History of the tram in Hanover
The history of the tram in Hanover began on September 16, 1872 with the opening of the first horse-drawn tram line between Steintor and Döhrener Turm . The tram has been converted into a light rail since the 1960s . Between 1937 and 1958 the tram was supplemented by a trolleybus line .
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1872 to 1892: beginnings as a horse-drawn tram
Before the tram opened, public transport was operated with horse-drawn buses . As early as October 31, 1853, a line was set up between the main train station and the Schwarzer Bär in Linden , which was still independent at the time . The last horse-drawn bus ran in 1918.
The Continentale Pferdeeisenbahn-Actien-Gesellschaft was founded in October 1871 and in November 1871 concluded a contract with the city of Hanover on road use. In April 1872 construction work began on Georgstraße and on September 14th the first line from the Steintor to the Döhrener Tower was opened. The single-track line was built in standard gauge , there were evasions at regular intervals within sight. The largest artificial structure on the route was the overpass over the Hanover – Altenbeken railway line , which was opened at ground level in the same year, today Altenbekener Damm street . On October 18, 1872, a branch line from Aegidientorplatz to the terminus of the Altenbekener Bahn was opened, the local station on Bischofsholer Damm (later as the Südbahnhof freight station ).
At the northern end of the Steintor, the route was initially extended to Königsworther Platz , and on April 1, 1873, to the Great Garden in the then independent Herrenhausen . In 1877 a line was created from the Steintor via Goetheplatz to the Black Bear in Linden.
In 1879 The Tramways Company of Germany Ltd. leased (Based in London and Dresden) the meanwhile 18.94 kilometers long stretches of the Continentals. In 1879, routes to Strangriede and the zoo , in 1880 to the Lister Tower and Vahrenwald were built on their own account . The main station was also connected by a branch line through Bahnhofsstraße. In the same year, the route to the Black Bear was extended to Deisterplatz, and in 1892 to Linden-Fischerhof station .
An independent company, the Hannoversche Vorort-Straßenbahn-Gesellschaft , opened the Döhrener Turm - Döhren - Wülfel horse-drawn tram in 1890 , at the Döhrener Turm you had to switch to the Tramways Company's trams .
1892 to 1945: electrification, regional trams and freight transport
Postcard No. 34002 from Bartels & Kasten
A new contract between the city of Hanover and the Tramways Company on the right to further expand the route provided for the establishment of an independent company in Hanover. The company was founded on June 22nd, 1892 as Tram Hannover AG and still exists today as üstra Hannoversche Verkehrsbetriebe AG . The route network of the Continental Horse Railroad and the Tramways Company was taken over and was now 39.74 kilometers. The Hannoversche Vorort-Straßenbahn-Gesellschaft merged with the new company, and a track connection was established at the Döhrener Tower. A similar contract was signed with the city of Linden in 1893. There the line from Deisterplatz to Fischerhof was extended in 1892, and in the same year a line from Goetheplatz to Limmerbrunnen was opened in Limmer, which was still independent at the time.
From 1893 the tram network was electrified after a successful trial run. The first route ran from Königsworther Platz to Herrenhausen . The railcars were equipped with Lyra pantographs . Since the city administration initially did not allow the use of overhead lines in the city center , small sidecars with accumulators were carried along these routes to provide power . The last horse tram ran in 1897.
In 1895 a license was granted on the basis of the Prussian Small Railroad Act. Due to the extensive expansion of the line network and the costly battery operation, the economic situation of the tram deteriorated. In 1902 the long-time director Theodor Krüger resigned and went to Bad Eilsener Kleinbahn . In the following year, overhead lines were also built in the city center, so that the complex battery operation could be discontinued.
In the course of electrification, the trams were equipped with the clocks for passengers, patented by M. Stellmann and installed in the cars, at the turn of the century .
The tram company generated electricity in its own power stations. These were located at the Glocksee, Vahrenwald, Buchholz, Kirchrode, Rethen and Sehnde depots. 280 localities around Hanover and certain industrial areas in Hanover were also supplied with electricity from these power plants. The power generation and distribution branch became more and more important, so that in 1921 the company was given a new name: Überlandwerke und Straßenbahnen Hannover AG , or ÜSTRA for short .
The expansion of the tram network was largely completed in 1901. A dense network of routes opened up almost the entire urban area of Hanover and Linden at the time. Until the Second World War, only a few extensions were made, for example in 1909 to Hainholz, in 1928 extended to the north port and in 1914 from the zoo to the town hall , in 1930 extended to Hans-Böckler-Allee.
In 1906 line numbers were introduced in place of the previous symbols.
A streetcar strike paralyzed traffic from July 30th to October 17th, 1920.
Üstra gave up its own electricity generation in 1923 and the power stations were converted into transformer stations . The conversion and distribution of electricity was transferred to the Hanover-Braunschweigische Stromversorgungs AG ( HASTRA ), founded in 1929 , so that from then on Üstra, which kept its name, only operated passenger and freight traffic.
In 1928 the line network had reached a length of 167.3 km, the track length was 317 km. In the same year the first steel wagons were used, which were manufactured by the Hannoversche Waggonfabrik in Hannover-Linden . The freight car park had reached its peak with 350 railcars and freight cars.
Line 2 as a ring line was a special feature of the inner-city lines . It had the course Schwarzer Bär - Calenberger Straße - Aegidientorplatz - Emmichplatz - Lister Platz - Herschelstraße - Gustav-Adolf-Straße - Christ Church - Königsworther Platz - Glocksee - Kitchen Garden - Lindener Marktplatz - Schwarzer Bär.
The Second World War made itself felt in various measures on the tram. In order to save electricity, stops have been removed, operating times have been restricted and the frequency has been thinned out. Because of the blackout, the trains had to run more slowly. Staff shortages led to women being employed as assistant conductors. Since this was not enough, conductorless sidecars were introduced that could only be used by season ticket holders. In order to save truck journeys, there were vegetable trains for market vendors. A special track was built on Klagesmarkt for this purpose . The temporary solution later became a terminal stop for several lines, where tram line 16 ended until 1996. Special tram rides could be ordered for wedding parties. The air raids on Hanover , especially from 1943 onwards, repeatedly led to business interruptions. After the war, only 200 of 482 vehicles (trams and buses) were still operational. As an emergency solution, freight railcars and freight wagons were also used in passenger transport. Due to the destruction of the old town in 1943, the lines in Schmiedestraße, Celler Straße and Lavesstraße / Walter-Gieseking-Straße were closed. They were not put back into operation later either.
Overland routes
The Hanover tram operated an extensive regional tram network . The main task of these external routes was freight traffic. A side effect was that the places on the tram lines were supplied with electricity by the Üstra. In contrast to the inner-city network, the outer lines were predominantly single-track, with double-track diversion at intervals. Only the line to Hildesheim was double-track from the start.
Gehrden / Barsinghausen (line 10)
The route ran from Empelde via Benthe / Sieben Trappen, Gehrden , Leveste , Langreder , Egestorf to Barsinghausen . The entire line to Barsinghausen was opened on October 1, 1899. From 1903 the line number was 10. Important transport goods were sugar beets and Deister coal . From 1857 to 1930, there was a sugar factory in Gehrden on the site of the later Vorwerk carpet factory.
