hohenschönhausen or Rosenthal . The subway, on the other hand, required a change to another line in Pankow. The S-Bahn had graduated prices (in East Berlin 20 and 30 pfennigs). Since the 1960s and 1970s, all trams and sidecars have been equipped with payment boxes . A ticket inspection was planned by other passengers (season tickets should be held up open after boarding and shown to other passengers), so basically did not take place.

Track openings

The new line to Hellersdorf was the last to be opened in 1991 on behalf of BVB
Since 2007 the trains have been running from Prenzlauer Allee directly to Alexanderplatz

From 1951 to 1990 the following routes were opened in East Berlin :

Track openings from 1951 to 1990
date route
08/02/1951 Ehrlichstrasse, Blockdammweg
08/02/1951 Buschallee (between Kniprodeallee [today Hansastraße ] and Suermondtstraße), Suermondtstraße
08/02/1951 Markgrafendamm, Hauptstrasse (between Markgrafendamm and Karlshorster Strasse)
02/15/1953 Groß-Berliner Damm
06/13/1953 Falkenberger Strasse (today Gehrenseestrasse, Garden City Hohenschönhausen)
05/17/1954 Friedenstrasse, Friedrichsberger Strasse, Lebuser Strasse
01/28/1962 Adlershof S-Bahn station (west side)
December 14, 1965 Langhansstraße (between Gustav-Adolf-Straße and Prenzlauer Promenade)
May 18, 1966 Stralauer Platz
08/01/1966 Holzmarktstrasse (between Krautstrasse and Andreasstrasse)
09/16/1966 Stahlheimer Strasse (between Wichertstrasse and Wisbyer Strasse)
12/12/1966 Mollstraße (between Leninplatz [today United Nations Square] and Hans-Beimler-Straße [today Otto-Braun-Straße])
01/02/1967 Mollstrasse (between Hans-Beimler-Strasse [today Otto-Braun-Strasse] and Prenzlauer Allee)
11/14/1971 Bleicheroder Straße, Stiftweg
11/02/1975 Herzbergstrasse (from Siegfriedstrasse), Allee der Kosmonauten (to Rhinstrasse), Rhinstrasse (between Allee der Kosmonauten and Strasse der Befreiung [today Alt-Friedrichsfelde])
04/06/1979 Allee der Kosmonauten (between Rhinstrasse and Elisabethstrasse loop)
03/17/1980 Altenhofer Straße, Leninallee (today Landsberger Allee), Marzahn S-Bahn station
10/06/1982 Marzahner Promenade, Bruno-Leuschner-Straße (today Raoul-Wallenberg-Straße), Allee der Kosmonauten (between Leninallee [today Landsberger Straße] and loop Elisabethstraße), Trasse Lea-Grundig-Straße / Max-Hermannstraße / Trusetaler Straße (up to the loop Henneckestrasse)
December 21, 1984 Wartenberger Strasse, Rüdickenstrasse, Zingster Strasse
04/01/1985 Rhinstrasse (between Hauptstrasse and Allee der Kosmonauten)
04/01/1985 Leninallee (today Landsberger Alle, between the Allee der Kosmonauten and the Marzahn depot)
10/06/1986 Henneckestrasse loop to Ahrensfelde loop
08/10/1987 Kniprodeallee, Falkenberger Chaussee (to Prerower Platz)
08/20/1988 Falkenberger Chaussee (between Prerower Platz and Falkenberg loop)

Line closures

A tram operated on Markgrafendamm until 1967 - only 40 years. The last remains of the track were later removed.

From 1950 to 1990, the following routes, among others, were closed:

