Tram Frankfurt (Oder)

Tram Frankfurt (Oder)
GT6M low-floor car on line 4 in Lindenstrasse
Basic information
Country	Germany
city	Frankfurt (Oder)
opening	January 22, 1898
operator	Stadtverkehrsgesellschaft mbH Frankfurt (Oder)
Transport network	VBB
Infrastructure
Route length	19.5 km
Gauge	1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Power system	600 volt DC overhead line
Stops	42
Depots	1, combines bus and tram
business
Lines	5
Line length	43 km
Clock in the peak hours	20-minute intervals
Clock in the SVZ	30-minute intervals
vehicles	18 Tatra KT4 D, 8 Adtranz GT6M
statistics
Reference year	2010
Passengers	9.9 million per year
Residents in the catchment area	61 thousand
Mileage	1.010 million km
Employee	172
Network map of the Frankfurt (Oder) tram

The Frankfurt (Oder) tram has been operating as an electric tram in the Brandenburg city ​​of Frankfurt (Oder) since 1898 . Three main and two reinforcement lines operate on a meter-gauge network of approximately 19.5 kilometers.

The tram is operated by the Stadtverkehrsgesellschaft mbH Frankfurt (Oder) .

history

In 1894 the city discussed the creation of a horse-drawn railway network of four lines. These should connect the market with the train station , the Beresinchen district, the Schützenhaus and Küstriner Strasse. At that time, however, the horse-drawn tram was already an outdated technology - elsewhere electric trams had already proven themselves , which is why it was decided to build one in Frankfurt (Oder). A corresponding contract with AEG was signed on April 22nd, 1896 by the mayor Johann Paul Walther Adolph . Construction work began in 1897 and the official opening trip took place on January 22, 1898. One day later, regular operations began on two lines:

• Buschmühlenweg - Wilhelmsplatz - Magazinplatz,
• New cemetery - Wilhelmsplatz - Schützenhaus.

Tram near the St. Gertraud Church, 1907

By the end of 1899, the lines to the train station and Paulinenhof as well as the extension to the slaughterhouse went into operation. There were now four lines with different colors. In 1908 the route was expanded again, this time from Paulinenhof to Hellweg. In 1924, with the renovation of the Frankfurt train station and the station forecourt, the new terminus at the station was built. In 1925 tram traffic was reformed, numbers were introduced as line identification and the number of times was condensed. Line 2 was extended in 1927 in Dammvorstadt from the Schützenhaus to the Ostmarkstadion , and two years later the first two bus lines were set up to supplement the tram network. The tram network grew again in 1936, this time from Hellweg to Westkreuz. Two more bus routes followed in the same year. On April 22, 1945, tram traffic ended as a result of the hostilities of World War II.

43 in Wilhelm-Pieck-Strasse in 1953

After the war, traffic was gradually resumed from July 1945. The route to the Dammvorstadt was no longer in operation, because the district east of the Oder now belonged to Poland and was henceforth called Słubice . The first new vehicles arrived in the mid-1950s and the inner-city routes were adapted to the newly created streets in 1957. The first turning loop in the network at that time was built at Westkreuz in 1966, and further loops followed. Since the tram was to be replaced by buses in the medium term, traffic on the Buschmühlenweg route was initially stopped from 1970. Due to the oil crisis, however, these plans were abandoned and route extensions were carried out again. The first thing to do in 1976 was the extension from the main cemetery to the Südring. Four years later, the line in Leipziger Strasse (Wilhelm-Pieck-Strasse) was replaced by a new line across the station. The first section to Neuberesinchen followed a year later and the rest of this route was completed in 1982. From the mid-1980s, six tram lines ran through the city.

The Gotha two-axle vehicles were also indispensable in Frankfurt (Oder) until 1995. No 57 on Karl-Marx-Strasse, 1990

ATw 3 in front of the station tunnel, 1991

• Line 1: Neuberesinchen - train station - Platz der Republik (now the center) - Lubusz suburb
• Line 2: Westkreuz (today the exhibition grounds) - Platz der Republik - Stadium
• Line 3: Kopernikusstr. - Railway station - Republic Square - Lubusz suburb
• Line 4: Kopernikusstr. - Train station - Platz der Republik - Große Oderstraße (today European University)
• Line 5: Neuberesinchen - Bahnhof - Westkreuz
• Line 6: Neuberesinchen - train station - Platz der Republik - Große Oderstraße

From 1987 a new era began for the Frankfurt tram. A total of 22 new KT4D vehicles came from Czechoslovakia . One year later, the largest network expansion in the history of the Frankfurt tram took place with a length of 5.6 km. The distance from Kopernikusstrasse was extended to the semiconductor plant in Markendorf. Together with the extended lines 3 and 4, a new line 7 ran from Markendorf to Neuberesinchen. Another new line to the Hansa district was already under discussion. However, these plans could no longer be realized due to the turning point and the economic collapse of the region. However, the existing network was modernized. From 1993, new low-floor trams of the type GT6M replaced the last - up to 40 years old - two-axle vehicles from GDR production. In addition, the Tatra articulated wagons were modernized. The 100 year old depot in Bachgasse was finally replaced in 1998 by a new building in Neuberesinchen.