There was a tram depot in Gehrden, which Bahnhofstrasse still reminds of today . A branch line led from the depot up the Gehrdener Berg to the Lower Saxony mountain inn , which was built in 1899 by the tram company. On weekends, the tram handled a lot of excursion traffic there. In 1917 this line was closed because the catenary had been confiscated by the German Army . After the end of the First World War , it was not put back into operation. The suspension of rail operations on the Gehrden – Barsinghausen line took place on July 27, 1952, followed by the Empelde – Gehrden section in 1961. Passenger transport was taken over by the O 10 bus.
Sarstedt / Hildesheim (line 11)
The longest overland route ran from Döhren via Wülfel , Laatzen , Grasdorf , Rethen , Gleidingen , Heisede , Sarstedt , Hasede to Hildesheim . It was 30.6 km long and was opened in 1890 as a horse-drawn tram to Laatzen. It received catenary in 1897 and was extended to Gleidingen and Hildesheim in 1898. The extension was licensed to a mill in 1895 and triggered by the Hanover tram, which then took over the construction. The line was given the number 11 in 1906 and ran to the main train station in Hildesheim . There was a connection to the Hildesheim city tram . Four-axle tramcars have been used on this line since 1904, which differed from the other trams by their red paintwork (hence the name "The Red 11"). In the 1950s, Üstra acquired two new large capacity trains for this line , which consisted of two railcars and one intermediate car. At times they even had a dining area. Depots were in Rethen and Hildesheim. The Sarstedt – Hildesheim section was closed in 1958.
North of Rethen, the tram crossed the Hanover – Göttingen line on its own bridge . The passage height of the bridge was not sufficient for the electrification of the railway line, so the tram was carried further north on Hildesheimer Straße under the railway and the tram bridge was demolished. The original route through Grasdorf was supplemented in 1973 by a branch route via Laatzen / center to Laatzen / south (today's end point Laatzen ). In 1976 the branch line was connected to the line to Sarstedt; since then line 11 (later line 1) has been run via Laatzen / Zentrum.
The line to Sarstedt is still in operation today as the last remnant of the interurban tram network. Since then there have been repeated considerations to shut them down. One reason was the lower utilization compared to the rest of the network. On the other hand, there were disputes about the financing of the maintenance, since Sarstedt and its district Heisede do not belong to the greater area association or later to the Hanover region .
Misburg (line 13)
Another route connected Anderten via Misburg with Groß-Buchholz . Since the communities of Misburg and Anderten were not yet incorporated into Hanover at that time, this was also an external route. It was opened on May 12, 1901. From 1906 the line number was 13. Freight traffic was more important on this route. The main customers were several cement factories in Misburg . The ore traffic from Isernhagen to Sehnde also ran over this route. From 1917 there was a connection to the newly built Misburg harbor on the Mittelland Canal . Since this was the only port with a tram connection, the tram endeavored to handle the port handling of customers on its routes here. Coal and slag were loaded for the cement factories, sugar from the Sehnde and Rethen sugar factories, and flour from Hasede and Sarstedt. In 1929, the tracks in the Anderten area had to be laid for the construction of the lock and no longer ran through the village. The line was closed on January 1, 1951 from Misburg to Anderten and on November 1, 1955 on the remaining section.
Sehnde / Haimar (line 15)
The route ran from Kirchrode via Anderten, Höver and Sehnde to Haimar largely on summer paths. It was the first overland line. In 1897 the existing horse-drawn tram line was extended from the horse tower in Kleefeld via the then still independent Kirchrode to Sehnde and in the following year via Rethmar, Evern and Dolgen to Haimar. In Kirchrode and in Sehnde in 1898, steam power plants were built, from which the line was fed with overhead lines, but the branch lines to Bilm and Ilten only from accumulators. In 1903 the line was given the number 15. In Sehnde there was a depot and a connection to the railway. Branch lines led to Bilm and Ahlten , both closed in 1953, they were used almost exclusively for goods traffic (exceptions were Sunday church trips from Bilm and Ahlten to Ilten). Important transport goods on this route were cement (cement factory in Höver), bricks from the Sehnder brickworks and agricultural products such as sugar beets to the Sehnde sugar factory and milk to the Centralmolkerei in Hanover. The land required for the construction of the route was made available on the condition that the railway took over the transport of cattle to the slaughterhouse slaughterhouse in Hanover specially created for this purpose. The cattle transport produced little income, but was maintained until 1910. The Sehnde – Haimar section was closed on January 23, 1935, followed by the Kirchrode / city limits (today Ostfeldstrasse ) –Sehnde section on April 3, 1960 .
Großburgwedel (line 17)
The line, completed in 1901, ran from Klein-Buchholz via Bothfeld , Isernhagen Niedernhägener Bauerschaft , Kircher Bauerschaft and Farster Bauerschaft to Großburgwedel . The line was given number 17 in 1903. Transport goods were the lawn iron ore mined in Isernhagen , bricks, sugar beets and milk. The Üstra had its own gravel pit on this stretch. The line was closed in 1956 from Fasanenkrug on what was then the city limits of Hanover.
Pattensen (line 21)
The route branched off from the tram to Hildesheim shortly before Rethen and led via Koldingen to Pattensen . The route can be seen in Koldingen in the sheets of the Prussian land survey .
Operations began on February 22, 1899. From 1906 the line number was 21. In contrast to the other overland lines, which all led to the city center of Hanover, line 21 often ended in Rethen, where passengers had to change to line 11. At the beginning of the 20th century, income from freight traffic exceeded income from passenger traffic thanks to the transport of sugar beets from Pattensen to Rethen to the sugar factory. Other products were agricultural products such as milk and grain, but also coal and gravel from the gravel ponds near Koldingen. Due to the heavy freight traffic, the route from Rethen to Pattensen was expanded for normal railroad cars. The tram cars for this route therefore had wider tires than normal. A transition to the railroad was possible at Rethen station. The line was closed on August 16, 1959, and freight traffic ceased in 1953.
Langenhagen (line 19/29)
The route to Vahrenwald was extended on November 4, 1900 by the municipalities of Brink and Langenforth to Langenhagen , the end point was at Reuterdamm. Line 19 ran here (from 1906), line 29 from 1911. The traffic on this line was not so extensive that a track renewal, which was necessary in the mid-1930s, appeared to be unprofitable. Therefore, the route in the municipality of Brink was closed from the motorway on June 6, 1937 and replaced by the only trolleybus line of the Üstra. Large parts of the overhead line could continue to be used for trolleybus operations. At Berliner Platz it was now necessary to change from the tram to the trolleybus. Every third train ran as line 19 and was connected to the trolleybus line O 19.
Goods tram
The Üstra operated extensive freight traffic on its routes since October 1, 1899 and over time has developed into the largest tram transporter in Germany. For example, coal was transported from the Deister on the route to Barsinghausen , and sugar beets were transported on the routes to Rethen and Sehnde - as far as is known, it was the only tram that transported sugar beet to a sugar factory. - and cement had to be transported on the routes to Sehnde and Misburg. The goods transported in the city included beer, milk and vegetables. During the First World War and afterwards, the tram also carried mail on a large scale. A freight railcar was allowed to carry three trailers in the city and six outside the city. The tram freight station was located on Braunstraße near the Glocksee. In addition to this main freight station, there were other freight stations at Soltekamp, at the slaughterhouse, in Langenhagen, Gehrden, Barsinghausen, Hildesheim, Großburgwedel, Sehnde and Misburg as well as various sidings and loading points. The depots also usually served as freight yards.
