Ulm tram

Ulm tram
Combino at the Donaustadion stop
Basic information
Country	Germany
city	Ulm
opening	May 15, 1897
electrification	from beginning to
operator	Stadtwerke Ulm (SWU)
Transport network	THING
Infrastructure
Route length	19.1 km
Gauge	1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Power system	Overhead line
Operating mode	Furnishing operation
Stops	40
Depots	1
business
Lines	2
Clock in the peak hours	5 min
Clock in the SVZ	30 min
vehicles	10 Siemens Combino 12 Siemens Avenio M
Top speed	70 km / h
statistics
Reference year	2018
Passengers	about 30,000 a day
Geographical network plan (as of December 2018)

The Ulm tram in the Baden-Württemberg city of Ulm went into operation in 1897. The 19.1 kilometer long and meter gauge network is operated by Stadtwerke Ulm / Neu-Ulm GmbH (SWU) and consists of two diameter lines . The wrong line 1 of Söflingen in the west to Böfingen east of the city, while Line 2 runs through the city in north-south direction. In the past, the tram also ran to the neighboring Bavarian town of Neu-Ulm .

history

Early years and first network expansions

Station forecourt with tram, 1904

Karlstraße at the corner of Gaisenbergstraße, car 7 on line 3 in the direction of Stuttgarter Tor, around 1909

Söflingen parish square with one of the railcars acquired after 1925

On May 15, 1897, the tramway in Ulm and Neu-Ulm was opened with two lines. A circular railway ran on today's Inner Ring from the Olgastraße tram hall via Olgastraße, the main train station , Hirschstraße, Münsterplatz and Frauenstraße back to Olgastraße. The second line ran from Ulm to Neu-Ulm, starting at the main train station via Hirschstraße, Münsterplatz, Herdbruckerstraße, Ludwig-Wilhelm-Brücke, Danube Island, Marienstraße, Augsburger Straße, Ludwigstraße and Neu-Ulm train station .

On October 20, 1900, the Platzgassenlinie became a third tram line. This led from Münsterplatz over Platzgasse, Syrlinstrasse and Karlstrasse to the intersection of Karlstrasse / Gaisenbergstrasse. The terminus there was named "Stuttgarter Tor" after the nearby Brenzbahn stop of the same name . On June 25, 1904, the route was changed and line numbers were introduced. Line 1 now ran from Ulm Central Station through Olgastraße via Frauentor to the Olgastraße / König-Wilhelm-Straße intersection, similar to a section of today's route. Line 2 ran from Ulm main station via Hirschstraße, Münsterplatz, Lange Straße and Frauenstraße to Frauentor, and line 3 from Neu-Ulm train station via Ludwig-Wilhelm-Brücke, Herdbruckerstraße, Münsterplatz, Platzgasse, Syrlinstraße and Karlstraße to the Stuttgarter Tor.

On October 18, 1906, the Söflingen district, which was incorporated in 1905, received a tram connection in addition to the sewer system as a concession and consideration from the city of Ulm. The existing three lines were therefore changed again.

Line 1 now ran from Neu-Ulm train station via Ludwig-Wilhelm-Brücke, Münsterplatz, Ulm central station and Olgastraße to Frauentor and to the Olgastraße / König-Wilhelm-Straße intersection. Line 2 ran from Frauentor via Lange Strasse, Münsterplatz, Platzgasse, Syrlinstrasse, Karlstrasse to the Stuttgarter Tor. The partially new line 3 ("Söflinger Line") ran from Münsterplatz via Hirschstrasse, Glöcklerstrasse, Zinglerstrasse, Beyerstrasse, Wagnerstrasse over Söflinger Strasse to the Protestant Christ Church. On December 19, 1907, the line was extended to Söflinger Gemeindeplatz without a loop. Today this line ends as line 1 at the Leonhardskapelle with two tracks and a loop.

In 1908 a line was built through König-Wilhelm-Strasse and Karlstrasse, which was connected to existing lines in Olgastrasse and at the “Stuttgarter Tor” stop.

In July 1927, a line extension from the Zundeltor to Friedrichsau was put into operation.

On October 29, 1927, new line numbers with new routes were assigned. In addition, the stop previously known as “Stuttgarter Tor” was given the new name “Ostbahnhof”, but “Stuttgarter Tor” was now used to designate the stop at the intersection of Karlstrasse / König-Wilhelm-Strasse. The Söflinger route branch now received the line designation 1, which it has kept to this day. Line 1 started at the Stuttgarter Tor via König-Wilhelm-Straße, Olgastraße, Frauenstraße, Lange Straße, Münsterplatz, Glöcklerstraße, Zinglerstraße, Beyerstraße, Wagnerstraße, Söflinger Straße to Söflinger Gemeindeplatz. Line 4 now drove from Friedrichsau via Olgastraße to Ulm Central Station.

On December 18, 1927, line 1 was extended from the Stuttgarter Tor via Stuttgarter- / Heidenheimer Strasse to the “Krankenhaus” stop at the beginning of Heidenheimer Strasse.

On April 29, 1928, lines 1 and 4 exchanged their eastern terminus. Line 1 ran from Friedrichsau via Talfinger Straße and Olgastraße, and line 4 from Heidenheimer Straße via König-Wilhelm-Straße to Ulm train station.

On July 15, 1928, line 4 was extended from Ulm Central Station in the direction of Kuhberg, using the newly built line in today's Friedrich-Ebert-Strasse and the new line from Zinglerstrasse to the Haßlerstrasse / Römerstrasse intersection.

Developments during World War II

Line 3, which ran from Heidenheimer Strasse via Stuttgarter Tor, Karlstrasse, Syrlinstrasse and Platzgasse to Münsterplatz, was discontinued on September 1, 1939.

