Cottbus tram

Cottbus tram
Basic information
Country	Germany
city	cottbus
opening	July 18, 1903
electrification	since opening
operator	Cottbusverkehr GmbH
Transport network	VBB
Infrastructure
Route length	20.1 km
Gauge	1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Power system	600 volt DC overhead line
Operating mode	Furnishing operation
Stops	49
Depots	1
business
Lines	4th
Line length	35.3 km
Clock in the peak hours	10-15 min
vehicles	21 KTNF6
statistics
Reference year	2019
Residents in the catchment area	100 thousand
Mileage	1 million / year
Network plan (as of 2019)

The Cottbus tram has been the backbone of local public transport in Cottbus since 1903 . There are four tram lines , three on the weekend, serving a total of 49 stops on a route network of 35.3 kilometers in length . For this purpose, 21 partially low-floor tram cars of the Tatra KTNF6 type are available.

history

Beginnings

The first local public transport in Cottbus was a horse-drawn bus line , which was set up by Josew Klopzynsky in 1893. It ran between Sandow and the Cottbus train station. The fare at that time was 30  pfennigs .

On June 14, 1898, the city of Cottbus announced the construction of an electric power station. However, since the output would have been too low for a tram operation planned in the meantime, the construction of an electrical works was put out to tender again in 1899. On March 2, 1900, it was unanimously decided that the power station should be built by Siemens & Halske . It was also decided that the company Dresdner Elektra AG would be awarded the contract to build and operate the tram. When the contract was about to be signed, the Elektra company withdrew and since no other company could be found, Siemens & Halske should now submit a cost estimate for the construction and operation of the tram. The price for the power plant was around 1 million marks and for the tram, including the tracks, depot and land purchase, around 800,000 marks. It was not until February 6, 1901, that the commission proposed that the project should be accepted. It should include the city's own construction of the tram and its financing through a loan. After six months, the city council also agreed.

Historic vehicle of the Cottbus tram

On July 28, 1902, the track-laying work began on Berliner Strasse and on September 22nd the construction of the depot , including on Berliner Strasse. On April 27, 1903, trial operation began in the electrical works and the tram network was energized. The Spree drove two turbines with 200 hp each, which were coupled to three generators. In addition to the two buffer batteries, there were also two standing composite steam engines with 300 HP each from the "Cottbusser Maschinenbauanstalt AG". Each machine drove a generator with 225 kW for the local network and one with 68 kW for rail operations. On June 22, 1903, the first test drives began on the already completed track sections. On July 18, 1903 at 8:30 a.m., a Saturday, the state police inspected the 2000 meter long first line (red) from the state train station to the upper church. The actual opening took place at 11:00 a.m. The fare was ten pfennigs at the start. Payment was made when boarding the car, ten pfennigs had to be put in the payment box. The network was expanded to 8.5 kilometers by the end of 1903: the blue line from the Ströbitz border to the old cemetery, the yellow line from the north cemetery to the Spreewaldbahnhof and an extension of the red line to the Sandower pharmacy were opened. After the trial operation in accordance with the contract, the city of Cottbus took over the electrical works and the tram from the company "Siemens & Halske" on January 14, 1904. At that time, the Cottbus tram had 29 railcars and eight sidecars . The route length in 1909 was a total of 12.53 kilometers. In 1913 already 2.5 million passengers were carried, the income amounted to 250,000 marks, but these did not cover the costs.

Interwar period

In 1918 there were already 4.65 million passengers. Since paying at the payment boxes was no longer controllable during this onslaught, conductors were deployed on January 1, 1918, who collected the travel fee of 15 pfennigs. As a result of the general economic crisis and currency devaluation, the fare rose to 20 pfennigs on July 1, 1919. After all conductors were dismissed, the payment boxes were reintroduced on July 11, 1920. But unlike in the past, money was no longer allowed to be inserted, only the previously issued tickets . During the First World War , the Cottbus tram also had problems, parts of the route had to be shut down. On May 24, 1923, all tram traffic was then stopped. When the tram started operating again, the fare went up too. The passengers now had to drop 15 pfennigs in cash into the payment box. In 1928 4.18 million passengers were counted, but since the tram was still not making a profit, the fare was raised to 20 pfennigs on October 15, 1928. The fare now had to be paid to the conductor again. From 1927 onwards, an omnibus supplemented tram traffic.

During the Second World War there was again a lot of inconvenience, so the bright line colors on the tracks had to be darkened. As a result, however, the lines could no longer be recognized, so line numbers were introduced. The railcars had a metal sign with the line number above the headlights so that it was dimly lit. The number of passengers rose to 6.8 million in 1942 and 13.3 million in 1944.