Before the First World War, freight traffic was greatest, with 412,000 tons in 1912 and 390,000 tons in 1913. In 1920 and 1930 it was 220,000 tons, in 1944 it was 313,000 tons due to gasoline rationing. After that, it fluctuated between 120,000 and 180,000 tons, in the last full year of operation in 1952 it was 94,000 tons. In 1953, goods traffic was stopped by the tram.
Operating facilities
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The trams were more distributed throughout the route network depots stationed. The first "depot" was located at the Döhrener Turm (Waldhausen), in 1888 another depot was opened in Vahrenwald. The oldest Glocksee depot that still exists today is located on a peninsula at the confluence of the Leine and Ihme rivers; it was reopened in 1893 as part of the electrification process, and the first steam power plant was also located there. The main workshop of Üstra is still located on the site, but the old buildings have largely been replaced by new ones. The depots with the power station were called "Centrale". The Centrale Buchholz, opened in 1897, is now only used as a storage facility. The Döhren depot was replaced by a new light rail depot in the immediate vicinity, all other tram depots were shut down in the course of time.
In the course of the closure of the respective external routes, the Gehrden (1953), Hildesheim (1958) and Sehnde (1960) depots were closed for trams and then used as bus depots until the 1970s.
The Rethen depot was also given up in 1959 after the lines to Hildesheim and Pattensen were closed. The local railway maintenance office, however, remained for some time. Here there was still a track connection to the Deutsche Bundesbahn, via which the Üstra continued to handle transfers of freight wagons to companies located here. The Üstra also used this connection to transport trams to and from the manufacturing plants. After the overhead line was removed in this area (1968), these transfers were carried out for a while with a small diesel locomotive and road- rail vehicles until the tracks were finally disconnected from the network in 1971.
The depots in Waldhausen (at Döhrener Turm, closed in 1951), List ( Podbielskistraße / Holbeinstraße, no car shed, closed in 1970) and Kirchrode (today Saarbrückener Straße stop, two car hangars, closed in 1978) were too small; the old Döhren depot (Hildesheimer Straße / Peiner Straße, a large car shed, closed and demolished in 1982 and rebuilt in 1983 near Thurnitistraße for light rail operations) no longer met the requirements for light rail vehicles. The Vahrenwald depot was not suitable for the wider second-generation light rail vehicles and has only been used as a bus depot since 2002.
There were also turning loops for reinforcement lines at the Ricklingen / Beekestrasse, Stöcken / Friedhof (replaced by Stöcken / Hemelingstrasse in 1978), Engesohde (Elkartallee) and Soltekamp (Badenstedter Str./Carlo-Schmid-Allee, former freight yard) stops. All of these loops are no longer there. The loop set up in Rethen (North) in 1972 still exists; this is where tram line 2 ends today. It is to be replaced by a sweeping system in the Galgenbergweg area over the next few years. There was a loop at the town hall for event traffic, which can be approached from both Clausewitzstrasse and the zoo.
Since the trams were mostly two-way vehicles until the four-axle Düwag open - plan cars were purchased, the terminals were often designed as coupling terminals , ie the railcar had to be decoupled from the sidecar and moved. In the 1950s, all the remaining terminals were gradually equipped with reversing loops, so that the new one-way vehicles could now be used.
Line network 1906
By 1906, the previous color symbols were replaced by numbers as line designations. Some lines had numbers from the start. 21 lines operated:
| line | route |
|---|---|
| 1 | Döhren (wool laundry) - Aegi - Kröpcke - Königsworther Platz - Stöcken (cemetery) |
| 2 | Circular train : Schwarzer Bär / Falkenstraße - Waterlooplatz - Aegi - Neues Haus - Lister Platz - Celler Straße - Nicolaistraße - Weidendamm - Königsworther Platz - Glocksee - Kitchen Garden - Schwarzer Bär / Falkenstraße |
| 3 | Ricklingen (Landwehrschänke) - Black Bear - Waterlooplatz - Kröpcke - Central Station - Thielenplatz - New House - Lister Platz |
| 4th | Fischerhof - Black Bear - Goetheplatz - Kröpcke - Aegi - Horse Tower |
| 5 | Linden (Nieschlagstraße) - Black Bear - Waterlooplatz - Kröpcke - Central Station - Walter-Gieseking-Straße - Kleefeld - Kirchrode (Tiergarten) |
| 6th | Zoo - New House - Thielenplatz - Kröpcke - Goetheplatz - Glocksee - Limmer |
| 7th | Linden (Nieschlagstraße) - Schwarzer Bär - Waterlooplatz - Kröpcke - Hauptbahnhof - Celler Straße - Lister Platz - Buchholz |
| 8th |
> Halthoffstrasse - Klagesmarkt - Steintor - Kröpcke - Hauptbahnhof → Friesenstrasse → Lister Platz <Lister Platz → Celler Strasse → Hauptbahnhof - Kröpcke - Steintor - Klagesmarkt - Halthoffstrasse |
| 9 | Vahrenwald - Nikolaistraße - Steintor - Kröpcke - Central Station - Lister Platz - Lister Tower |
| 10 | Main station - Schillerstraße - Steintor - Goetheplatz - Black Bear - Badenstedt - Empelde - Gehrden - Leveste - Egestorf - Barsinghausen |
| 10 | Branch line: Gehrden (depot) - Gehrdener Berg (Berggasthaus Lower Saxony) |
| 11 | Goseriede / Nikolaistraße - Kröpcke - Aegi - Döhren - Laatzen - Rethen - Sarstedt - Hildesheim |
| 12 | Fischerhof - Black Bear - Kitchen Garden - Limmer |
| 13 | Karmarschstraße (Leinstraße) - Kröpcke - Central Station - Friesenstraße - Lister Platz - Buchholz - Misburg - Anderten - Kirchrode (Tiergarten) |
| 14th | Limmer - Kitchen Garden - Goetheplatz - Steintor - Schmiedestrasse - Aegi - Horse Tower |
| 15th | Linden (Nieschlagstraße) - Schwarzer Bär - Waterlooplatz - Kröpcke - Hauptbahnhof - Walter-Gieseking-Straße - Kleefeld - Kirchrode - Anderten - Sehnde - Haimar |
| 16 | Aegi - Thielenplatz - New House - Zoo |
| 17th | Karmarschstraße (Leinstraße) - Kröpcke - Hauptbahnhof - Celler Straße - Lister Platz - Buchholz - Fasanenkrug - Großburgwedel |
| 18th | Halthoffstrasse - Klagesmarkt - Steintor - Kröpcke - Aegi |
| 19th | Langenhagen (Reuterdamm) - Vahrenwald - Klagesmarkt - Nordmannstraße - Kröpcke - Central Station - Walter-Gieseking-Straße - Horse Tower |
| 20th | Podbielskistraße (Burckhardtstraße) - Lister Platz - Celler Straße - Nicolaistraße - Steintor - Schmiedestraße - Aegi - Hildesheimer Straße (Böhmerstraße) |
| 21st | Rethen - Koldingen - Pattensen |
In 1917, three branch lines were abandoned due to the war and later not reopened:
- Döhren (Pulverweg) - Abelmannstraße - Döhren (village)