During the Second World War , the tram routes were badly damaged in an Allied air raid on December 17, 1944 . This led to temporary shutdowns.

Line 2, which ran from Neu-Ulm station via Münsterplatz and Hirschstrasse to Ulm main station, was stopped on December 17, 1944 as a result of the Allied bombing raids and was not resumed later.

The operation of line 4 also had to be stopped on December 17, 1944 due to the effects of the war.

On December 24, 1944, operations from Bismarckring via Wagnerstrasse, Söflinger Strasse and Söflinger Leonhardskapelle were resumed until further bombing raids in April 1945 paralyzed this route as well. This section of Line 1 from Söflingen to Bismarckring was the first to go back into operation after the end of the war in July 1945, and in August 1945 it was possible to travel to the main station. In September 1945 line 4 ran again from Römerstrasse to the main station. From October 28, 1945, line 1 could again be fully operated from Söflingen to Heidenheimer Straße.

Post-war developments

Car 17 of tram line 4 at the Wendeschleife on Kuhberg in the early 1950s

Historical network picture ticket

The Ulm trolleybus was introduced on May 14, 1947 as a supplement to the Ulm tram and as a replacement for tram line 2, which was discontinued during the war . Two lines were operated, of which line 5 led from the New Cemetery to Schützenstrasse in Neu-Ulm and line 6 from Eselsberg via the Neu-Ulm train station to the Zundeltor in Ulm. Both lines served the Ulm main station. On October 23, 1963, trolleybus operations were discontinued and replaced by diesel buses.

In 1950, the route on the Kuhberg was extended from the intersection of Haßlerstrasse / Römerstrasse through Römerstrasse to the new terminus “Kaserne Kuhberg”. In 1951, the route in Heidenheimer Strasse was extended from the “Krankenhaus” terminus to Steinhövelstrasse, and in 1954 even further to the upper of the two switchbacks, to the new terminus “Glockenhütte”. Also in 1954, the tram in the city center now drove through Neue Straße, the old route via Münsterplatz, Hirschstraße and Glöcklerstraße was dismantled. In 1955, a line was built again from today's Danube Stadium to Friedrichsau, with the final stop at the stadium during regular operations and only driven to Friedrichsau for special events.

In 1964 the route of line 1 through Heidenheimer Strasse and König-Wilhelm-Strasse, the section through Frauenstrasse and Neue Strasse and the route of line 4 Zinglerstrasse - Haßlerstrasse - Römerstrasse - Kuhberg were discontinued and switched to bus operation. This cut the length of the Ulm tram in half in one fell swoop. The only thing left was the new line 1 from Söflingen via Olgastraße to the stadium, with temporary service to Friedrichsau. Since the newly purchased Esslingen open-plan furnishing cars were previously in use on the only line 4 equipped with reversible loops and were now to switch to the remaining line 1, the block loop through the Uhrmachergasse that still exists today had to be built in Söflingen and the existing track through the new one The alley was now only used for driving into town.

From May 29, 1967, Line 1 was now led over the Ehinger Tor and through the newly built underpass under the railway tracks instead of the Zinglerstrasse / Zinglerbrücke and the Bismarckring.

In 1979 the route between the stadium and Friedrichsau began to be rebuilt. The tram got a new double-track route, with which the track leading to Söflingen through Talfinger Straße could be dismantled. In Friedrichsau, the route was slightly relocated; instead of the grass track, a route was created that can also be used by buses. The new line was inaugurated in April 1980, and since then line 1 has also been running regularly to the Donauhalle.

Failed expansion in the 1990s

In the 1990s, an expansion of the tram based on a "five-line concept" was aimed for. In 1999, however, this development came to a temporary end when, as part of a referendum, the construction of a second tram line from the science city on the Ulm Eselsberg to the Neu-Ulm district of Ludwigsfeld, south of Ulm / Neu-Ulm, received 51 percent of the votes Was rejected. This route has served bus line 5 since 2008.

Although the referendum clearly failed because of the required quorum of 30 percent of the electorate - the turnout was 45.5 percent, so that neither side could achieve the required number of votes - the Ulm municipal council subsequently adopted the five-line concept no longer open.

Extension of line 1 to Böfingen

Construction board for the extension of Line 1 at what was then the final stop at Donauhalle

Instead, it was decided in 2000 to investigate an extension of the existing line 1 into the Böfingen district of Ulm and to completely renew the tram fleet. After the start of construction on the expansion of Line 1, which was decided in the meantime, on August 22, 2007 - the official groundbreaking ceremony was made on August 28, 2007 - the construction of further lines was discussed again. We were talking about a tram line on Eselsberg to the university and to the school center on Kuhberg. On the Neu-Ulm side, too, considerations are being made about building a tram line, for example to Ludwigsfeld. The advocates of the tram expansion, including Ulm's former mayor Ivo Gönner , cite as an argument, among other things, the relief of the bus routes, some of which run every five minutes. Opponents of expansion often point to the high investment costs and the lower flexibility compared to a bus network.

Construction in the high ridge, the tram line to the left in the Böfinger platforms and under the Hot web according Aalen to lead through

The extension of the tram line 1 from Söflingen to the Donauhalle to Böfingen went into operation on March 21, 2009. The 4.6 kilometer long new section is double-tracked along the entire length up to the new terminus Ostpreußenweg. The alignment was carried out in a lateral position at the same level as the road running parallel to it. The tram line is built along the exhibition grounds on the east side of Böfinger Straße. In the Hoher Steg area, the route crosses Böfinger Straße, passes under the Brenzbahn and then leads to Egertweg on the eastern side of Böfinger Steige. Immediately before the Egertweg the route changes to the western side of the Böfinger Steige and leads on this side to the Wendeschleife at the end of the new line in Böfingen. The two road crossings are secured by traffic lights .