Line closures from 1950 to 1990
date route
10/14/1950 Waltersdorfer Chaussee, Mittelstrasse ( Schönefeld )
03/19/1951 Königstraße , Spandauer Straße (between Königstraße and Molkenmarkt ), Schloßplatz , Werderstraße, Französische Straße (to Charlottenstraße, Lindentunnel , Oberwallstraße, Jerusalemer Straße)
01/02/1952 Elsenstrasse (between Plesser Strasse and Heidelberger Strasse)
03/03/1952 Stalinallee (between Andreasstraße and Jacobystraße)
06/16/1952 Charlottenstrasse (between Unter den Linden and Clara-Zetkin-Strasse)
January 16, 1953 Ebertstrasse (between Potsdamer Platz and Clara-Zetkin-Strasse)
January 16, 1953 Wide street (middle)
January 16, 1953 Wollankstrasse (between the sector boundary and Breite Strasse (Pankow))
January 16, 1953 Copenhagener Strasse, Hauptstrasse (between the sector boundary and Wilhelmsruh (Pankow))
January 16, 1953 Bornholmer Strasse (between the sector boundary and Björnsonstrasse)
03/27/1953 Rosenfelder Strasse, Irenenstrasse, Weitlingstrasse , Lückstrasse, Nöldnerstrasse, Stadthausstrasse, Türrschmidtstrasse
01/11/1956 Kommandantenstrasse, Beuthstrasse
06/25/1957 Bulgarian road (to Alt-Treptow)
06/05/1959 Groß-Berliner Damm
08/30/1959 Alt-Stralau, Tunnelstrasse
11/13/1959 Bulgarische Strasse (between Alt-Treptow and Köpenicker Landstrasse)
08/01/1960 Puschkinallee, Am Treptower Park (between Puschkinallee and Elsenstraße)
08/13/1961 Clara-Zetkin-Strasse (between Ebertstrasse and Planckstrasse), Ebertstrasse (between the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstagufer)
08/13/1961 Oberbaum Bridge
08/23/1961 Heinrich-Heine-Strasse (between Dresdner Strasse and Schmidstrasse)
19.09.1961 Köpenicker Straße (between Schillingbrücke and Brückenstraße)
01/28/1962 Adlergestell (between Dörpfeldstrasse and Köpenicker Strasse)
08/03/1962 Elisabethstraße, Karl-Marx-Allee (between Elisabethstraße and Leninallee )
07/01/1965 Hannoversche Strasse
December 14, 1965 Gustav-Adolf-Straße (between Langhansstraße and Prenzlauer Promenade)
04/01/1966 Idastrasse, Wackenbergstrasse, Buchholzer Strasse, Blankenburger Strasse
May 18, 1966 Fruchtstrasse (between Mühlendamm and Am Ostbahnhof)
07/04/1966 Breslauer Strasse (between Andreasstrasse and Krautstrasse)
08/25/1966 Heinrich-Heine-Strasse (between Schmidstrasse and Köpenicker Strasse)
09/16/1966 Krügerstrasse, Wichertstrasse (between Stahlheimer Strasse and Gudvanger Strasse), Gudvanger Strasse (between Wichertstrasse and Krügerstrasse)
10/10/1966 Jacobystraße, Kleine Frankfurter Straße, Leninallee (between Alexanderplatz and Leninplatz)
10/10/1966 At the Ostbahnhof (between Fruchtstrasse and Andreasstrasse)
10/20/1966 Charlottenstrasse, Taubenstrasse (Wendeschleife)
December 19, 1966 Prenzlauer Strasse, Hans-Beimler-Strasse (between Alexanderplatz and Mollstrasse), Weinmeisterstrasse, Jüdenstrasse (Wendeschleife)
01/20/1967 Münzstraße , Memhardstraße, Alexanderplatz , Alexanderstraße (between Alexanderplatz and Wallnerstraße )
12/12/1967 Stralauer Allee, Markgrafendamm
October 19, 1968 Wallnerstraße , Raupachstraße (Wendeschleife), Alexanderstraße (between Wallnerstraße and Holzmarktstraße)
07/01/1969 Dönhoffplatz (turning loop)
07/01/1969 Stralauer Platz , Mühlenstraße, Warschauer Straße (between Mühlenstraße and Helsingforser Platz)
10/13/1969 Karlshorster Strasse, Stubenrauchbrücke
08/24/1970 Leipziger Strasse , Spittelmarkt , Wallstrasse, Inselstrasse, Köpenicker Strasse (between Inselstrasse and Brückenstrasse), Brückenstrasse, Jannowitzbrücke , Holzmarktstrasse, Andreasstrasse, Lebuser Strasse, Friedrichsberger Strasse, Friedenstrasse
04/01/1971 Baumschulenstrasse, Hasselwerderstrasse, Schnellerstrasse (between Hasselwerderstrasse and Bruno-Bürgel-Weg), Bruno-Bürgel-Weg
11/08/1971 Damerowstrasse
07/14/1973 Wiener Brücke (Wendeschleife), Karl-Kunger-Straße, Plesser Straße, Elsenstraße, Am Treptower Park (between Elsenstraße and Bulgarische Straße), Köpenicker Landstraße, Schnellerstraße (between Köpenicker Landstraße and Brückenstraße), Wendeschleife S-Bahnhof Schöneweide
11/01/1975 Road of Liberation
03/01/1983 Falkenberger Strasse, Arnimstrasse