- Ricklingen / Beekestrasse - Steckerstrasse - Ricklingen / Borchers
- Gehrden / Depot - Gehrdener Berg
Line network 1930
| line | route |
|---|---|
| 1 | Laatzen - Döhren - Aegi - Kröpcke - Steintor - Goetheplatz - Kitchen Garden - Limmer |
| 2 | Circular train : Schwarzer Bär / Falkenstraße - Waterlooplatz - Aegi - Neues Haus - Lister Platz - Celler Straße - Nicolaistraße - Weidendamm - Königsworther Platz - Glocksee - Kitchen Garden - Schwarzer Bär / Falkenstraße |
| 3 | Linden (Nieschlagstrasse) - Black Bear - Goetheplatz - Kröpcke - Thielenplatz - Neues Haus - Lister Platz - List (depot) |
| 5 | Fischerhof - Black Bear - Waterlooplatz - Kröpcke - Central Station - Walter-Gieseking-Straße - Kleefeld - Kirchrode (Tiergarten) |
| 6th | Kleefeld (Scheidestr.) - Zoo - New House - Thielenplatz - Kröpcke - Steintor - Königsworther Platz - Stöcken (cemetery) |
| 7th | Landwehrschänke - Ricklingen - Schwarzer Bär - Waterlooplatz - Kröpcke - Hauptbahnhof - Celler Straße - Lister Platz - Buchholz |
| 8th |
> Halthoffstrasse - Klagesmarkt - Steintor - Kröpcke - Hauptbahnhof → Friesenstrasse → Lister Platz - List (depot) <List (depot) –Lister Platz → Celler Strasse → Hauptbahnhof - Kröpcke - Steintor - Klagesmarkt - Halthoffstrasse |
| 9 | Vahrenwald - Nikolaistraße - Steintor → Central Station → Kröpcke - Steintor - Nikolaistraße - Vahrenwald |
| 10 | Central station (→ Kröpcke) - Steintor - Goetheplatz - Black Bear - Badenstedt - Empelde - Gehrden - Leveste - Egestorf - Barsinghausen |
| 10 B | Central station (→ Kröpcke) - Steintor - Goetheplatz - Black Bear - Badenstedt (monument) |
| 11 | Goseriede / Nikolaistraße - Kröpcke - Aegi - Döhren - Laatzen - Rethen - Sarstedt - Hildesheim |
| 13 | Karmarschstraße (Leinstraße) - Kröpcke - Central Station - Celler Straße - Lister Platz - Buchholz - Misburg - Anderten (lock) |
| 14th | Limmer - Kitchen Garden - Goetheplatz - Steintor - Schmiedestraße - Aegi - Kleefeld (Nackenberg) |
| 15th | Karmarschstrasse (Friedrichswall) - Kröpcke - Central Station - Walter-Gieseking-Strasse - Kleefeld - Kirchrode - Anderten - Sehnde - Haimar |
| 17th | Karmarschstraße (Friedrichswall) - Kröpcke - Hauptbahnhof - Celler Straße - Lister Platz - Buchholz - Fasanenkrug - Großburgwedel |
| 18th | Schulenburger Landstrasse (Chamissostrasse) - Klagesmarkt - Steintor - Kröpcke - Aegidientorplatz - Döhren (Peiner Strasse) |
| 19th | Langenhagen (Autobahn) - Vahrenwald - Klagesmarkt - Nordmannstrasse - Kröpcke - Aegidientorplatz - Döhrener Tower |
| 21st | Steintor - Kröpcke - Aegidientorplatz - Döhren - Laatzen - Rethen - Koldingen - Pattensen |
| 29 | Langenhagen (Autobahn) - Vahrenwald - Klagesmarkt - Steintor → Central Station → Kröpcke - Steintor –Nikolaistraße - Klagesmarkt - Vahrenwald - Langenhagen (Autobahn) |
In the interwar period, for the first time, reinforcement trains not published in the timetable during rush hour, which ran on sections of the main lines, were marked with a line number crossed out in red. In addition, regular canceled lines ran , one of the first was the canceled line 6, which ran from October 1, 1930 between Stöcken and Aegidientorplatz (Bleichenstraße loop). These lines were locally half lines called, so for example, was 14 the half 14 .
vehicles
The Üstra listed 101 horses in the inventory of December 31, 1899. In addition to 30 draft animals for buses , 13 replacement horses were procured for freight transport in 1899.
In the early days, two-way wagons were used for freight transport, wagons similar to farm wagons with large spoked wheels that were placed on rail chassis. From 1910 onwards, Üstra owned a total of 27 so-called Bockmaschinen - self-made electric locomotives that remained in operation until the 1960s. In 1928 seven general cargo railcars with a load capacity of eight tons were purchased. They were numbered 801-807.
The first electric railcars for the tram were similar to horse-drawn trams. They were biaxial and had open entry platforms. A total of 212 railcars were built by Van der Zypen & Charlier over several years . Initially, double-deck cars with an open upper deck were also used. Motor car 168 from 1893 is a car from the early days. It was restored as a museum car and equipped with a battery drive. It is the oldest running tram railcar in Germany. From 1898 sidecars were also used, 94 cars were delivered.
Four-axle trams were used for the first time on the route to Hildesheim from 1904. In 1927 two railcars were delivered, which for the first time had a steel frame. The Üstra has received such a railcar with railcar 710, but it is not self-driving.
Two-axle railcars with up to two sidecars were mainly used. Like their predecessors, their bodies were built on a wooden frame. With railcar 129, one of these wooden wagons from the last series (1926–1928), 98 of which were purchased, is one of the Üstra museum vehicles.
From 1928 onwards, Üstra procured a series of 50 railcars and 40 sidecars from the Hanoverian wagon factory (Hawa). These no longer had a wooden frame in the body and were therefore called steel cars . With railcar 178 and sidecar 1034 and 1039, Üstra has received a museum train of this series.
At the same time, eight freight railcars were also procured as steel cars . They were very robust and are z. Some of them are still in use today as company vehicles (including snow plows).
Between 1938 and 1942, the Üstra received ten railcars and five trailer cars from Kassel Waggonfabrik Gebrüder Credé , some of which were designed as one-way cars.
1945 to 1965: Reconstruction after the Second World War
The first trains after the Allied invasion on April 10, 1945 were coal trains from Barsinghausen on April 27. From June 11th, passenger traffic was gradually resumed on the other routes. In 1948 it was possible without restrictions on all routes. Some routes, especially in the destroyed city center, were not put back into operation, which meant the end of ring line 2.
In the course of the reconstruction, the line between Kröpcke and Thielenplatz was shut down, the line between the main station and Steintor was relocated to Kurt-Schumacher-Strasse and major relocations were carried out in the Steintor / Klagesmarkt area.
Part of the ring route in Celler Strasse / Herschelstrasse and Schloßwender Strasse was no longer passable. From June 1945, only a smaller ring (Karmarschstrasse - Kröpcke - Hauptbahnhof - Lister Platz - Thielenplatz - Aegidientorplatz - Karmarschstrasse) could be used. Since this smaller ring line was not successful, it was discontinued in December 1947. Sections of the ring line were maintained as operating routes until 1974 (Stephanusstraße and Gustav-Adolf-Straße) and 1980 (Königsworther Straße).