The section along the Böfinger Steige has a gradient of 7.7 percent over a length of around 300 meters, making it one of the steepest tram routes in Germany.

The construction work included the creation of seven new stops and the redesign of the then final stop, the Donauhalle. In detail these were:

• Donauhalle (the existing loop was eliminated and was dismantled, the stop itself relocated about 150 meters to the east directly in front of the main entrance to the exhibition center)
• Eugen-Bolz-Strasse
• Alfred Delp Way
• Egertweg
• Haslacher way
• Thuringia way
• Mecklenburgweg
• East Prussia Way

As a replacement for the turning option at the Danube Hall, a new turning loop was set up in the exhibition area north of the prefabricated house center.

Construction of line 2 between Science City and Kuhberg

Car 53, one of the new Avenio M railcars acquired for line 2, during a test drive in the area of ​​the terminus "Ostpreußenweg"

After the extension of line 1 to Böfingen, the plans for an extension of the Ulm tram that had failed in the 1990s became relevant again. Specifically, a new route was created from the science city around the university on the Upper Eselsberg in the north to the Kuhberg in the south-west of the city. A cost-benefit analysis based on the so-called standardized assessment was carried out for this, the results of which were announced in March 2011. For the line branches to the Science City and on the Kuhberg it yielded results of more than 1.0 (this is a prerequisite for receiving important funding for the construction of the route), but values ​​lower than 1 for all three variants of the originally planned line branch to Ludwigsfeld , 0. The Ulm municipal council therefore decided on March 30, 2011 to push ahead with the planning of the new line 2, and on July 18, 2012 approved the draft and approval planning. On May 21, 2014, the state of Baden-Württemberg submitted an application to the federal government for funding of the planned construction costs of 155 million euros. The planning approval procedure was applied for separately from the responsible regional council of Tübingen for the northern and southern branches. The corresponding planning approval decision was issued on July 18, 2014 for the branch to the Kuhberg, followed by the decision for the branch to the Science City on January 22, 2015.

At the end of April 2015, the Federal Ministry of Transport granted a grant of around 65 million euros from the funds for municipal transport financing (GVFG) for the construction costs, which have now risen to 192 million euros, and the state of Baden-Württemberg granted a further 20 million euros. 60 percent of the total eligible costs are borne by the federal government and 20 percent each by the state and the city of Ulm.

Construction began on October 15, 2015, with both branches being built in parallel due to time constraints. It started with the local transport bridge over the railway facilities on Kienlesberg, which reached its final position at the beginning of October 2017. The simultaneous construction of both branches of the route resulted in numerous detours, road closures and temporary one-way street regulations, in some cases considerably impairing road traffic in the city area. The construction site situation was exacerbated by the structural redesign of the station forecourt with the construction of a new underground car park, which began during the construction of the new tram line.

On July 12, 2016 it was announced that in the area of ​​the Beyerstrasse and the Römerstrasse on the branch to the Kuhberg the sewer of the waste disposal company Ulm (EBU) had to be replaced as an unscheduled replacement, because when the canals were exposed it was found that the building fabric was actually much worse than was initially assumed. Because the canals are over 700 meters directly under the tracks in the area, they have been completely renewed to be on the safe side. This resulted in an extension of the construction time for the branch to the Kuhberg by four months.

In February 2017, around halfway through the construction work, it became known that the construction costs had increased by a further 24 million euros, of which the city of Ulm had to finance ten million. The Ulm City Council approved this unanimously.

On September 12, 2018, the 270-meter-long tram bridge from Neutorstraße across the railway to Kienlesberg was the largest single project in the context of the new tramway construction. The building was named " Kienlesbergbrücke " and can be used by pedestrians and cyclists in addition to the tram. The construction costs for the 2,500-ton, strikingly curved steel structure amounted to 20 million euros.

The opening ceremony of the new line took place on December 8th, 2018 as part of a day of action by the SWU, including free trips on Line 2. The actual start of line operations followed the day after the timetable change on December 9th. The originally planned step-by-step opening of the two branches from summer 2018 had been dropped in the meantime. Simultaneously with the commissioning of line 2, the bus routes were reorganized. For example, the previous line 3 was omitted. Its northern branch to the science city - the most frequented section of the Ulm network - was replaced by line 2, the southern branch to Wiblingen by the changed line 4.

The new line 2 is 9.3 kilometers long. The already existing section between the theater and Ehinger Tor now forms a trunk line shared with Line 1 . Line 2 serves 21 stops, 18 of which have been newly built and made barrier-free . In addition, the already existing “Theater” stop was relocated to the other side of the Theaterplatz intersection in order to make it usable for both tram lines. As a special feature, the additional repeater trips on line 2 in school and student traffic are served as scheduled with buses in the rail replacement service, which cannot serve the Martin-Luther-Kirche stop.

In the first days of operation of line 2, unexpected serious complications arose due to incorrect traffic light and switch switching, which in some cases led to serious delays and cancellations and also affected the rest of the local transport network, in particular tram line 1. For this reason, the operation of line 2 was temporarily limited to the route from Kuhberg to the Botanischer Garten stop and rail replacement traffic was set up to the Science Park II terminus . In addition, the frequency on line 2 has been reduced from the originally planned five minutes to ten minutes. The situation was also exacerbated by the fact that the passenger information displays were still missing at some of the newly built stops on line 2 or were not yet in operation, making it difficult to inform passengers.

Possible extensions

Possible extensions of line 1 for new buildings on the Kohlplatte

At the beginning of 2009, the construction of a new tram line from the science city via the main train station, the Neue Mitte Ulm, the Stadtmitte Neu-Ulm and the Wiley to Ludwigsfeld was discussed. A later extension of the tram to Senden was even considered. In the area of ​​Neue Mitte, a separate route for buses was set up during the new building, which the tram would also use.