Since the reunification

Trams have been running directly to Friedrichstrasse station since 1997
Tram on Alexanderplatz . In the background are the world clock and the House of Travel
Tram line M5 on December 14, 2014, the first day of regular tram operation at the main train station

In 1992, BVG (West) and BVB (East) were reunited to form BVG, and the company was now called Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe. In addition to bus and underground lines, the new BVG also operated the tram, which only ran in the eastern districts. There were some critical voices about the tram, calling for its partial abolition.

Above all, there were considerations to shut down the tram lines running to Pankow , because on the one hand the trams in Schönhauser Allee run parallel to the U2 underground line and on the other hand the branch to Rosenthal is underutilized. However, this could not be implemented and so soon afterwards the Senator for Transport Herwig Haase presented plans for reactivating the tram in the western districts. A new route was to lead from Warschauer Strasse to Hermannplatz, and the tram was to continue from Björnsonstrasse via Bornholmer Strasse to Seestrasse. There were also plans for a route through Leipziger Strasse to Potsdamer Platz and for an isolated tram network in Spandau .

In 1995 the first route was opened in two stages to the west on Bornholmer Strasse. The Rudolf-Virchow-Klinikum and the underground stations Seestraße in Wedding and Osloer Straße in Gesundbrunnen have since been connected to the tram network again.

Since 1997 there has been a tram stop directly at Friedrichstrasse station. Before that, a long walk had to be covered to get to the train station, which was renovated at the same time. Since then, the trams have stopped in the Wendeschleife Am Kupfergraben near the Humboldt University and Museum Island .

The following year the tram reopened at Alexanderplatz. This now drives directly from the intersection of Moll-corner Otto-Braun-Straße across the square and stops both at the underground station of the U2 and at the station building of the regional and S-Bahn, where there is a direct transition to the U5 and U8 . The increase in personal accidents with trams in the pedestrian zone, feared by critics, did not occur.

In 2000, the BVG extended the tram tracks from the previous terminus on Revaler Straße via the Warschauer Straße S-Bahn station directly to the subway station of the same name. Since there was no space for a turning loop here, a blunt-ended track was set up. For this purpose, bidirectional vehicles were procured. The tracks that were laid on the Oberbaumbrücke in 1995 , however, remain unused, as an extension of the tram to Hermannplatz is only planned in the long term.

Since the same year, the tram in Pankow has been running via the previous terminus at the French Buchholz Church to Guyotstrasse, connecting the new development areas there to the network.

In 2006, the BVG opened the second line in the western part of the city, and the M10 line has been running from its previous terminus at Eberswalder Strasse through Bernauer Strasse in Gesundbrunnen to the Nordbahnhof in Mitte. The extension towards the main train station took place in August 2015.

In May 2007, a new line was put into operation from Prenzlauer Tor via Karl-Liebknecht-Straße to Alexanderplatz, where the M2 line ends directly at the S-Bahn and regional train station, instead of traveling via Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz to Hackescher Markt as before. In the longer term, there are plans to extend the route over Rathausstrasse and Leipziger Strasse towards Potsdamer Platz. A large part of the rails for this has already been laid in Leipziger Strasse. The previous route in Alte and Neue Schönhauser Strasse is no longer operated as a regular service, but only maintained as an operating route .

On September 4, 2011, the lines 60 and 61 from the Adlershof S-Bahn station were extended by 1.5 kilometers to the Adlershof science and business location . Three new stops were created for this. The end of the line is Karl-Ziegler-Straße on the Adlershof campus of the Humboldt University.

With the timetable change on December 14, 2014, the tram was opened through Invalidenstrasse to the main station with the final stop Lüneburger Strasse on Alt Moabit, making it the third new route in the former western part of Berlin. The extension to the Turmstrasse underground station is planned.