After the Second World War

After the end of the war, everything was gradually repaired and rebuilt. After 1945, numerous companies in the Soviet occupation zone (SBZ) were expropriated, placed under municipal administration or assigned to the municipal utilities. On April 1, 1949, the "KWU Cottbuser Stadtwerke" were formed, including the electrical works including the tram and the gas and water works. Until 1968, when the management was transferred to VEB Cottbusverkehr , the name of the company and its layout changed several times.

Tram at Spremberger Tower (1972)

Between 1953 and 1972 all tram terminus, except at the train station, were equipped with reversing loops. This made it possible to use one-way vehicles on almost all lines. For this purpose, a dispatcher center was set up and there was a new logo. Cottbus was the first tram company in the GDR to have only two-axle standard cars (GOTHA). After the Cottbus city center was rebuilt as a socialist city center in industrial construction (prefabricated building) from 1971 to 1974, the tram route was also relocated from Spremberger Straße to the newly built city ​​promenade . On March 12, 1976, the payment boxes were replaced by punching machines, as the number of fare dodgers increased more and more.

In the next few years, among other things, the tram connection to Sachsendorf was built - in 1977, followed by the tram route to the main station - 1978 and on to Jessener Straße - 1980 and to Schmellwitz - 1984. Overall, the tram network was expanded from 13 kilometers in 1949 to 21 kilometers in Year 1983 expanded. In addition, the end stops were gradually expanded or rebuilt with reversible loops:

• 1953 sports center
• 1965 Ströbitz
• 1966 Thiemstrasse
• 1968 Alt-Schmellwitz
• 1970 Madlow
• 1972 Sandow
• 1978 Saxony village
• 1980 Jessener Strasse
• 1984 Neu-Schmellwitz

The new city ring and a new station building were built. Line 4 to the old station was discontinued, the tracks in Bahnhofstrasse were then shut down for twelve years. On December 22nd, 1978 the first new tram cars of the type KT4D from the Czechoslovak manufacturer ČKD Tatra arrived. On October 4, 1979, the first twelve new KT4D drove in double traction on Line 3. Since information to passengers was always problematic in the event of traffic disruptions, 15 radio-controlled stop information systems were put into operation on April 1, 1986. In 1988, the first public event to mark the jubilee of the tram took place, even if it was the relatively crooked 85-year-old. From October 2, 1989, three-car trains from KT4D were used on line 4 of the Cottbus tram. Such a three-car train is 57 meters long and could accommodate 321 passengers. For this it was necessary to lengthen the platforms to 60 meters and to adapt the signal systems.

Tram in front of the town hall at the entrance to the Stadthalle stop

After 1989

When the end of the GDR became apparent on November 9, 1989, when the Wall came down, Cottbusverkehr was facing one of the greatest upheavals in its history. Suddenly there were numerous used cars "Made in Germany" and the number of passengers dropped rapidly. The tariffs were never revised due to the "policy of stable prices" in GDR times. 1991 revenues covered only 41 percent of expenses. The result was a considerable price increase, this was 300 percent, from 15 pfennigs to 50 pfennigs. Since September 23, 1990, the tram has been running again over the new station bridge and over the station street . In addition to the modernization of the rolling stock, the modernization and the double-track expansion of the following tram lines were the focus of investments after reunification; By the year 2000, the most important route sections (Friedrich-Ebert-Straße; Karlstraße to Nordfriedhof; Altmarkt to Muskauer Platz; Berliner Straße to Ströbitz and Dresdener Straße / Madlower Hauptstraße to Spree-Straße) could be expanded to two tracks.

Tatra-KTNF6-Bahn with low-floor middle section

Tram line 2 at the Spremberger tower

In 1990 Cottbusverkehr had to accept the tram cars contractually promised by the GDR, 15 KT4Ds and in early 1991 seven KT4Ds were taken over from Erfurt. This meant that the two-axle "Gotha" unit cars were no longer needed. These had their last scheduled trips on March 8th and a farewell trip on March 24th, 1991. The tram fleet now totaled 72 articulated trams "Tatra KT4D". In the case of the tram, the question arose: new low-floor cars or retrofitting? Since the financial resources were very limited, it was converted. The "Mittenwalder Gerätebau GmbH" (MGB) had the suggestion to use a low-floor middle section in an articulated vehicle. Together with Cottbusverkehr and the Swiss companies “ Schindler Waggon ” and “ FIAT-SIG Rail Vehicles ”, MGB implemented the plan and on May 18, 1995 the Tw72 arrived in Mittenwalde . The new name for the Tatra wagons with a low-floor center section was KTNF6 . Since April 1, 2004 Cottbusverkehr has only been using trams with a low-floor center section in regular service. This makes Cottbus the first city in Germany where all low-floor journeys are made. Based on the Cottbus model, trams were also retrofitted with a low-floor center section in many cities, e.g. B. in Mülheim , Braunschweig , Basel (Switzerland), Gothenburg (Sweden) or Tallinn (Estonia).