In the area of ​​the Lettenwald development area in Böfingen, a route has been kept free for a tram in Otl-Aicher-Allee in central position since 2009; the junction would be on line 1 between the “Thüringenweg” and “Mecklenburgweg” stops.

An extension of line 2 to Science Park III is still considered possible, despite the shortening of the line, with the final stop in Science Park II being moved forward.

Further lines that were to be built to Wiblingen, Neu-Ulm / Ludwigsfeld and Neu-Ulm / Pfuhl, as envisaged in the five-line concept, will be kept open for later extensions. At the end of 2012, however, the construction of the tram lines to Ludwigsfeld and Pfuhl was postponed for an indefinite period due to unresolved financing options (federal funding of 80 percent of the costs is expected to be discontinued in 2020).

As part of the new development on the Kohlplatte in the west of Ulm (time horizon 2026–2030), an extension of Line 1 from Söflingen either via Jörg-Syrlin-Strasse or via Harthauser Strasse to the new development area is being investigated. In addition, a route was proposed for a branch from the existing route at Theodor-Heuss-Platz into Einsteinstrasse. The managing director of SWU Verkehr estimated the costs per tram kilometer in August 2018 at roughly 10 to 15 million euros.

As part of the update of the Science City master plan, the city of Blaustein approached Ulm to investigate a continuation of line 2 from the later end point in Science Park III further south to the Blaustein construction area on Upper Scheibenberg. The new residential area for around 3,000 residents and the city of Blaustein should be better connected to the Ulm science city.

In June 2019, the Ulm City Council voted to commission a feasibility study for the construction of a tram line to Ludwigsfeld after the Neu-Ulm municipal elections in 2020 . With the already safe change at the Neu-Ulm Rathausspitze (the previous mayor does not run again), it is hoped that the previous blockade against the tram will be abandoned. However, a decision about a line to Wiblingen was postponed, while detailed investigations were made for the extension of line 1 to the Kohlplatte. Talks with the city of Blaustein about an extension of line 2 are also to be continued.

Route network

Overview

From 1964 onwards, the Ulm tram only consisted of line 1 for 54 years. Its route crosses the city area as a cross-city line and has been running from the Söflingen district in the west through the city center to the Böfingen district in the north-east since 2009. Line 2, which opened on December 8, 2018, connects the Kuhberg in the south-west with the university and the science city on the Upper Eselsberg in the north.

line	course	Stops	length	Travel time
1	Söflingen - Böfingen East Prussia Way	22nd	10.2 kilometers	30 minutes
2	Kuhberg School Center - Science Park II	21st	9.3 kilometers	25 minutes

Line 1 (Söflingen - Böfingen)

Line 1 (Söflingen - Böfingen)

Legend 0.0 Söflingen 8 9 Wendeschleife Söflingen 0.3 Sonnenstrasse 8 9 11 0.5 Koenigstrasse 8 0.7 Magirusstrasse 1.0 Depot 1.1 Theodor-Heuss-Platz 1.5 Blücherstrasse Line 2 to the Kuhberg 2.0 Ehinger Tor 2 4 7 10 11 12 2.3 Underpass DB tracks (65 m) 2.7 Central station 2 5 6 7 10 3.1 Theater 2 5 6 7 10 Line 2 to the science city Track change (in the event of disruptions) 3.5 Justice building 4.0 Willy-Brandt-Platz 4 7 15 4.4 Staufenring Turning loop on the Danube Stadium 4.6 Danube Stadium 6 5.1 Friedrichsau residential complex 5.5 Danube Hall 6.3 In between turning loop Donauhalle 6.4 Brenzbahn underpass 7.0 Eugen-Bolz-Strasse 7.9 Alfred Delp Way 8.3 Egertweg 4 15 8.6 Haslacher way 9.2 Thuringia way 9.6 Mecklenburgweg Wendeschleife Böfingen 10.2 East Prussia Way

Line 1 begins in a single-track turning loop in the middle of the Söflingen district in the west of the urban area. The route initially runs in the street to the east and passes the stations “Sonnenstraße” and “Königstraße” along Söflinger Straße. Then the tram tracks separate from the lane for car traffic and from there lie on a special track in the middle of the street. Between the “Magirusstraße” and “Theodor-Heuss-Platz” stops, the access track to the SWU depot in Bauhoferstraße branches off from the route. The actual route of Line 1 turns right at Theodor-Heuss-Platz, which was called Westplatz until 2013, into Wagnerstrasse and continues to run eastward, separated from road traffic, in the middle of the street. At the level of the tax office, it meets line 2 coming from Beyerstraße at the Gleisdreieck there.

The common trunk line of lines 1 and 2 then crosses the Bismarckring ( Bundesstrasse 10 ) and reaches the “Ehinger Tor” stop. In addition to the main train station and the central bus station (ZOB), this station is one of the central hubs for local public transport in Ulm. There is a connection to the city bus routes 4, 7, 10, 11 and 12 as well as numerous other regional bus routes . After the “Ehinger Tor” stop, the tram tracks are routed on a separate track next to Neue Straße under the tracks of Ulm Central Station . They then run in the middle of the street along Friedrich-Ebert-Straße to the “Hauptbahnhof” stop between the station forecourt and the entrance to the “Bahnhofstraße” pedestrian zone. In this area, extensive construction work is currently taking place in connection with the redesign of the station forecourt and the station passage (with the construction of a new underground car park) and the construction of the new “Sedelhöfe” district. For this reason, the stop has been temporarily relocated from its original location towards the post office.