Track openings

The following routes were opened after reunification:

Track openings since 1990
date route
05/01/1991 Zossener Strasse, Stendaler Strasse, Riesaer Strasse
10/14/1995 Bornholmer Strasse , Osloer Strasse
12/20/1997 Friedrichstrasse , Dorotheenstrasse
10/25/1997 Seestrasse
12/18/1998 Otto-Braun-Strasse (from Mollstrasse), Wadzeckstrasse, Alexanderplatz , Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse (between Gontardstrasse and Spandauer Strasse), Spandauer Strasse
May 28, 2000 Warschauer Straße (to the underground station)
09/29/2000 Continuation of the tram line 50 from Franz. Buchholz, church to Guyotstraße
05/28/2006 Bernauer Street
05/30/2007 Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse (between Mollstrasse and Gontardstrasse), Dircksenstrasse
04.09.2011 Rudower Chaussee (between S Adlershof and Max-Born-Straße), Max-Born-Straße, Karl-Ziegler-Straße ( WISTA )
12/14/2014 Chausseestrasse (reopening) - Invalidenstrasse - Central Station - Alt-Moabit

Line closures

Reko car in Wöhlertstrasse , 1974

The following routes have been closed since reunification:

Line closures since 1990
date route
01/01/1993 Route S-Bahn station Adlershof / Köpenicker Straße, Köpenicker Straße, Grünauer Straße, Am Falkenberg
05/23/1993 Hauptstrasse (to Karlshorster Strasse)
12/20/1997 Am Weidendamm (between Friedrichstraße and Planckstraße), Planckstraße (between Am Weidendamm and Georgenstraße)
09/29/2000 Parkstraße, Elfenallee, Gravensteinstraße (Wendeschleife), Grünstraße
05/30/2007 Alte Schönhauser Strasse, Neue Schönhauser Strasse (continues as an operating route)
08/26/2013 Chausseestrasse (between Invalidenstrasse and Wöhlertstrasse), Schwartzkopffstrasse, Pflugstrasse, Wöhlertstrasse

  • Main street in Rummelsburg with the Gotha open seating car , 1991

  • Rekozug on Köpenicker Strasse in Altglienicke, 1992

  • KT4D articulated multiple unit Am Weidendamm 1991

  • T6A2 train in Chausseestrasse, 1991

  • Turning loop on Gravensteinstrasse, 1991

Business premises

The former depot of the Hohenschönhauser tram was used as a cinema for a long time
Car hall Schmöckwitz in February 2008

Until the complete merger to form the Berlin tram, almost every company had its own depots and depots. Since these were designed to be small for the size of the company, most of the plants were closed in the 1920s.

The former depot Niederönhausen (Nie) was built in 1901 as station 3 of the GBS and was designed for a capacity of 190 cars. The depot includes a 19-track main hall and a seven-track wagon hall, which was added later as an extension. Since the end of the 20th century, the car hall has been used by the local traffic preservation association for storing historic tram vehicles.

The Schmöckwitz depot on the Adlergestell was operated between 1912 and 1926 as a depot for the Uferbahn and between 1945 and 1948 as a provisional depot for the BVG, after which it was only used as a depot. Until 2006, the site was used by the local traffic monument preservation association as a workshop and depot for their historic vehicles. Since then, the listed car hall can no longer be used for the historic trams, as no switches were built into the line network during the track loop renovation in Alt-Schmöckwitz and the car hall is thus separated from the tracks of tram line 68. On the night of August 31, 2008, there was a fire that destroyed the building. At that time the historic type 4305 multiple unit TF 21 S was still in the hall, which was also destroyed.

List of depots
Depot place Opened Built by
Koepenick Wendenschloßstraße 1903 Cöpenick municipal tram
Weissensee Bernkasteler Strasse 1912 Big Berlin tram
Lichtenberg Siegfriedstrasse 1913 Big Berlin tram
Marzahn Landsberger Allee 1985 Berlin transport company
Nalepastrasse Nalepastrasse 1901 Berlin East Railways

vehicles

From individual vehicle types to new series vehicles

Berlin railcar 5964 type T 24 in front of the former tram depot in Heiligensee
Reko wagons of the TE 59 series
Modernized Tatra four-axle T6A2D-M, built in 1988

Since the various tram companies only merged to form the BVG in 1929, several vehicle types from different manufacturers shaped the cityscape at that time.