Since the state of Brandenburg did not provide any funding for the acquisition of new tram vehicles for many years, another wave of modernization of the vehicle fleet began in 2011: A total of 15 KTNF6 were to be refreshed for at least 16 further years of operation under the name of cross-country skiers . As part of the scheduled main inspections, the vehicles were given a completely new interior including ceiling panels and seats, fresh paint and new stickers. On April 25, 2012, the first cross-country skier was used with railcar 135. By the beginning of 2018, eight more followed with the railcars 140, 143, 138, 149, 169, 129, 170 and 148 (order of processing), so that as of today (April 2018) a total of nine cross-country skiers are in passenger service. The costs for this modernization were initially 250,000 euros in addition to those of a normal general inspection. Due to the poor basic substance of the vehicles that were later refurbished and the more complex procurement of spare parts, these costs rose to 360,000 euros for the tenth cross-country skier. With this tenth vehicle, the cross-country skiing program is ended prematurely.

On September 26, 2012, the city ​​council approved the new public transport concept. Thereafter, the Schmellwitz-Anger - Bonnaskenplatz section should be closed in autumn 2015. The reason given was the expected savings of 370,000 euros per year. However, this plan was rejected again in 2015 (see also: Discussion about the continued existence of the tram ).

The station forecourt was redesigned from 2016 to 2019 into a transport hub for trams, city buses and regional buses. (see also: Central Transport Hub Cottbus ).

In the spring of 2018 it became known that Cottbusverkehr would put out a tender for new vehicles together with the companies from Frankfurt (Oder) and Brandenburg an der Havel . A total of 45 railways of a uniform type are to be tendered, 20 of which will be in Cottbus. Seven of these are to be procured directly, 13 more are to be stored as options. For this, 15.8 million euros are to be invested, of which 8.4 million euros must be provided by the city of Cottbus. Cottbusverkehr finances the remaining sum from its own resources and through new grants from the state of Brandenburg. The vehicles will be delivered gradually by 2023. The delivery will be delayed because the losing bidder appealed to the public procurement tribunal after the award.

With a judgment of June 2, 2020, the Brandenburg Higher Regional Court rejected the objection as unfounded and thus cleared the way for procurement. The award of the contract to the Czech company Škoda Transportation is now legally binding.

Vehicle statistics

Vehicle type	1904	1910	1928	1950	1960	1970	1981	1992	2001	2007	2010	2011
Two-axle railcars	18th	22nd	28	28	32	32	29	2 *	3 *	3 *	3 *	3 *
Two-axle sidecar	6th	8th	8th	14th	15th	27	38	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*
Articulated railcar	-	-	-	-	-	-	22nd	71	36	26th	24	21st

* historical car (s), not in normal daily use

Depots

Former depots

Former Madlow depot

Depot Berliner Straße (1903-2001)

For trams and from 1939 with a bus workshop, in 1944/45 a paint shop and a mechanical workshop were added. There was also an open-air car wash, which was later covered. Since 1982 the depot has only been used for trams. The site was sold in 2003.

Tram depot Madlow (1927–1998)

A small depot for four small vehicles, so it was used as a bus body shop from 1971 to 1981. After that, the tower car and the "historic" vehicles were housed there. In December 1998 the building was sold.