Outside the city center, too, the urban network was shortened in some places. The line from the Black Bear to the Fischerhof ( Hannover-Linden station ) was closed on April 4, 1954, the line from Beekestrasse to the Landwehrschänke in Ricklingen on March 28, 1955.
For this purpose, extensions were made at other points. All new routes were given a special track structure , ie the trams no longer used the road together with private transport. For the one-way wagons newly acquired from 1951 onwards, all of the terminals were gradually equipped with reversing loops.
In 1950, the line to the exhibition grounds was put into operation as the first new line to be built after the war . This was followed by extensions to Stöcken / Hogrefestraße (1955), Oberricklingen (1956), Stöcken / VW-Werk (1962) and to Vahrenheide (1965).
The export fair , which has been held annually since 1947, led to peak hours. In the beginning there was combined tram-bus transport to the exhibition center. In 1950, in just two and a half months, a 3.1 kilometer long new line was built to the entrance to the exhibition grounds.
In 1964, the changeover of tram operation to one-man operation began: the conductors previously used were abolished and validators were installed instead . In the new Düwag - large and wide-body cars , the doors were opened by pressing a button; they closed automatically after a lock on the steps was closed. With the exception of the articulated wagons , conductors were initially dispensed with in the railcars, and the driver took over ticket sales and train handling. Later the conductors in the sidecar were also dispensed with. For the sake of clarity, the sidecar conductors were initially abolished in the articulated cars. While some two-axle railcars also drove without a conductor, their sidecars were always manned by a conductor, as the two-axle vehicles had no automatic doors. The conductorless carriages were marked with a capital S on a circle. The large and wide seating cars without conductors were given three vertical lines on the front right and left, their destination and line signs were blue with white lettering.
Line network 1957
In 1957 there were still several overland routes, the Sehnde – Haimar, Buchholz – Anderten, Fasanenkrug – Großburgwedel and Gehrden – Barsinghausen routes had already been closed. (see map) The routes in the city center had been rearranged, there had been no trams running through the old town (Schmiedestrasse – Marktstrasse) since 1943, Rathenaustrasse and Theaterstrasse were without tram traffic and between the main train station and Steintor the trains ran instead of through Schillerstrasse. and Nordmannstrasse through Kurt-Schumacher-Strasse.
| line | route | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laatzen - Döhren - Aegi / GS - Kröpcke / GS - Steintor / GS - Goetheplatz - Kitchen Garden - Limmer | |
| 3 | Limmer - Kitchen Garden - Steintor / KSS - Central Station - Thielenplatz - Emmichplatz - Lister Platz - Buchholz | |
| 5 | Stöcken / Hogrefestraße - Stöcken / cemetery - Königsworther Platz - Steintor / GS - Kröpcke / GS - Aegi / GS - Kleefeld - Kirchrode | |
| 6th | Kleefeld - Stadthalle - Emmichplatz - Thielenplatz - Central Station - Steintor / KSS - Klagesmarkt - Halthoffstrasse | |
| 7th | Oberricklingen - Ricklingen - Black Bear - Waterlooplatz - Kröpcke / KS - Central Station - Celler Straße - Lister Platz - Buchholz - Fasanenkrug | |
| 8th | Nordhafen - Klagesmarkt - Steintor / KSS - Central Station - Thielenplatz - Aegi / PS - Döhren - Mittelfeld - Exhibition Center | |
| 9 | List station - Lister Platz - Emmichplatz - Thielenplatz - Hauptbahnhof - Kröpcke / KS - Waterlooplatz - Schwarzer Bär - Soltekamp | HVZ line |
| 10 | Aegidientorplatz - Kröpcke / GS - Steintor / GS - Goetheplatz - Black Bear - Badenstedt - Empelde - Gehrden / Neuwerk | |
| 11 | Klagesmarkt - Steintor / GS - Kröpcke / GS - Aegi / GS - Döhren - Laatzen - Rethen - Sarstedt | |
| 14th | Oberricklingen - Ricklingen - Black Bear - Goetheplatz - Steintor / GS - Kröpcke / GS - Aegi / GS - Kleefeld | |
| 15th | Klagesmarkt - Steintor / GS - Kröpcke / GS - Aegi / GS - Kleefeld - Kirchrode - Anderten - Sehnde | |
| 16 | Stöcken / Hogrefestraße - Stöcken / Friedhof - Königsworther Platz - Steintor / KSS - Central Station - Aegi / PS - Döhren - Midfield | |
| 19th | Langenhagen - Vahrenwald - Klagesmarkt - Steintor / KSS - Central Station - Kröpcke / KS - Waterlooplatz - Black Bear - Badenstedt - Empelde | |
| 21st | ( Klagesmarkt - Steintor / GS - Kröpcke / GS - Aegi / GS - Döhren - Laatzen -) Rethen - Koldingen - Pattensen | only in peak hours and on Sundays from Klagesmarkt |
| Explanations: GS: Georgstraße; KS: Karmarschstrasse; KSS: Kurt-Schumacher-Strasse; PS: Prinzenstrasse |
Reinforcement courses that are not listed in the timetable during rush hour with a line name crossed out (“half X”) are not included here.
vehicles
After the Second World War, the war tram cars developed in 1942 were purchased. In addition, old chassis from destroyed pre-war railcars were given new superstructures, from which the 15 superstructures were created. In 1950/51, 40 matching sidecars were purchased from the Lower Saxony wagon factory Josef Graaff in Elze with Marshall Plan funds . These are the two-axle trams recently acquired for the Hanover tram. There are still various work cars (so-called salt cars) and a museum train (railcar 239 and sidecar 1063).
In 1951, Üstra began purchasing four-axle large-capacity wagons from the Düsseldorfer Waggonfabrik (Düwag). 37 railcars and 35 trailer cars of the TW 300 series were procured. These trains were 2.20 meters wide and consisted of a railcar and a non-motorized sidecar. They were one-way vehicles , so that in the post-war period, many endpoints were converted into turning loops. The railcar and sidecar had a permanent conductor's seat at the rear entrance and were set up for passenger flow. In the 1960s, first the railcars and later also the sidecars were converted to conductors-free operation. In the wagons, the door arrangement was changed: The railcars received a double door instead of a single door at the front of the driver, and a single door at the end instead of the previous double or triple door, the middle double door remained. The sidecars were given a single front door, the middle triple door became a double door and the rear triple door became a double door. The passenger flow was initially retained, entry at the front and rear, exit only in the middle. This principle was only abandoned in the 1970s and all doors were given door openers outside and inside. Museum train of this type is railcar 336 and sidecar 1304.
From 1956 these were supplemented by 60 2.35 meter wide so-called wide space wagons (Duewag-TW 400). Initially, the railcars were coupled in pairs without a sidecar, but in the peripheral locations and on branching branches they operated solo. The second car could be controlled from the first car. From 1957 onwards, 56 motorized sidecars were purchased so that the double traction was no longer necessary. These cars also had a conductor's seat at the beginning and were also converted in the 1960s to run without a conductor with a change in the door arrangement. Here, too, first the railcars and then the sidecars. The last wide-space wagons retired from regular service in 1990. Railcar 478 and sidecar 1464 have been restored and serve as a museum train.