The first uniform vehicle types were the 1920/21 design (from 1934: TF 20/29, B 21) and the 1924/25 design designed by Bruno Paul (from 1934: T 24, B 24, T 25 and B 25), the With 1,304 vehicles, it was the largest number of a type delivered to a company to date. Other series followed later, such as the 1927 type center entry railcars (from 1934: TM 33, TM 34, TM 36). They were used a long time after the war, as hardly any new vehicles were procured in the western part of the city due to the intended suspension of the tram and in the eastern part due to a lack of materials. During the Second World War , a larger series of vehicles were adopted that were originally intended for use on the Warsaw tram . After the end of the war, the vehicles known as “ Warsaw ” ended up in the Polish capital as reparations.

In West Berlin , the delivery of the new equipment series TED 52 began in 1952 , it was the first one-way vehicles for the Berlin tram. Among other things, the fact that new reversing loops should have been built prompted the BVG advisory board in 1954 to discontinue the tram in West Berlin within 15 years. This was implemented as early as 1967, the last vehicles used were those of the TM 33 series.

Upgrading existing cars

The vehicles that remained in East Berlin were initially electrically upgraded, new vehicles were hardly ever delivered. Exceptions were some prototypes such as the TDE 52 , mostly produced by Waggonbau Gotha , which were either scrapped or later adapted to the existing series. From 1959 the raw material Schöneweide , which took over the function of a main workshop, began with the conversion of the T 24 to Reko cars of the series TE 59, TE 63 and TE 64. Both one-way and two-way vehicles were produced. Until the 1970s, these cars printed next to the about the same time delivered Gothawagen type 61 TDE the cityscape. In addition, some pre-war series such as the TM 33 ran. Only with the acquisition of modern Tatra vehicles could the older series be retired. The Reko cars drove until 1996, most recently in the Köpenick subnet.

The last vehicles procured by the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe were 118 four-axle T6A2D open- plan cars and 59 B6A2D sidecars, which were put into service between 1988 and 1991. In 1995 another five sidecars without bogies were added, which came from a canceled order for the Rostock tram. They were added to the modernization program immediately after purchase. All vehicles in this series were taken out of service by December 2007 and some were sold because the BVG wanted to reduce maintenance costs by reducing the number of vehicle families. In their place, already parked, modernized KT4Dt articulated trolleys were reactivated.

Foreign vehicles on Berlin tracks

Bremen GT6N as a demonstration vehicle in Berlin, 1991
Potsdam Combino as an advertising car for Basel in Friedrichstrasse, 2001

Occasionally, vehicles from other companies were used on Berlin's tram tracks, either as demonstration vehicles or for advertising purposes. In November 1991 the Bremen GT6N prototype was in the city for demonstration purposes and could also be used by passengers. In 2001 the city of Basel advertised itself with a Combino . Since the railways of the two cities have different gauges, a Potsdam vehicle was borrowed , which was optically transformed into a tram for the Basler Verkehrs-Betriebe .

literature

  • Berlin Heritage Preservation Association V .: Rekowagen - The somewhat harder way of driving the tram . Verlag GVE, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-89218-045-8 .
  • Berlin Heritage Preservation Association V .: Historic local transport vehicles - Berlin and Brandenburg . Verlag GVE, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89218-027-X .
  • Berlin Heritage Preservation Association V .: 100 years of "Electric" in Köpenick . Verlag GVE, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-89218-082-2 .
  • Sigurd Hilkenbach, Wolfgang Kramer, Claude Jeanmaire: Berlin trams. The history of the Berlin tram companies since 1865 . (Archive No. 6), Verlag Eisenbahn, Villigen AG (Switzerland) 1973, ISBN 3-85649-006-X .
  • Sigurd Hilkenbach, Wolfgang Kramer, Claude Jeanmaire: Berlin Tram History II. A report on the development of the tram in Berlin after 1920 . (Archive No. 31), Verlag Eisenbahn, Villigen AG (Switzerland) 1977, ISBN 3-85649-031-0 .
  • Sigurd Hilkenbach, Wolfgang Kramer, Claude Jeanmaire: The tram lines in the western part of Berlin. The reconstruction from 1945 and the closure in the western part of the city until 1967. (2 volumes; archive no. 46/52), Verlag Eisenbahn, Villigen AG (Switzerland) 1986, ISBN 3-85649-046-9 .
  • Sigurd Hilkenbach, Wolfgang Kramer: The tram of the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG-Ost / BVB) 1949–1991 . Transpress, Stuttgart June 1997, ISBN 3-613-71063-3 .
  • Wolfgang Kramer, Heinz Jung: Line chronicle of the electric tram of Berlin. (2 volumes), Arbeitskreis Berliner Nahverkehr e. V., 1994 (1st volume), 2001 (2nd volume).
  • Gerhard Bauer: Tram Archive Volume 5 . Transpress VEB Verlag for Transport, 1987, ISBN 3-344-00172-8 .
  • Kiessling's Berlin Baedeker: Timetable of the Great Berlin Horse Railway , the twelve lines; P. 43.