The tram tracks then follow the inner city ring onto Olgastraße to the “Theater” stop. This station was relocated from its former position in front of the Bundesbank branch to the other side of the Theaterplatz intersection in the course of the new construction of line 2 in order to make it usable for the new tram line. In the area of ​​the intersection, the northern branch of line 2 to the science city branches off at a track triangle. Line 1 continues along Olgastraße to the “Justizgebäude” stop. There the route leaves its own track and now runs again in the street space. After the intersection with Münchner Strasse / König-Wilhelm-Strasse, the tram tracks separate again from private traffic and run straight on on an asphalted route that is shared with the bus routes to the “Willy-Brandt-Platz” stop. The route then runs on its own track next to Friedrichsaustraße. After passing the station “Staufenring” you will find the intermediate turning loop Donaustadion at the intersection with Talfinger Straße. From the “Donaustadion” stop, the route runs on a track that is completely independent of the road. In addition to the zoo in Friedrichsau, the tram tracks then follow the course of Wielandstrasse. Until 2009, line 1 ended here in a counterclockwise turning loop at the “Donauhalle” stop. The turning loop was dismantled as part of the extension of line 1 to Böfingen, the stop was relocated further in the direction of the exhibition grounds and the route was led past the Danube Hall in an S-curve.

In the area of ​​the exhibition grounds, the track is located as a grass track to the east of Böfinger Straße. To the north of the model house settlement, a new turning loop was set up as a replacement for the no longer available turning loop at the Danube Hall. Then the tram tracks cross the Böfinger Straße, secured by a set of traffic lights, are passed under the Brenzbahn tracks and then follow the curved course of the Böfinger Steige on a separate track. You overcome a difference in altitude of around 90 meters and pass the stops “Eugen-Bolz-Straße” and “Alfred-Delp-Weg”. After the ascent, the route reaches the “Egertweg” stop - this is known as “Böfingen Süd” in the city bus network - and then changes from the eastern to the western side of the Böfinger Steige. From there, the alignment leads on this side of the road on a grass track to the turning loop at the final stop “Ostpreußenweg”, which is single-tracked in a counter-clockwise direction.

Line 2 (Kuhberg - Science Park II)

Line 2 (Kuhberg - Science Park II)

Legend 2.2 Kuhberg School Center 8 14 2.1 Kuhberg turning loop 1.8 Trade schools Königstrasse 8 1.4 Grimmelfinger way 1.0 Saarlandstrasse 0.5 Römerplatz 0.2 Martin Luther Church 0.0 Line 1 to Söflingen Ehinger Tor 1 4 7 10 11 12 Underpass DB tracks (65 m) Central station 1 5 6 7 10 Theater 1 5 6 7 10 0.0 Line 1 to Böfingen 0.3 Municipal utilities 5 6 7 10 0.6 Overpass DB tracks (270 m) 1.0 Underpass Bundesstrasse 10 1.2 Teacher Valley 5 6 1.8 Multscherschule 5 2.5 Eselsberg Hasenkopf 6 8 3.8 University South 5 8 13 4.2 Botanical Garden 5 13 4.3 Turning loop in the Botanical Garden 4.6 Science City Clinics 5 15 5.1 University West 5 15 5.5 Manfred-Börner-Strasse 5 15 5.9 University 5 15 6.6 Wendeschleife science city 6.7 Science Park II 15

The new line begins in the middle of the " Kuhberg School Center " in a combined bus and tram turning loop with two tracks in front of the Anna-Essinger-Gymnasium . Along Egginger Weg, the tracks up to and including the “Grimmelfinger Weg” stop are on a grass track to the north of the road. Through the Roman road, the route then continues in the street space in an easterly direction. At the end of the street, the route branches off to the north in order to continue on the outskirts along the Ehinger facility, where the new stop " Martin-Luther-Kirche " was built. At the intersection of Beyerstraße and Wagnerstraße, the Kuhberg line then meets the existing line of line 1 in a triangular track, which is used as a common trunk line to the “Theater” stop.

The branch to the science city branches off at the Theaterplatz intersection on Neutorstrasse. To the north it goes on its own track in the middle of the street via the stop “Stadtwerke” in the direction of the railway systems. Immediately in front of the existing road bridge ( Neutorbrücke ) over the tracks, the route branches off from the Neutorstraße road in order to cross the track area diagonally via a newly built tram and pedestrian bridge - the Kienlesbergbrücke . In Kienlesbergstrasse, where the “Lehrer Tal” stop is also located, line 2 runs along the street. In Mähringer Weg, the route in the area of ​​the “Multscherschule” station changes to its own turf track in the middle of the street. After another short section in the street area, a bus stop was built on the side at Hasenkopf, before the route follows the northern part of the Mähringer Weg, which is closed to private traffic, and tackles the ascent to the Upper Eselsberg in a curved arc. South of the university campus, the tram passes the “Universität Süd” stop, which was already in place before the new building, but has been completely rebuilt for the new line 2, before the route continues to the east on James-Franck-Ring. At the height of Helmholtzstrasse, it serves the “Botanischer Garten” stop (probably the highest tram stop in Germany), behind which a newly built roundabout follows, which trams coming from the city can also use to turn.

Trams that continue to the science city cross the roundabout at an angle and then run in the median of Albert-Einstein-Allee between the Bundeswehr hospital , university and college to the southwest. At another, newly built roundabout as an extension of Lise-Meitner-Straße, the trams turn north to continue in the middle to the new turning loop at "Science Park II", which is driven counterclockwise.

The tram is operated with 750 volts DC voltage. The power supply is provided by the existing “Ehinger Tor” substation on the Kuhberg branch and the “Saarlandstrasse” substation newly built for Line 2. The rectifier substations "Heigeleshof", "Lehrer Tal", "Hasenkopf", "Uni Süd", "Helmholtzstraße", "Uni West", "Hochschule Ulm" and "Science Park II" were built for the new line to the Upper Eselsberg.