Former Bachgasse depot, 1991

KT4Dm in Frankfurt (Oder)

GT6M in Frankfurt (Oder)

KT4Dm with historical paint in the front area

On February 3, 2005, the city council decided with a narrow majority to continue building the tram across the border river Oder to Słubice . However, the construction of the line was rejected by a large majority in a non-binding referendum in early 2006. As a result, the expansion plans were initially dropped. In December 2012, however, at least the long-planned bus route 983 from Frankfurt train station to Słubice was opened.

In 2010 the city had a tram network of 43 km with 73 stops, 29 of which were barrier-free . 8 of the 27 trams, which each cover around 45,000 km per year, are low-floor trams . Local public transport carried around 10.9 million passengers in the city in 2010.

In December 2014, the managing director of the Frankfurt (Oder) public transport company continued to express his positive opinion about the extension of the tram to Słubice . The extension of the tram should definitely remain a medium-term goal. This was justified by the fact that the number of passengers on the existing 983 bus line had risen by several percent every year and, especially on the weekends, there would always be overcrowding in the 983 bus service.

Renewal of the vehicle fleet

In September 2014, the city transport company announced the acquisition of 15 new low-floor trams, which will gradually go into operation in the years 2017–2022. This should meet the legal requirement for barrier-free local public transport from 2022. The Europe-wide tender started in May 2015 and provided for the acquisition of 13 low-floor vehicles with the option of two more vehicles, which are to be used from December 2017. The original plan of a joint large-scale order with other Brandenburg tram companies in order to reduce unit costs could not be realized because, on the one hand, the time was too short and, on the other hand, the other companies took more cost-effective ways of using used vehicles or modernizing the existing fleet.

In January 2016, the municipal transport company asked the two bidders in response to the tender to extend the binding offer period to September 30, 2016, because the financing of the new vehicles could not be secured so far. In contrast to other federal states, the state of Brandenburg does not offer any financial support for the purchase of new vehicles, so that the city has to cover the costs completely itself through loans. In order to reduce the overall costs, the option of two additional vehicles should not be used and only 13 vehicles should be purchased. Should that also not be financially viable, further reductions in the order volume and modernization of the existing vehicle fleet must be considered. However, this would only increase the total costs in the long term.

On March 14, 2016, the Frankfurt city council made a fundamental decision in favor of the tram. The option of a partial or complete changeover of the network to bus operation was rejected by a majority and instead it was decided to investigate four options for purchasing the 13 new vehicles. Variant 1 comprised the original plan with the time horizon 2017–2021. However, variant 2 was favored, which provides for the purchase of the first six new vehicles only in 2021. To this end, seven Tatra railways were to be modernized and the remaining seven new vehicles were to be purchased between 2027 and 2029. The hope was set in future Brandenburg state governments that could reintroduce the promotion of new vehicles during their legislative periods. The result of this investigation should be presented on June 23, 2016 and the decision should be made by September 30, 2016.

On September 19, 2016, the city council spoke out against the quick purchase of all 13 new vehicles by 2021 (variant 1) as well as against a purchase within two time periods up to 2029 with the interim refurbishment of old vehicles (variant 2). The majority supporters justified their decision with a reference to the tight budget situation in Frankfurt and with the fact that an immediate purchase of all vehicles would send the signal to the Brandenburg state government that the city would be financially able to shoulder the purchase of the new vehicles completely itself. Frankfurt's Lord Mayor Martin Wilke announced, however, that he had heard signals from the Brandenburg state government that there could be a funding program for vehicle procurement in the future. Should it come to that, Frankfurt would not have been able to benefit from it with an immediate decision. René Wilke , financial policy spokesman for the Die Linke parliamentary group in the Brandenburg state parliament, who is involved in the current budget planning, was unable to confirm such a project by the state government. In the meantime, the management of the city transport company announced an extension of the binding offer period with the two bidders until December 31, 2016. After a further extension of the bid deadline, the city council decided on April 27, 2017 to procure 13 low-floor vehicles by 2022 at a price of 34.8 million euros. Due to the repeated postponement of the award of the contract, the manufacturers Solaris and Škoda Transportation withdrew their offers from 2015 in autumn 2017. Only with the amendment of the Public Transport Act in December 2017, Brandenburg was the last federal state to allow funding for new purchases.