Web links

Commons : Straßenbahn Berlin  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Elfi Bendikat: Public transport policy in Berlin and Paris from 1839 to 1914. ((Walter de Gruyter), p 103 books.google.de ).
  2. ↑ Cecilengärten Berlin: Timeframe ( Memento from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ^ A b Author collective: Tram Archive 5. Berlin and the surrounding area . transpress VEB Verlag for Transport, Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-344-00172-8 , p. 14-18 .
  4. ^ Author collective: Tram Archive 5. Berlin and the surrounding area . transpress VEB Verlag for Transport, Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-344-00172-8 , p. 116-123 .
  5. ^ Author collective: Tram Archive 5. Berlin and the surrounding area . transpress VEB Verlag for Transport, Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-344-00172-8 , p. 55-83 .
  6. ^ Author collective: Tram Archive 5. Berlin and the surrounding area . transpress VEB Verlag for Transport, Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-344-00172-8 .
  7. ↑ Tram from the Johannisthal airfield at www.berliner-bahnen.de
  8. ↑ August 28, 1923: The collapse of the tram In: Vorwärts , August 28, 1923, evening edition No. 400, p. 3, accessed on December 15, 2019.
  9. ↑ September 5, 1923: The new tram operating company . In: Vossische Zeitung , September 5, 1923, morning edition, supplement pp. 1 and 2, accessed on December 10, 2019.
  10. ↑ September 6, 1923: The choking of traffic . In: Vossische Zeitung , September 6, 1923, morning edition, supplement p. 1, accessed on December 10, 2019.
  11. ↑ September 7, 1923: Traffic throttling instead of tram renovation and the tram in the city parliament . In: Vossische Zeitung , September 7, 1923, morning edition, supplement p. 1, accessed on December 10, 2019.
  12. ↑ September 7, 1923: The Berlin Budget - The Fate of the Tram - Company throttling and layoffs In: Vorwärts , September 7, 1923, morning edition No. 417, p. 3, accessed on December 15, 2019.
  13. ↑ Uwe Kerl: 100 years of the flat railway . In: Berliner Verkehrsblätter . Issue 10, 2001, pp. 179-189 .
  14. ^ September 9, 1923: Increased traffic everywhere - The answer to the tram standstill . In: Vossische Zeitung , September 9, 1923, morning edition, supplement p. 1, accessed on December 11, 2019.
  15. ↑ Berlin tram - accessed on April 15, 2019; there u. a. with "Berliner Straßenbahn-Betriebs-GmbH"; also (probably only colloquially or in general terms) also referred to as the “Berlin tram operating company”
  16. ↑ September 10, 1923: The tram is running - With sufficient emergency vehicles. In: Vossische Zeitung , September 10, 1923, evening edition, p. 4, accessed on December 16, 2019.
  17. ^ A b Wolfgang Kramer, Heinz Jung: Line chronicle of the electric trams in Berlin until 1945 . Ed .: Arbeitskreis Berliner Nahverkehr eV Berlin 1994.
  18. ↑ March 15, 1927: First day of uniform tariff. - Smooth traffic management. - The flood of discarded elevated railway tickets. In: Vorwärts , March 15, 1927, evening edition No. 125, p. 6, accessed on December 19, 2019.
  19. ^ Reinhard Demps: Mail delivery by tram in Berlin . In: Verkehrsgeschichtliche Blätter . Volume 5, 1990, pp. 108-109 .
  20. ^ Wolfgang Kramer: Line chronicle of the Berlin tram 1945–1993 . Ed .: Arbeitskreis Berliner Nahverkehr eV Berlin 2001.
  21. ↑ Opening in Adlershof - tram lines 60 and 61 are being extended. Senate Department for Urban Development and the Environment, September 4, 2011, accessed on September 16, 2012 .
  22. ↑ tagesspiegel.de
  23. ↑ Fire night in Berlin - man dies in fire, historic tram is destroyed . In: Berliner Morgenpost , August 31, 2008