Operational management

Traffic control center

The traffic control center of SWU Verkehr monitors and controls the entire fleet of vehicles on the tram and bus routes. The control center is manned by a dispatcher in three shifts daily from 3:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. Identified by use of a "computer-based operations control system" (RBL) computer system and more street cameras at important traffic junctions is the duty control center staff is always informed about the operation and possible delays. Using infrared sensors along the lines, each vehicle is located in real time with an accuracy of five meters and displayed as dynamic graphics on the control center's screens. In addition, every bus and tram is connected to the traffic control center via radio. This enables the dispatcher to identify any delays that arise early on and, if necessary, to intervene in the operational process. In the event of operational disruptions (e.g. traffic accidents in the area of ​​bus or tram lines, short-term road closures), the traffic control center, in consultation with the on-site traffic control employee, organizes diversions or sets up a replacement bus service.

In addition to its main task - the coordination of operations - the traffic control center also forwards reports of accidents and special incidents to the police, takes orders for the collective call taxi "MobilSAM" and organizes the return of lost property in the SWU's means of transport .

Depot

The depot of the SWU Verkehr including the central workshop is located on Bauhoferstraße in Weststadt. The access track branches off from the line 1 in the area of ​​Theodor-Heuss-Platz. Due to the new construction of Line 2, a new car hall in the north of the site was expanded for around eleven million euros, while the number of public buses located there was reduced from 61 to 49. For the tram, a turning track and a third access track were created to the workshop.

Passenger information system

Almost all stops of the Ulm tram are equipped with dynamic passenger information displays . The next four, and at transfer stops with many lines, the next eight departures at the relevant stop are displayed. The displays consist of a multi-line LED display on which the line number, the destination, the time until the expected departure (in the form of rewinding minutes) and the current time are shown in white letters on a black background. In addition, if necessary, additional information for the waiting passengers (e.g. about disruptions in the operational process) can be displayed as ticker .

In the vehicle interior, passenger information is provided via automatic loudspeaker announcements and fully graphic TFT monitors . The next stop along the route and, shortly before reaching the next stop, current connection information is displayed on the monitors. The monitors are also used for advertising purposes.

Clearance procedures

Signal A 1 ("close doors")

In order to increase security during the handling by the driver, platform images are transferred to the driver's area in the area of ​​the stops. In the case of a high number of passengers, the driver can activate a warning tone when the doors are closed or loudspeaker announcements such as “Please move up and clear the door areas” . At some stops (e.g. Willy-Brandt-Platz), shortly before the signal system clears the journey, the driver also receives the instruction to close the doors with the aid of the clearance signal A 1.

At peak times with a high number of passengers (e.g. in school traffic), tram drivers at busy stops (e.g. Hauptbahnhof, Ehinger Tor) are assisted by employees from the traffic control department who temporarily take over supervision of the platforms.

vehicles

High-floor car

Open seating car number 4 in 1985

Car 1, a GT4 (ex Stuttgart 671) manufactured by the Esslingen machine factory, at the main train station

Before the Second World War, the tram only procured two-axle vehicles. The first new acquisitions made after the war were 1,958 ten-axle Großraumwagen type GRW4. They were the first one-way wagons in Ulm, came from the Esslingen machine factory and were in stock until 1988.

From 1982 to 1984, the SWU procured three used articulated multiple units of the type GT4 from the Stuttgart trams , which previously operated on the Reutlingen tram and were never used in Stuttgart. These were then retired and scrapped after a relatively short period of use in the course of 1988.

From 1986 the traffic was carried out with 14 GT4s from the machine works Esslingen, which were also taken over from Stuttgart. The cars in Ulm were given the numbers 1 to 14. After their time in Ulm, the cars were handed over to the Arad tram in Romania in 2003 .

Five high-floor cars have been preserved as historical vehicles:

• Car 1: an open- plan car manufactured by the Esslingen machine factory and built in 1958 as the " Gold Ochsen -Bierbähnle"
• Car 10: an articulated multiple unit delivered to Stuttgart by the Esslingen machine works in 1964 and sold to Ulm in 1986
• Car 13: a MAN railcar built in 1906, which served as grinding car 22 between 1956 and 2017
• Car 16: a Lindner railcar from 1910, which is also on the road as the "Gold Ochsen-Bierbähnle"
• Car 65: a sidecar from Waggonfabrik Fuchs built in 1952, originally built with the number 1330 for Stuttgart, handed over to the Hanover Tram Museum in Wehmingen in 1972 , acquired from there in 2011

Another sidecar from Stuttgart with number 1602 (Fuchs, 1956) was acquired in 2015 by Eschach-Seifertshofen from the Swabian Farmers and Technology Museum for historical purposes, but has not yet been transported to Ulm. It is currently in the Stuttgart Tram Museum .

Low-floor car

Combino

The Combinos bear the names of Ulm personalities, such as carriage 46 "Johannes Kepler"

Combino near Ulm Central Station. The advertising limited to the center of the car is clearly visible.