Today's depot

Since November 26, 1999 - Schmellwitz depot

• 1993 Acquisition of land in Schmellwitz
• October 1995 Development of the site
• August 20, 1996 Laying of the foundation stone for the first building construction
• After a year and a half, the maintenance hall, the washing facility, some sidings, substation IV and the connection to the tracks at the Neu-Schmellwitz terminus were built.
• On February 26, 1998, the first construction phase was officially opened
• October 30, 1998 Topping-out ceremony for the tram & bus workshop, the parking areas for buses, the petrol station and a large part of the outdoor facilities were also completed
• Since November 20, 1999 the buses have been operating from here
• on November 26, 1999 the depot officially went into operation
• January 26, 2001 Handover of the service building and the control center

Data on the Schmellwitz depot:

• 79,420 m² total area
• 6,115 m of track of which 2,200 m are access
• 3,470 m of storage and service tracks
• 33 points

Lines

As part of the opening of the new transfer station at the main station, a new line network was introduced on October 22, 2019, which consists of the following lines:

Line overview

line	Line course	Travel time	Stops	Monday to Friday	Clock Saturday	Sunday and public holidays
1	Schmellwitz / Chmjelow , Anger / Najs - Nordfriedhof / Połnocny kjarchob - Bonnaskenplatz / Bonarske naměsto - City Hall / Měsćańska hala - city promenade / Měsćańska promenada - Görlitzer Straße / Zgórjelska droga - Central Station / Głowne dwórór	15 minutes	11	20 min	-	-
2	Sandow / Žandow  - Am Doll / Pśi dole - Old Market / Stare wiki - City Hall / Měsćańska hala - City Museum / Měsćański muzej - Central Station / Głowne dwórnišćo - Jessener Straße / Jaseńska droga	17 min	12	15 minutes	30 min	30 min
3	Ströbitz / Strobice , Hans-Sachs-Str. / H. Sachsowa droga - town hall / Měsćańska hala - town promenade / Měsćańska promenada - Görlitzer street / Zgórjelska droga - sports center / Sportowy centrum - Madlow swimming lake / Módłański jazor - Madlow / Módłej	23 min	16	15 minutes	30 min	30 min
4th	( Depot Schmellwitz / Depot Chmjelow  -) New Schmellwitz / Nowy Chmjelow  - Zuschka / Cužka - Sports Palace / Sportowy palace - Bonnaskenplatz / Bonarske namesto - Town Hall / Měsćańska hala - City Promenade / Měsćańska promenada - Görlitzer Street / Zgórjelska droga - Hauptbahnhof / Główne dwórnišćo - Gelsenkirchen Platz / Gelsenkirchenske naměsto - Sachsendorf / Knorawa	28 min	20th	10 min	15 minutes	30 min

The following route network was in effect until October 2019:

Line overview

line	Line course	Travel time	Stops	Monday to Friday	Clock Saturday	Sunday and public holidays
1	Schmellwitz / Chmjelow , Anger / Najsy - North Cemetery / północny kjarchob - Bonnaskenplatz / Bonarske namesto - Town Hall / Mešćańska hala - Marienstr./Busbahnhof / Marijina droga / Busowe dwórnišćo - Görlitzer Street / Zgórjelska droga - Hauptbahnhof / Główne dwórnišćo - Jessener street / Jasenska droga	20 min	14th	20 min	-	-
2	Sandow / Žandow  - Am Doll / Pśi dole - Altmarkt / Stare wiki - City Hall / Mešćańska hala - City Museum / Mešćański muzeum - Thiemstr./ Hbf / Thiemowa droga / GŁD - Gelsenkirchener Platz / Gelsenkirchenska naměsto - Sachsendorf / Knorawa	23 min	16	15 minutes	-	-
3	Ströbitz / Strobice , Hans-Sachs-Str. / H. Sachsowa droga - town hall / Mešćańska hala - Marienstrasse / bus station / Marijina droga / Busowe dwórnišćo - Görlitzer Strasse / Zgórjelska droga - sports center / Sportowy centrum - Madlow swimming lake / Módłański jazor - Madlow / Módłej	23 min	16	15 minutes	30 min	30 min
4th	( Depot Schmellwitz / Depot Chmjelow  -) New Schmellwitz / Nowy Chmjelow  - Zuschka / Cužka - Sports Palace / Sportowy palace - Bonnaskenplatz / Bonarske namesto - Town Hall / Mešćańska hala - Town Museum / Mešćański Museum - Thiemstr./ main station / Thiemowa droga / GLD - Gelsenkirchen Place / Gelsenkirchenska naměsto - Sachsendorf / Knorawa	24 min	20th	10 min	15 minutes	30 min
5	Sandow / Žandow  - Am Doll / Pśi dole - Old Market / Stare wiki - City Hall / Mešćańska hala - City Museum / Mešćański muzeum - Görlitzer Strasse / Zgórjelska droga - Central Station / Głowne dwórnišćo - Jessener Strasse / Jaseńska droga	22-23 min	15th	-	30 min	30 min

• 

  Network plan (as of 2019)

• 

  Track plan (as of 2013)

Discussion about the continued existence of the tram (2009)

In February 2009, an expert opinion was published in favor of the abolition of the tram in Cottbus. The reasons for this are the easier adjustment of the lines. Cottbus has lost around a quarter of its inhabitants in the past 20 years, which is why there has been a decline in passengers. In addition, some lines lead to areas that are less densely populated today. In the next few years, extensive investments are also required to renew the vehicle fleet.

