Wannseebahn
The Wannseebahn is a Berlin suburban train from the former Potsdamer Bahnhof (near Potsdamer Platz) to Potsdam via Berlin-Schöneberg and Wannsee on the Großer Wannsee , after which the route was named. It is served by the S1 and S7 lines of the Berlin S-Bahn .
history
Old Wannseebahn
In the 1860s, the development of the area between Berlin and Potsdam began to establish villa colonies . The first quarters of this type were created at the instigation of Johann Anton Wilhelm Carstenn in Lichterfelde . In December 1872 the station Lichterfelde BM (today: Berlin-Lichterfelde West) went into operation. In the mid-1860s, the chairman of the supervisory board of the Berlin-Potsdam-Magdeburger Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (BPME), Wilhelm Conrad , acquired land near the Großer Wannsee , which he had parceled out a short time later . In 1869 several landowners, including Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia , suggested the construction of a branch line to develop the area at Wannsee and Schlachtensee . The single-track line was to unwind from the main line Berlin - Potsdam at Zehlendorf , get a stop in both Schlachtensee and Wannsee and re-join the main line at Kohlhasenbrück . The later double-track expansion should be taken into account during construction.
In February 1870 the BPME began with the preparatory work for the line, on May 31, 1871 the state approval was received, the next year the state police review of the construction plans followed. In the meantime, the company had decided to double-track the railway from the start. The double-track route through an area that was still undeveloped at the time quickly led to the nickname “Wahnsinnsbahn auf Conrad”. The BPME stated that a later installation of a separate pair of tracks between Berlin and Zehlendorf as well as Kohlhasenbrück and Potsdam would result in a four-track connection between the two cities, of which the line via Wannsee would be reserved exclusively for local traffic, while the main line would only be reserved for long-distance traffic. The BPME submitted corresponding applications for this as early as 1873. Since this requested the removal of crossings , the project exceeded the company's financial leeway, which is why the company initially postponed the project. During the construction of the Wannseebahn, there was a risk that the material transport for the high-rise structures would be difficult to make through the swampy and wooded terrain. Therefore, this step was only taken after the completion of a track, which created an inexpensive transport option. However, the work dragged on.
The official opening of the Wannseebahn as the first suburban line in Berlin took place on June 1, 1874. In addition to the intermediate stations Schlachtensee and Wannensee (from 1878: Wannsee), the Neubabelsberg station (today: Potsdam Griebnitzsee) was opened on the main line west of Kohlhasenbrück on the same day . The trains running on the Wannsee Railway stopped at all intermediate stations between Berlin and Potsdam. A few months after opening, the Friedenau stop north of Steglitz went into operation on November 1st, 1874 . The increasing number of trains meant that the track field of the Potsdamer Bahnhof in Berlin had to be rebuilt a few years later.
Between Wannsee and Kohlhasenbrück, separate long-distance tracks of the Wetzlar Railway were built next to the suburban tracks of the Wannsee Railway in 1879 . Originally the route was supposed to run north of the Wannseebahn close to the lake shore. However, this would have destroyed horticultural facilities. At the instigation of Prince Friedrich Karl, the new route was given a different route. It crosses the Wannseebahn in the area of the later Nikolassee railway station and then runs south next to its tracks. In 1880 the Berlin-Potsdam-Magdeburg Railway Company was nationalized.
New Wannseebahn
Suburban traffic between Berlin, Steglitz and Zehlendorf increased sharply in the 1880s as a result of the rapid population growth. In 1880 80 trains ran between Berlin and Steglitz, 76 of which continued to and from Zehlendorf. In 1886 there were 98 trains between Berlin and Steglitz, 96 of which went to and from Zehlendorf. As early as 1883, the Steglitz station was to be raised and the level crossing on Albrechtstrasse removed. Instead of the house and intermediate platforms, a central platform should be created for both directions of travel. Shortly after the Prussian House of Representatives rejected the relevant part of the Railway Loan Act, a serious accident occurred in the train station on September 2, 1883. A crowd waiting for the return trip to Berlin had opened the barrier to the intermediate platform on their own initiative and was caught by an express train in the opposite direction; 39 people died and six were seriously injured. Due to the accident, the construction project now enjoyed the highest priority and was approved the following year. The renovation of the station was largely completed in October 1885, and the lowering of Albrechtstraße dragged on until 1887.