2003 Siemens supplied eight low-floor cars of the type Combino NGT 6 UL. The five-part articulated multiple units were assigned the numbers 41 to 48. In order to be able to serve the extended line 1 to Böfingen at the usual rate, two more with the numbers 49 and 50 were procured in 2008. This option for two more vehicles was agreed when the first eight vehicles were purchased. A special feature of the vehicles is the names of well-known and deserving Ulm personalities:

number	Surname	Remarks
41	Albrecht Berblinger ( master tailor and inventor, "Schneider von Ulm")	delivered 03/2003
42	Agathe Streicher (doctor)	delivered 04/2003
43	Albert Einstein (physicist and Nobel Prize winner)	delivered 05/2003
44	Max Eyth (engineer and writer)	delivered 06/2003
45	Otl Aicher (sculptor and graphic artist)	delivered 06/2003
46	Johannes Kepler (astronomer and mathematician)	delivered 06/2003
47	Jörg Syrlin (wood sculptor, carpenter and entrepreneur)	delivered 07/2003
48	Sophie Scholl (student and resistance fighter during the Nazi era)	delivered 07/2003
49	Hans Scholl (student and resistance fighter during the National Socialist era)	delivered 12/2008
50	Resi Weglein (deported Jewish nurse in Theresienstadt concentration camp)	delivered 12/2008

All SWU Combinos also serve as advertising media, although only the three middle car bodies can be redesigned. The front and rear parts of the car have a uniform color scheme of the Stadtwerke, i.e. black-white-gray with a light blue nose and tailgate.

Avenio M

Avenio Car 51 in the SWU car hall

Line 2 also created an increased demand for vehicles, which is why SWU Verkehr put twelve low-floor trams out to tender internationally. Four out of eight competitors made it to the main proceedings, the decision was made in favor of the Combino successor model Avenio M from Siemens Transportation , which in the chosen configuration is the successor model of the Combino. The total investment for this amounted to around 31 million euros; the first vehicle of the new generation was transferred to the Wegberg-Wildenrath test center on December 1, 2017 . The vehicle was commissioned there, including all necessary test drives.

The delivery of the Avenio M began in spring 2018, analogous to the Combinos they were named as follows:

number	Surname	Remarks
51	Inge Aicher-Scholl (cultural worker, founder of the Ulm Adult Education Center)	delivered 01/2018; Maiden voyage on June 10, 2018
52	Lina Einstein (deported Jewish woman from Ulm, cousin of Albert Einstein)	delivered 02/2018
53	Anna Essinger (reform pedagogue)	delivered 03/2018
54	Felix Fabri (Dominican and writer, Ulm city chronicler)	delivered 04/2018
55	Agnes Schultheiß (pedagogue and city councilor)	delivered 06/2018
56	Hildegard Knef (actress and chanson singer)	delivered 08/2018; Demonstration vehicle at InnoTrans 2018
57	Conrad Dietrich Magirus (fire department pioneer, founder of the Ulm fire department)	delivered 08/2018
58	Kurt Schumacher (SPD politician)	delivered 09/2018
59	Heinrich Parler the Elder (master builder at Ulm Minster)	delivered 10/2018
60	Mathilde Planck (Member of Parliament)	delivered 11/2018
61	"Emmy" (Emilie) Wechßler (women's rights activist)	delivered 11/2018
62	Alfred Moos (merchant, deported Jew from Ulm)	delivered 11/2018
63	Johannes Scultetus (doctor, anatomist and surgeon)	Option vehicle
64	Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart (poet, organist, composer and journalist)	Option vehicle
65	Heinz Brenner (resistance fighter in the time of National Socialism)	Option vehicle
66	Barbara Kluntz (composer and music teacher)	Option vehicle
67	Heinrich von Wagner (former Lord Mayor of Ulm)	Option vehicle
68	Ulrich von Ensingen ( Ulrich Ensinger , master builder at Ulm Minster)	Option vehicle

The new vehicles are five-part multi-articulated low-floor wagons with a length of around 31.5 meters. Entry and exit are via two single doors at the front and rear of the car and via four double doors in car sections 2 and 4.

The new cars were given the same color scheme as the Combinos in black, white, gray and light blue.

As part of an open day in the depot, the Avenio was presented on April 21, 2018 and the railcar 51 was ceremoniously unveiled. Before the unveiling, a representative of the technical supervisory authority handed over the type approval to the SWU. This is the first time that the Avenio M has received type approval in a tram company worldwide. The maiden voyage took place on June 10, 2018. For this purpose, 100 tickets for ten euros each were available for the open house on April 21, 2018, and the SWU doubled the amount raised. The total amount was donated to the 100,000 campaign that helps people in need in the Ulm region. As part of this maiden voyage, the first Avenio M passenger deployment took place in Ulm. After the further training of the drivers, the new vehicle type has also been in regular service since summer 2018, initially on Line 1, since the new line was commissioned on August 8th and 9th. December 2018 also on line 2.

Service vehicles

The Ulm tram has two work vehicles available for special missions:

• Carriage 17: the new grinding and trailing railcars , the 2008 independent study of two built 1981 Düwag GT8 the tram Freiburg has arisen
• Car 21: a work car used as a snow plow, which was converted in 1964 from Car 8 delivered to Ulm by the Esslingen machine works in 1927

Trivia

• Until 1990, the Ulm tram was the smallest tram operator in the Federal Republic of Germany with a route length of around 5.6 kilometers . The Naumburg tram in Saxony-Anhalt received this “title” with reunification . Of the former ring line there, only a 2.9 kilometer long section is now in operation. The network in Ulm was extended to 10.2 kilometers in 2009 by the extension to Böfingen and in 2018 to 19.1 kilometers by the commissioning of line 2.
• Since the commissioning of line 2 between Kuhberg and Science City in December 2018, the newly created “ Botanischer Garten ” stop is supposedly the highest tram stop in Germany at 618.7 meters above sea ​​level . Although the altitude is correct according to information from the SWU, this "record" has not been officially confirmed. At 737 meters, the Freudenstadt Stadt station , served by trams from the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn , is significantly higher. However, the light rail vehicles do not legally operate there as trams, so the name tram stop is not applicable there.
• The climbs along the Böfinger Steige (line 1) and on the Eselsberg (line 2) are among the steepest track sections used by trams in Germany, but neither can claim the title of the steepest tram route for themselves. The trams in Neunkirchen (Saar) (11%), Augsburg (−11%), Remscheid (10.8%) and Mainz (9.5%) must or had to overcome significantly steeper routes. Contrary to the subjective perception of the passengers, the steepest track section of the Ulm tram is not on the Böfinger Steige or the ascent to the university, but on the main route between the “Ehinger Tor” and “Hauptbahnhof” stops. There the line, together with the “Neue Straße”, runs under the railroad tracks of the main train station and then passes a ramp with a gradient of 8.376% in the direction of travel “Ehinger Tor”. Only then does the ascent of line 1 to Böfingen follow. At the “Alfred-Delp-Weg” stop, the gradient in this section is around 7.7%.
• The execution of the section of line 2 along Albert-Einstein-Allee on the Upper Eselsberg is considered to be technically very demanding. In this area, a so-called contact line compensation system was installed over a length of 2.5 kilometers in order to protect the neighboring research facilities in the science city from the electromagnetic fields generated by the passing trams.