business

Network until 2017

line	Line route	length	Hold	Travel time	Travel speed
1	Neuberesinchen ↔ Lubusz suburb	6.3 km	15th	21 min	18 km / h
2	Exhibition grounds ↔ European University	4 km	13	15 minutes	16 km / h
3	European University ↔ Kopernikusstr./Markendorf	10 km	18th	26 min	23.1 km / h
4th	Stadium ↔ Markendorf Place	10.5 km	18th	26 min	24.2 km / h
5	Exhibition grounds ↔ Neuberesinchen	6.8 km	16	20 min	20.4 km / h

The three main lines 1, 2, 4 of the tram ran daily from 4.00 am to 11.30 pm

• 20-minute intervals: Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 8.30 a.m. to 3 p.m.,
• 30-minute intervals: Sunday and public holidays all day (from 6.00 am), Monday-Saturday before and after the 20-minute interval.

The supplementary lines 3 and 5 only run Monday through Friday every 20 minutes.

Network since 2017

line	Line route	length	Hold	Travel time	Travel speed
1	Neuberesinchen ↔ Stadium	4.9 km	11	16 min	18.4 km / h
2	Exhibition grounds ↔ European University	4 km	13	15 minutes	16.0 km / h
3	European University ↔ Kopernikusstr./Markendorf	10 km	18th	26 min	23.1 km / h
4th	Lebuser Vorstadt ↔ Markendorf Place	11.9 km	22nd	32 min	22.3 km / h
5	Exhibition grounds ↔ Neuberesinchen	6.8 km	16	20 min	20.4 km / h

Line 1 runs from the Neuberesinchen development area via the train station to the stadium.

Line 2 connects the university locations, i.e. the main building, the Audimax and the Marion Gräfin Dönhoff building with the language center on Witzlebenstrasse all the way to the exhibition grounds. On weekdays, KT4Dm solo vehicles and GT6M low-floor vehicles are used. Only low-floor GT6Ms are used at the weekend.

Line 3 is considered to be an amplifier line to line 4 . It runs Monday to Friday from the European University via the Südring to Kopernikusstraße and in the HVZ further via the technology park and the clinic to the suburb of Markendorf (Ort) every 20 minutes. This is operated with the GT6M and KT4Dm.

Line 4 , runs from Markendorf past the new solar factories via Südring, the train station and the center in the north of Frankfurt, the Lebuser suburb. Every second vehicle is a low-floor vehicle. Discussions are currently being held on the setting of the northern section between a new turning loop to be built on Berliner Straße and the Lebuser suburb.

Line 5 is a tangential line - it drives "past" the center, from the Neuberesinchen development area via the train station to the exhibition center. However, you have a connection at Dresdener Platz or the train station from or towards the center. Every 20 minutes you can find KT4Dm Tatra wagons or GT6M low-floor wagons there on working days.

With the timetable change on December 10, 2017, the offer was changed more significantly for the first time in years. Since then, additional trips on line 2 have partially replaced line 5, which means that Neuberesinchen is only served every 10 minutes during rush hour. This takes account of the population decline in this district.

literature

• Ralf-Rüdiger et al .: 100 years of electricity and trams for Frankfurt (Oder) . Stadtwerke Frankfurt (Oder) 1998 (1500 copies).

Web links

Commons : Trams in Frankfurt (Oder)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Stadtverkehrgesellschaft mbH Frankfurt (Oder) (official website of the operator)
• tram-ff.de
• tram-ffo.de
• Tram in Frankfurt (Oder)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Article from the Märkische online newspaper of December 9, 2014: Lack of space on the border bus.
2. ↑ New trams are coming in 2017. In: Märkische Oderzeitung . September 22, 2014, accessed February 2, 2016 . 
3. ↑ 2015 / S 097-176238. Announcement in the European tendering portal on May 21, 2015. May 21, 2015, accessed on February 2, 2016 . 
4. ↑ Investment on a shaky track. In: Märkische Oderzeitung . January 31, 2016, accessed February 2, 2016 . 
5. ↑ Clear commitment to the tram. In: Märkische Oderzeitung . March 15, 2016, accessed March 16, 2016 . 
6. ↑ No solution for buying new trams. In: Märkische Oderzeitung . September 21, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016 . 
7. ↑ Decision postponed. In: Märkische Oderzeitung . September 22, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016 . 
8. ↑ Heinz Kannenberg: Course set for modernization. In: Märkische Oderzeitung . April 28, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017 . 
9. ^ Frank Groneberg: New trams are coming later. In: Märkische Oderzeitung . December 13, 2017, accessed March 22, 2018 .