In the Railway Loan Act of April 1, 1887, the funds for the four-track expansion of the Berlin - Zehlendorf line were approved. The further increase in traffic led to the approval of the four-track expansion between Neubabelsberg and Potsdam in 1888 and, a year later, to an increase in the budget for the section to Zehlendorf from 3.86 million marks by a further 1.94 million marks. At the same time, it was decided to expand the Südringspitzkehre . This also began at Potsdamer Bahnhof and ran east of the main line to the Berlin Ringbahn . The trains of the Ringbahn and Wannseebahn were given an upstream wing station with a central platform to the east and west of the long-distance station, and the western wing station , known as the Wannseebahnhof, also received a station hall . Both wing stations were connected to the long-distance train station and the adjacent streets via a tunnel. Since the en-route stations to Zehlendorf were intended to be used exclusively for suburban traffic, they were planned to be built on the suburban tracks. In addition to the existing train stations in Friedenau, Steglitz, Lichterfelde, Zehlendorf, Schlachtensee, Wannsee, Neubabelsberg, Nowawes-Neuendorf (today: Potsdam-Babelsberg) and Potsdam, the Großgörschenstraße train station was added. South of the Landwehr Canal , a depot was built with a locomotive shed for 20, later 24 machines and a total of 2700 meters of sidings.
The stations were designed according to uniform criteria: the platform length was 200 meters, the width of the central platforms varied between 10.2 and 13.2 meters depending on the importance of the station. In order to enable rapid passenger changes , the platform height up to and including Wannsee was set at 76 centimeters above the top of the rails , which was 44 centimeters below the car floor. One step was sufficient, and the interiors of the compartment cars could be seen from the platform so that the passengers could position themselves accordingly on the platform. The platforms were covered by wooden gable roofs covered with roofing felt, which rested on two rows of cast iron supports.
The Neubabelsberg - Potsdam section had not been expanded so extensively in view of the expected lower traffic. The route continued to be level, and individual level crossings continued to exist after the expansion. The platform height was 30 centimeters. In Potsdam, a side platform was created for the trains of the Wannseebahn, in contrast to the central platforms. Since there were streets lined with trees on both sides of the railway, the state railway would have had to fell the trees on the northern road if a northern pair of tracks had been laid. The criticism from the residents led to the fact that a new track was built on both sides of the existing line and the track axis of the long-distance railway was then pivoted to the south.
The Berlin - Zehlendorf line, known as the Neue Wannseebahn , and the Neubabelsberg - Potsdam suburban tracks went into operation on October 1, 1891. There were thus two separate pairs of tracks between Berlin and Potsdam for long-distance and suburban traffic. Simultaneously with the commissioning, the state railway introduced a reduced suburban tariff, which was valid on the city and ring railways as well as most radial routes. In addition to the Wannseebahn, it was also valid on the local trains on the main line that went beyond Potsdam to Werder (Havel) . The on-site tariff was already on the bill in the first month and increased the number of passengers on the Wannseebahn by over 50 percent. The trains were now tied through as a rule to Wannsee, occasionally only to Zehlendorf. As in Steglitz and Schlachtensee, there were sweeping systems there. In the summer of 1894 there was a train sequence of 20 minutes between Berlin and Wannsee; during rush hour , trains to Zehlendorf ran every ten minutes. From May 1, 1895, rush hour traffic between Berlin and Zehlendorf ran every five minutes. Between Wannsee and Potsdam, on the other hand, the trains only ran every hour, as the journey with the Magdeburg long-distance trains and the trains coming from the Stadtbahn were much faster. The latter also used the suburban tracks between Wannsee and Potsdam from 1891.