A special train was purchased for the overland route to Hildesheim in 1951 and 1956. These trains consisted of two railcars and a sidecar in the middle and, like all vehicles on this line, were painted red. They had doors on either side, but the railcars only had one driver's cab. As a train, they were therefore capable of two directions, which was necessary because of the lack of a turning loop in Hildesheim. In contrast to the other Düwag cars, these had no passenger flow and therefore no conductor's seat. After the section to Hildesheim was discontinued in 1958, the trains were converted into one-way vehicles and repainted to the beige of the other trams. A railcar was converted into a motorized sidecar. These cars only had a double door in the middle, the railcars still had a single door in the driver's seat. There were also upholstered seats, while the other Düwag vehicles, with the exception of the articulated vehicles, had wooden bucket seats.
The last tram cars purchased were 22 six-axle Düwag articulated cars (TW 500). These drove with 20 four-axle non-motorized sidecars, which outwardly resembled the sidecars of the wide-space cars. The vehicles had plastic bucket seats. In the 1960s, the sidecars and then the railcars were converted to conductors-free operation. The railcars also received double doors from the driver. They were in regular service until line 16 was discontinued in 1996. After that, they were used for two years in trade fair traffic as booster cars between the depot in Döhren and the exhibition grounds. Railcar 522 has been returned to its original condition and serves as a museum train with sidecar 1513.
Around 30 historic Üstra vehicles are in the Hanoverian Tram Museum (HSM) in Sehnde - Wehmingen . Some of the vehicles are unrestored, some are used in museum operations.
List of older wagons (selection)
| Type | design type | Construction year | Manufacturer | designation | number | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hildesheim carriage | T 4 | 1904-1927 | Hofmann , Hawa , Uerdingen | 701-710 | 10 | 710 museum cars |
| B 4 | 1904-1911 | Hofmann, Falkenried | 501-519 | 19th | 511–519 former Tw, 1921 from Altona-Blankenese | |
| Wooden cart | T 2 | 1925-1927 | Hawa, north wagon miner | 11-70, 101-139 | 98 | 129 museum cars (operational) |
| B 2 | 1925-1927 | Hawa | 541-630 | |||
| Steel car | T 2 | 1928-1930 | Hawa | 171-220 | 50 | 2.20 m wide. 178 museum cars (operational); 181 (operational), 191, 215 1975/76 to HSM , 202 (operational) 1975 to VVM |
| B 2 | 1928-1930 | Hawa | 1001-1040 | 40 | 1034, 1039 museum car (operational), 1010 1975 to VVM, 1023, 1033 1978 to HSM (operational) | |
| General cargo railcars | T 2 | 1928 | Hawa, miner | 801-808 | 8th | 2.15 m wide. 804 museum cars; 801 (rail grinding car) 2008 at HSM (operational). 803, 805, 807 snow plow |
| T 2 (E) | 1941-1942 | Credé , miner | 222-231 | 10 | partly one-way vehicles, 225 preserved, 227 1976 at HSM (in preparation) | |
| B 2 | 1941-1942 | Credé | 1042-1046 | 5 | ||
| Standard tram cars | B 2 | 1944-1945 | Graaff | 1047-1056 | 10 | originally for Berlin determined |
| War tram cars | T 2 | 1947-1949 | Fuchs , SSW | 232-235 | 4th | |
| B 2 | 1947-1949 | Uerdingen | 1057-1091 | 35 | 1063, 1078 museum car (operational), 1072 1977 to HSM, 1073 in Magdeburg | |
| Body car | T 2 | 1950 | Düwag, AEG | 236-250 | 15th | 239 museum cars (operational), 236 1982 to HSM (operational), 238 1989 to Hiroshima |
| Marshall Plan Car | B 2 | 1950-1951 | Graaff | 1101-1140 | 40 | 1122 1975 to HSM |
List of Düwag wagons
| Type | design type | Construction year | designation | number | Retirement | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open-plan car | T 4 | 1951 | 301 | 1 | 2.20 m wide | |
| B 4 | 1951 | 1301 | 1 | 1982 | to HSM , scrapped | |
| T 4 Z | 1951 | 715–716, from 1966 341–342 | 2 | 1977 | Two-way vehicle with a driver's cab, four-engine, in 1982 at HSM, 715 optically refurbished, 716 scrapped | |
| B 4 Z, from 1958 E | 1951 | 1524, from 1966 1341 | 1 | 1982 | Two-way vehicle, sold to HSM in 1982: scrapped | |
| T 4 | 1952-1953 | 302-337 | 36 | 1979-1982 | 336 museum cars (restored in 2012), 328 to HSM: scrapped | |
| B 4 | 1952-1955 | 1302-1335 | 34 | 1979-1982 | 1304 museum car (unrestored) | |
| T 4 Z, from 1958 E | 1956 | 717–718, from 1972 T4 351 and B4 1351 (motorized) | 2 | 1982 | Two-way vehicle with one driver's cab, two-engine, straight end of the vehicle. to HSM: scrapped there | |
| B 4 Z, from 1958 E | 1956 | 1525, from 1966 1342 | 1 | 1982 | Two-way vehicle, straight ends of the car, 1958 Platforms added. 1982 to HSM: scrapped there | |
| Wide space car | T 4 | 1956-1958 | 401-460, from 1973/74 401-420, 421-430, 451-460, 461-480 | 60 | 1981-1990 | 2.35 m wide. 421–430 (new): tunnel-accessible from 1974. 478 museum car (operational), 427 1985 to HSM |
| B 4 | 1957-1960 | 2001–2056, from 1970/74 1401–1425 and 1451–1481 | 56 | 1981-1990 | Motorized sidecar, 1401–1425 tunnel-compatible. 1464 (ex 2026) museum car (operational), 1424 1985 to HSM | |
| Articulated trolley | GT 6 | 1961–1962 | 501-522 | 22nd | 1992-1998 | 2.35 m wide. 522 museum cars (operational), 503 1997 at HSM (operational) |
| B 4 | 1961–1962 | 2061–2080, from 1974 1501–1520 | 20th | 1992-1998 | 1513 museum car (operational), 1509 (operational), 1519 1997 to HSM |
Remarks: B eiwagen, E -in-directional carriage, G elenk- T railcars, T railcars, Z wei-directional carriage, 2 , 4 , 6 axes
1965 to 1996: Conversion of the tram into a light rail
On June 23, 1965, the city council of Hanover decided to build a subway . Initially, the inner city area was to be developed through tunnels and connected to the existing tram routes outside the city center. Nevertheless, this decision heralded the end of classic tram operations in Hanover. Construction began on November 16, 1965 at Waterlooplatz . A short time later, work was suspended for a year due to financial problems. Then the inner-city tunnel network with the A, B and C tunnels was built without interruption until 1993.
After the first light rail tunnel A was fully commissioned in 1976, more and more routes were gradually converted to light rail operation. In the course of the advancing light rail construction, most of the above-ground inner-city routes and their connecting routes were shut down. In 1976, the Emmichplatz - Bödekerstraße - Lister Platz line, which had been the last access line for Podbielskistraße, was dismantled, and in 1979 also the access line for Vahrenwalder Straße , which ran from Klagesmarktkreisel over Celler Straße and Nikolaistraße.