This led to heated discussions, in which the majority of the Cottbus population spoke out in favor of maintaining the tram. In addition to signature campaigns, there were numerous considerations as to how the Cottbus tram could be made more attractive. Since large investments in the expansion of the bus fleet and the upgrading of the roads for regular bus service would be necessary if the tram were discontinued, the actual savings potential is questioned. In addition, increased bus traffic in Cottbus would lead to an increased development of fine dust, which would cause Cottbus to fear high penalties to the EU .

On March 31, 2009 it was announced that plans to discontinue the tram were off the table. Instead, people are thinking intensively about an optimization to increase the attractiveness of the offer - including the discontinuation of line 1 and the branch to Jessener Straße of line 2 - in order to encourage more passengers to use public transport. According to a new study published in August 2010 and commissioned by the city, the expansion of the tram network in the direction of Lausitz-Park and the hospital would pay off economically. From December 2015, according to the plans from 2009, the route network should change as follows: Lines 2 and 3 remain unchanged, Line 1 is to run from Neu-Schmellwitz to Jessener Straße. Line 4 is supposed to run as an amplifier line from the town hall to Sachsendorf during rush hour.

The discontinuation plans for line 1 between Bonnaskenplatz and Schmellwitz were initially not pursued any further in order to wait for the development of the passenger numbers after the opening of the new stop at the main station. Recently (2018) there is even thought about expanding the network to the Baltic Sea, to the heart center and CTK, BTU and Lausitzpark.

literature

• Mario Schatz, Ulrich Thomsch: Tram in Cottbus . Kenning Verlag, Nordhorn 2003, ISBN 3-933613-58-2 .

Web links

Commons : Tram Cottbus  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official website of the operator Cottbusverkehr
• Information on the vehicle fleet, pictures, network plans

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Data & facts. Retrieved October 28, 2019 . 
2. ↑ A present for the passengers. Cottbusverkehr, January 13, 2017, accessed on January 13, 2017 . 
3. ↑ Peggy Kompalla: Cottbusverkehr relies on cross-country skiers. In: Lausitzer Rundschau. January 3, 2012, accessed November 15, 2018 . 
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Peggy Kompalla: The end of the cross-country skiing program. In: Lausitzer Rundschau . April 13, 2018, accessed April 14, 2018 . 
5. ↑ Peggy Kompalla: Large station for the station. In: Lausitzer Rundschau. December 12, 2015, accessed November 15, 2018 . 
6. ^ Brandenburg, Cottbus and Frankfurt buy trams together. Report on RBB-Online. February 21, 2018, accessed April 14, 2018 . 
7. ^ Peggy Kompalla: Cottbus buys new trams. In: Lausitzer Rundschau . April 25, 2018, accessed May 1, 2018 . 
8. ↑ New trams arrive a few months later. Retrieved January 14, 2020 . 
9. ↑ OLG clears the way for new trams - Cottbus traffic. Accessed June 3, 2020 (German). 
10. ↑ Commissioning of traffic hubs and change of timetable. In: cottbusverkehr.de. October 20, 2019, accessed October 23, 2019 . 
11. ↑ Cottbus tram threatens to end. (No longer available online.) In: Lausitzer Rundschau. Archived from the original on February 22, 2009 ; Retrieved April 8, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
12. ↑ Kathleen Weser, Sven Hering: Storm of protest stops plans for tram-off in Cottbus. In: Lausitzer Rundschau. March 31, 2009, accessed November 15, 2018 . 
13. ↑ Sven Hering: The expansion of the Cottbus tram pays off. In: Lausitzer Rundschau. August 18, 2010, accessed November 15, 2018 . 
14. ↑ Sven Hering: Tram line 4 between Jessener Straße and the train station should be retained. In: Lausitzer Rundschau. September 13, 2012, accessed November 15, 2018 . 
15. ↑ Andrea Hilscher: The tram line 1 wobbles. In: Lausitzer Rundschau. October 17, 2018, accessed November 15, 2018 . 
16. ↑ Andrea Hilscher: Two ways through the city. In: Lausitzer Rundschau. November 15, 2018, accessed November 15, 2018 .