Electrical test operation
As early as 1891, the railroad director Bork of KED Berlin suggested the complete electrification of Berlin's city, ring and suburban railways. The director of the Union-Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft (UEG) Koss took up the topic again at a meeting of the Association of German Machine Engineers. He drew attention to the advantages over steam operation such as shorter travel times and the resulting higher train frequency. Despite criticism from the opponents, who believed an expansion of steam operation with more powerful locomotives possible, a trial operation with electric vehicles was decided in the spring.
The Wannseebahn, with its tracks separated from long-distance traffic and the sometimes dense occupancy of twelve trains per hour and direction, offered an ideal field of application. In addition, Siemens & Halske agreed to take over the electrical equipment and obtain the required electricity from the nearby Groß-Lichterfelde tram power station . Two compartment cars ( Berlin 2481 and 2482 ) were planned as locomotives , which were converted for this purpose in the Tempelhof main railway workshop . In between, eight more compartment cars should run, which were provided with the necessary electrical cables. The 750 volt direct current was supplied via a third rail attached to the side, which was swept from above. Old railroad tracks were used for the busbars , which were electrically connected to the joints with copper cables. The same applied to the running rails, which acted as return conductors. Starting from the center of the track, the power rails were attached 1570 millimeters laterally and 320 millimeters above the top edge of the rails . The conductor rails were mounted on insulators every four to five meters. The insulators sat on so-called wooden saddles that were screwed onto the sleepers. At the interruption points, the busbars were laid with a corresponding incline so that the pantographs could move up and down without any impact. In the stations, they were covered with boards to protect them from contact, but they were not used on the open route and steps were set up every 100 meters to cross the lines.
Siemens & Halske completed the electrical equipment for the line and railcars in April 1900, so that the first test runs could begin during the nightly breaks. After the driving switches and pantographs had been changed slightly, the first complete test drive could be undertaken on April 18, 1900. The trips undertaken in the following months were mainly used for staff training. On August 1, 1900, electric train operations began between the Wannsee station in Berlin and the Zehlendorf station. Initially, six trains ran daily, the number of which increased to 30 trains in the course of the trial. The time gained was initially needed for maintenance and testing work. The test train ran in the schedule of the steam trains, so that there was no reduction in travel time. In an initial report three months after the start of operations, Director Bork noted that it was received consistently positively. The passengers welcomed the gentler approach of the trains and the elimination of the noises and smoke nuisance associated with steam operation. For the staff, the operation was associated with significant relief. With regard to the power supply, the problem arose that the copper wires tended to break at the joints, which is why they were replaced by more massive copper cables. Bork continued to keep records of electricity consumption, vehicle wear and tear, wages and salaries for drivers, etc., and suggested that similar considerations should be made with a steam train on the same route. The trial operation ended on July 1, 1902. In technical terms, the project was convincing, which is why the Prussian State Railways decided to run another trial operation on the Lichterfeld suburban railway . This envisaged complete electrification of the suburban trains.
Development in the early 20th century
Several new stations were opened at the beginning of the 20th century. This was preceded by the development of the southern Grunewald by various terrestrial companies. In order to attract investors, the new train stations should go into operation as soon as possible after the site has been developed. Since only a small number of passengers was expected at this stage, the companies had to finance the stations themselves. At the same time, the stations with their representative reception buildings should serve as figureheads. On May 1, 1902, the Nikolassee station went into operation. Two years later, Zehlendorf Beerenstrasse station followed (since 1987: Mexikoplatz). This was renamed Zehlendorf West on December 15, 1911, and Zehlendorf train station was also given the addition of Mitte . The botanical garden between Lichterfelde and Steglitz went into operation on May 1, 1909 . Further stops on Feldstrasse in Steglitz and at the level of the Ringbahn were initially not implemented, as was a possible relocation of the Friedenau train station. In order to increase the number of trains available, the Royal Railway Directorate Berlin (KED Berlin) had the distance between the blocks shortened by putting additional block sections into operation , so that from 1906 a three-minute cycle could be run between Berlin and Zehlendorf. In fact, KED Berlin condensed the clock sequence to four minutes at peak times.