In 1969 there was the spectacular red dot action : demonstrations against a fare increase of the Üstra led to the suspension of all tram and bus traffic from June 7th to 17th, 1969. Motorists indicated with a red dot on the windshield that they were taking passengers on the Üstra. As a result of this action, Greater Hanover was founded. With it, a community tariff valid for the entire area of the city and the district of Hanover was introduced. In addition to the Üstra, the Deutsche Bundesbahn , the Deutsche Bundespost , the Steinhuder Meer-Bahn and the Bachstein transport company participated in the transport association . In addition, the city of Hanover acquired the majority of the shares in Üstra from the then main shareholder PreussenElektra .
The first new line after the subway construction decision of 1965 was opened in 1973, the line to Laatzen / Süd (today's stop name Laatzen ). It was extended to Rethen / North in 1976 and connected to the existing route to Sarstedt. Since then, tram line 11 has been running via Laatzen-Mitte, while the old route in Grasdorf was taken over by line 18, which ended in Rethen. In 1978 the route from the Nackenberg to the Medical University / South was put into operation. It was the first construction section of the urban railway line to Roderbruch, at the provisional end point a turning loop was built. It was also the last new line that was initially used by the classic Düwag trams.
In 1974, however, the operating line through Gustav-Adolf-Straße between Engelbosteler Damm and Weidendamm and in 1980 the operating line in Königsworther Straße between Königsworther Platz and Glocksee were closed. Königsworther Straße was completely redesigned and the tracks completely removed immediately after the construction work on the C-West tunnel was completed. In the Gustav-Adolf-Straße, however, the old tracks were still more than 20 years, they were only removed in 1999 when the street was redesigned and their connection to Engelbosteler Damm closed.
The connection in Otto-Brenner-Strasse between Klagesmarktkreisel and Königsworther Platz, including its stop at Klagesmarktkreisel (“union building”), was replaced in 1985 by the C-West tunnel under the Long Laube. This route had not been generously expanded until 1971 in order to remove a looping track caused by old buildings that had existed on this street since the introduction of two-way traffic in the early 1950s.
The remnants of the former ring route from Humboldtstrasse via Calenberger Strasse, Lavesallee and Friedrichswall to Aegi were dismantled in 1992. It was used in regular service until 1979, after which the historic ring railway was set up on the route for a few years. Thereafter, the only bus lane in Hanover was built in its place in Friedrichswall , most of which was removed again in 2013.
In 1996, the turning loop at the New Town Hall was taken out of service and dismantled. Line 10, which last ended here, has been shortened by one stop. The final stop was initially framed by the ramp structures on the Aegi-Hochstraße between Schiffgraben and Friedrichswall. After the dismantling of the elevated road in 1998, a medium-high platform was built, which was the end point for lines 10 and 17 from 1999 to 2017. Friedrichstrasse, which runs parallel to Friedrichswall and on which the opposite track of the Wendeschleife was located, no longer exists: Today the Nord / LB administration building is located here .
In September 1996, the last tram line 16 (Klagesmarkt - Hauptbahnhof - Thielenplatz - Königstraße - Emmichplatz - Zoo - Kleefeld / Nackenberg) operated with classic Düwag articulated trams was discontinued, which was often seen as the end of the tram in Hanover. Since then, only light rail vehicles have been used on the above-ground routes. This meant the end of the route in the Goseriede to the Klagesmarktschleife. Here the tracks lay in sections for several years, in the Klagesmarktkreisel they were only dismantled after 2000. On the zoo route (Thielenplatz - Emmichplatz - Zoo), occasional traffic with historical trams was offered for a while. After a tram ran here for the last time on July 12, 1998, the route was closed. In the same year, the switches were removed at Thielenplatz. In 1999/2000 the zoo terminus was rebuilt in such a way that the line to Emmichplatz was also disconnected there. The tracks in Königstrasse were removed during their renovation. In Hindenburgstrasse, the tracks including the remains of the terminus at the zoo, which was only opened in 1993 for the tram from the direction of the city hall, were removed as part of the road renewal from 2012.
After the complete renovation and partial re-routing of the above-ground inner-city route of lines 10 and 17 between Goetheplatz and the new terminus at Raschplatz, the disused route from Aegidientorplatz via Thielenplatz to Ernst-August-Platz is now the last remainder of the inner-city tram network. In addition, the turning loop on the Fasanenkrug, which has been preserved in its original state, the bypass on Theodor-Heuss-Platz and the track roundabout on Goetheplatz are reminiscent of classic tram operation with one-way vehicles.
Line network 1968
Before the Bahnhofstrasse and Karmarschstrasse were closed for subway construction on April 5, 1968, the line network comprised the following lines:
| line | route | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laatzen - Döhren - Aegi / GS - Kröpcke / GS - Steintor / GS - Goetheplatz - Kitchen Garden - Limmer | |
| Döhren - Aegi / GS - Kröpcke / GS - Steintor / GS - Goetheplatz - Kitchen Garden - Limmer | HVZ line | |
| 3 | Limmer - Kitchen Garden - Steintor / KSS - Central Station - Thielenplatz - Emmichplatz - Lister Platz - Buchholz | |
| 4th |
> Buchholz - Lister Platz - Celler Strasse - Central Station → Thielenplatz → Aegi / PS → Town Hall <Town Hall → Market Hall → Kröpcke / KS → Central Station - Celler Strasse - Lister Platz - Buchholz |
HVZ line |
| 5 | Stocks / VW - Stocks / Cemetery - Königsworther Platz - Steintor / GS - Kröpcke / GS - Aegi / GS - Kleefeld - Kirchrode | |
| ( Stöcken / VW -) Stöcken / Friedhof - Königsworther Platz - Steintor / GS - Kröpcke / GS - Aegi / GS - Town Hall | HVZ line | |
| 6th | Kleefeld - Stadthalle - Emmichplatz - Thielenplatz - Central Station - Steintor / KSS - Klagesmarkt - Halthoffstrasse | |
| 7th | Oberricklingen - Ricklingen - Black Bear - Waterlooplatz - Kröpcke / KS - Central Station - Celler Straße - Lister Platz - Buchholz - Fasanenkrug | |
| ( Oberricklingen -) Ricklingen / Beekestrasse - Schwarzer Bär - Waterlooplatz - Kröpcke / KS - Hauptbahnhof - Celler Strasse - Lister Platz - Buchholz | HVZ line | |
| 8th | Nordhafen - Klagesmarkt - Steintor / KSS - Central Station - Thielenplatz - Aegi / PS - Döhren - Mittelfeld - Exhibition Center | |
| 9 | Buchholz - Lister Platz - Emmichplatz - Thielenplatz - Central Station - Kröpcke / KS - Waterlooplatz - Black Bear - Badenstedt - Empelde | HVZ line |
| 11 | Klagesmarkt - Steintor / GS - Kröpcke / GS - Aegi / GS - Döhren - Laatzen - Rethen - Sarstedt | |
| Klagesmarkt - Steintor / GS - Kröpcke / GS - Aegi / GS - Döhren - Laatzen - Rethen (- Sarstedt ) | HVZ line | |
| 14th | Oberricklingen - Ricklingen - Black Bear - Goetheplatz - Steintor / GS - Kröpcke / GS - Aegi / GS - Kleefeld (- Kirchrode ) | |
| Ricklingen / Beekestrasse - Black Bear - Goetheplatz - Steintor / GS - Kröpcke / GS - Aegi / GS - Kleefeld (- Kirchrode / Bhf ) | HVZ line | |
| 16 | Stocks / VW - Stocks / Cemetery - Königsworther Platz - Steintor / KSS - Central Station - Aegi / PS - Döhren - Midfield | |
| 17th |
> Langenhagen - Vahrenwald - Klagesmarkt - Steintor / KSS - Central Station → Thielenplatz → Aegi / PS → Town Hall <Town Hall → Market Hall → Kröpcke / KS → Central Station - Steintor / KSS - Klagesmarkt - Vahrenwald - Langenhagen |
HVZ line |
| 18th |
> Vahrenheide - Vahrenwald - Klagesmarkt - Steintor / KSS - Central Station → Kröpcke / KS → Market Hall → Town Hall <Town Hall → Aegi / PS → Thielenplatz → Central Station - Steintor / KSS - Klagesmarkt - Vahrenwald - Vahrenheide |
|
| 19th | Langenhagen - Vahrenwald - Klagesmarkt - Steintor / KSS - Central Station - Kröpcke / KS - Waterlooplatz - Black Bear - Badenstedt - Empelde | |
| Explanations: GS: Georgstraße; KS: Karmarschstrasse; KSS: Kurt-Schumacher-Strasse; PS: Prinzenstrasse |
On April 5, 1968, the route Waterlooplatz - Karmarschstrasse - Kröpcke - Bahnhofstrasse - Hauptbahnhof was closed due to the construction of the underground, so that there were only two inner-city routes: Steintor / Georgstrasse - Kröpcke - Aegi / Georgstrasse and Steintor / Kurt-Schumacher -Straße - Hauptbahnhof - Thielenplatz - Aegi / Prinzenstraße. On October 1, 1968, the main station / post underpass - Raschplatz - Alte Celler Heerstraße - Wedekindplatz - Steinriede / Wedekindstraße (near Lister Platz) followed, so that the lines 4 and 7 running there were from now on led via Bödekerstraße - Emmichplatz - Thielenplatz to the main station. At the main station they ran in a different direction than before, line 4 now ended at Klagesmarkt instead of the town hall, line 7 took the route via Steintor and Goetheplatz to the Black Bear.