literature

• Daniel Riechers: 100 years of the Ulm / Neu-Ulm tram. Ulm 1997

Web links

Commons : Trams in Ulm  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Operator's website
• Information about the Ulm tram can be found at www.ulmereisenbahnen.de
• Network and timetable of the Ulm tram
• Information on the new construction of line 2

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Main State Archives Stuttgart . July 12, 1999.
2. ↑ THINGFO . December 2008 / Ulm edition, p. 6. Customer magazine. DING, Olgastr. 95, 89073 Ulm.
3. ^ Südwest-Presse March 25, 2011 ( Memento from August 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on April 20, 2011
4. ^ Südwest-Presse April 1, 2011 ( Memento from April 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
5. ↑ Baden-Württemberg: Expansion of the Ulm tram registered with the federal government. Eurailpress.de, May 22, 2014, accessed on May 23, 2014 . 
6. ↑ Line 2. Accessed on September 18, 2018 . 
7. ^ Ulm: Federal government supports construction of tram line 2. Eurailpress.de, April 20, 2015, accessed on April 26, 2015 . 
8. ^ State promotes the new line of tram line 2 in Ulm (press release). Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, April 26, 2015, accessed April 27, 2015 . 
9. ^ Südwest-Presse: Official start of construction work for Line 2 with the Minister of Transport , accessed on October 15, 2015.
10. ↑ Südwest Presse Online-Dienst GmbH: Construction sites: Ulm: Strongest traffic obstruction since construction began for Line 2 . In: swp.de . August 30, 2018 ( swp.de [accessed September 18, 2018]).
11. ^ Line 2. Accessed February 19, 2017 . 
12. ↑ Sebastian Mayr: The largest construction project on the new tram line 2 is finished . In: Swabian . ( schwaebische.de [accessed on September 18, 2018]).
13. ↑ Südwest Presse Online-Dienst GmbH: Line 2: Tram line 2 is rolling: Ulm residents celebrate in the tram. December 9, 2018, accessed December 10, 2018 . 
14. ↑ Sonja Koesling: Renaissance of the tram: traffic development plan for Ulm and Neu-Ulm. Accessed December 10, 2018 (German). 
15. ^ Donau-Iller-Nahverkehrsverbund GmbH: timetable change on December 9, 2018. This is new in 2019. Accessed on December 10, 2018 . 
16. ^ Südwest Presse Online-Dienst GmbH: Local traffic: Second operating day of line 2: Chaos in the timetable. December 11, 2018, accessed December 13, 2018 . 
17. ↑ Justification for the development plan “Wohnquartier am Lettenwald” 2009 (PDF; 1.2 MB), accessed on June 25, 2014
18. ↑ GD 070/15 (AZ TFL2 / Fi * 15) prepared on March 16, 2015 for the meeting on May 6, 2015, Annex 1 - Presentation, page 7
19. ↑ Where will the tram go in the future? In: Augsburger Allgemeine . April 28, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2017 . 
20. ↑ Chirin Kolb: Plans for a longer tram line 1. In: Südwest Presse . Retrieved August 24, 2018 . 
21. ↑ Advisory board should help shape the city. In: Südwest Presse . September 21, 2018, accessed October 7, 2018 . 
22. ↑ Master plan for the science city Ulm. Resolution proposal with attachments on the website of the city of Ulm. July 19, 2018, accessed October 7, 2018 . 
23. ↑ Withdrawal: Gerold Noerenberg resigns in 2020. In: Südwest Presse . May 16, 2019, accessed June 29, 2019 . 
24. ↑ City is checking new line 3 to Neu-Ulm - City councils vote for Tram Ulm. In: Südwest Presse . June 28, 2019, accessed June 29, 2019 . 
25. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Oliver Helmstädter: Ulm has the highest tram stop in Germany. Schwäbische Zeitung, January 15, 2019, accessed on January 20, 2019 . 
26. ↑ Planning approval decision of July 18, 2014 for the new construction of tram line 2 in Ulm. Section Ehinger Tor - Kuhberg. Tübingen regional council, accessed on January 9, 2016 . 
27. ↑ Planning approval decision of January 22, 2015 for the new construction of tram line 2 in Ulm. Science city section (from the Theater stop to Science Park II) with a turning loop near the Ehinger Tor stop. Tübingen regional council, accessed on January 9, 2016 . 
28. ↑ SWU Stadtwerke Ulm / Neu-Ulm GmbH: So that the traffic flows: Depot and traffic control center. Retrieved September 19, 2018 . 
29. ↑ Südwest Presse Online-Dienst GmbH: Ulm: SWU depot: green light for renovation . In: swp.de . March 1, 2014 ( swp.de [accessed September 18, 2018]).
30. ↑ Ulm: SWU orders Avenio trains - when the new route comes . Eurailpress of July 22, 2014.
31. ↑ https://www.strassenweb.de/augsburg/am-perlachberg-261289.html