In the years that followed, there were repeated relocations of the route due to the construction of the underground, particularly extensive in the Lister Platz area and on the Kröpcke. On September 30, 1979, the above-ground connection via Kröpcke was finally set; the line over the main station remained as the last inner-city line, which was used by the seven remaining above-ground lines.
vehicles
Of the TW 400 series cars acquired in the 1950s, ten railcars and 25 sidecars were converted to make them suitable for tunnels in the early 1970s. During the construction phase of the A tunnel, it was not clear for a long time whether the new TW 6000 light rail vehicles would be available in sufficient numbers at the start . The conversions included, in particular, the installation of folding steps, the arrangement of the doors away from the sloping ends of the car and protruding into the roof area, as well as the addition of so-called "flower boards", which were supposed to fill the gap between the car and the platform edge. 20 other railcars received only the widening bulges in order to be able to use them with the converted sidecars. In fact, these wagons never drove through the tunnel in regular service.
Since the 1990s: expansion and further development of the light rail
In the 1990s, the objectives for the Hannover Stadtbahn changed. After the construction of the inner city tunnel network was largely completed in 1993, work began on further developing the above-ground access routes. In 1991, the route B-North was extended by five stops through the center of Langenhagen. Up until now, a clear distinction was made between tram and light rail lines: light rail lines crossed the city center underground with double light rail lines, while light rail lines with older vehicles reached the city center above ground. But there were borderline cases, so on the tram lines sometimes single tram cars were used, e.g. For example, from 1984 to 1989, line 14 had to travel with light rail vehicles because it served stops with elevated platforms in Roderbruch and ended in a stump. At the beginning of the 1990s, tram line 10 was converted to operation with double tram lines and in 1993 a tram line was opened that ran through the C tunnel with single tram cars. From 1993 onwards, all lines were designated as Stadtbahn lines, including line 16, which used the classic Düwag TW 500 series cars. These cars had also had the green paintwork typical of the light rail system since 1982.
After the decision was made in 1990 to host the Expo2000 world exhibition in Hanover, investments were made in the infrastructure, including the further expansion of the route and new vehicles.
Expansion of the route network
In 1994, the route from line 10 to Limmer was extended to Ahlem. It was now understood as a D-West light rail line, although it had no tunnel in the city center. Further route extensions to Garbsen (1996), Bemerode (1999) and Messe / Ost (2000), Anderten (2002), Altwarmbüchen (2006) and Misburg (2014) have been implemented.
Bigger trains
On the one hand, there was the idea from the 1960s of one day using 2.90 m wide and 103 m long subway trains, for which the above-ground connecting lines would have had to be completely free of crossings and expanded to independent railway bodies, which had been inaccessible for a long time on the other hand, the light rail concept had proven to be a great success. So a new goal was formulated: the upper limits for vehicle dimensions, which BOStrab defined for tram operation on the road, should be used in the future to meet the increasing demand. From 1997 to 2000 144 silver vehicles of the new type TW 2000 were delivered, which supplemented the 260 green vehicles of the type TW 6000 in time for the Expo and soon afterwards partly replaced them.
literature
- Horst Moch: Tram in Hanover , Verlag Kenning, Nordhorn 2004, ISBN 3-933613-45-0
- Peter Sohns: Line chronicle of the tram and light rail Hanover 1872-2003 , Verlag Blickpunkt Straßenbahn, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-926524-22-7
- Jutta Franke: Hanover's trams , Transpress Verlag, Berlin 1995, ISBN 3-344-71010-9
- Horst Moch: Germany's largest tram freight transport Hanover 1899–1953 , Üstra, Hanover o. Year (1986), ISBN 3-980278-32-8
Web links
- ÜSTRA Chronicle
- Hanover tram association
- Wehmingen Tram Museum
- Early documents and newspaper articles on the history of the tram in Hanover in the 20th century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .
- Route map of the Hanover tram 1905
Individual evidence
Horst Moch: Germany's largest tram freight transport Hanover 1899–1953 , Üstra, Hanover o. Year (1986), ISBN 3-980278-32-8
- ↑ p. 76ff
- ↑ pp. 152-171
- ↑ p. 106ff
- ↑ pp. 9 and 114
- ↑ p. 25
- ↑ pp. 114-115
- ↑ p. 94ff
- ↑ pp. 25-27
- ↑ p. 28
- ↑ p. 31
- ↑ p. 28
other
- ^ Heinrich Beyer: On the history of Hanoverian city traffic , in: Hannoversche Geschichtsblätter , New Series Volume 12 (1959), Hanover: Hahnsche Buchhandlung und Verlag, 1959, pp. 41–112; here: p. 94; Preview over google books
- ^ Paul Siedentopf (main editor ): M. Stellmann , in ders .: The book of the old companies of the city of Hanover in 1927 , with the help of Karl Friedrich Leonhardt (compilation of the images), Jubiläums-Verlag Walter Gerlach, Leipzig 1927, p. 305
- ^ Die Prussische Landesaufnahme from 1877 to 1912. Retrieved on July 3, 2013 .
- ↑ Pattensen. On the history and development of a small town in Calenberg. Publisher and distribution: Stadt Pattensen, 1986. ISBN 3-7729-3104-9
- ↑ Turntable Online Forums :: 04 - Historic Railway :: Wide-space railcars, Prosteline and a Kä-Beetle (m2B). Retrieved August 21, 2017 .