In order to further increase the efficiency of the railway, KED Berlin introduced individual high-speed suburban trains from May 1, 1903. These drove through between Berlin and Zehlendorf without stopping and reduced the travel time on this section to 15 minutes. Since they impaired the running of the other suburban trains and a higher cycle sequence was not possible, they were discontinued on May 1, 1907. On December 16, 1907, the KED reintroduced express transport. The trains initially only ran in the direction of Berlin and switched to the main line via the freight tracks at Zehlendorf station, where a temporary side platform was built. From October 1, 1909, trains in the opposite direction also ran after a second platform on the Berlin - Potsdam track went into operation. Since the trains were primarily used by the local wealthy population, the name "banker trains" quickly became established. As the number of passengers continued to rise by up to ten percent a year, KED Berlin considered moving some of the Wannsee trains permanently to the main line. For this purpose, they had an overpass built at the Zehlendorf station, with which the trains in the city could cross both long-distance tracks. In the opposite direction, a freight track was prepared as a connecting track, it crossed the track of the Wannsee Railway in the direction of Wannsee. After the completion of the overpass on August 3, 1911, the construction of a second central platform in Zehlendorf began, which was presumably handed over to its intended use in the spring of 1914. At first it was only a stop for the banker trains, the suburban trains to Werder passed through.
The suburban trains ran in mixed traffic with the local freight trains between Wannsee and Zehlendorf. In Schlachtensee there was an opportunity to overtake, but the tracks were too short for them to be able to use all freight trains of the usual train lengths at the time. In order to remove the bottleneck, it was decided in 1907 to build a separate track to Schlachtensee, which went into operation on February 1, 1909. On September 1, 1934, the track was extended to Zehlendorf, and with the expansion, the last level crossings on the old Wannseebahn were closed.
Another suburban platform went into operation in Potsdam in 1903, making separate platforms available for the Stadtbahn and Wannsee trains. In 1912, the platform height on the section to Potsdam was raised to 76 centimeters. By 1915, the tracks in the Nowawes area were raised. In addition, minor work on the individual stations such as the renewal of the signal boxes and the construction of track changes were tackled. In 1913 the Wannseebahn reached its current high with 42.3 million passengers.
The Greater Berlin Act , which came into force on October 1, 1920 , incorporated several suburbs into Berlin, thereby shifting the city limits to Kohlhasenbrück. The train stations now in Berlin were gradually given the Berlin intent . While the Wannsee - Potsdam section was included in the electrification program of the Deutsche Reichsbahn and was to be served by the Stadtbahn , the Wannsee station - Wannsee section was to continue to be served by steam trains. The Wannsee station had to be rebuilt for the introduction of electrical operation, the Wannsee railway tracks now ended in the middle between the two tracks of the extended light rail on two central platforms operated in the direction of operation . On June 11, 1928 the connection ( Erkner - Stadtbahn -) Wannsee - Potsdam was switched to electrical operation, on October 7, 1928 the last steam trains on the section were withdrawn. Likewise, from now on, the Wannsee Railway trains were only run as far as Wannsee station.
electrification
As a result of this development, the Wannseebahn fell behind in the 1920s. In addition to the faster light rail - known as the "S-Bahn" from December 1, 1930 - there were other points that led to a significant decrease in traffic. This was once the bad switch to the ring train , which could only be made between the stations Großgörschenstraße and Schöneberg via a 400 meter long footpath between the tracks under the Langenscheidt bridge - the so-called "Hammelgang". Added to this was the relatively unfavorable location of the Wannseebahnhof in relation to the Berlin city center, as the Friedrichstraße station was much more central. Other passengers migrated to the subway , which was extended in 1929 from Thielplatz to Krumme Lanke not far from the Zehlendorf West train station. The Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe also planned the construction of an express tram from Zehlendorf to Potsdam. As a result, passenger numbers fell to 31.5 million by 1929.
In autumn 1927, the Berlin Reichsbahndirektion presented the first plans for the electrification of the Wannsee Railway to the headquarters of the Deutsche Reichsbahn. With a view to the planned north-south S-Bahn tunnel , the railway systems at the intersection of the Wannseebahn, Ringbahn and Lichterfelder Vorortbahn should be redesigned in order to improve the transfer relationships between the three lines. The plans provided for the Wannsee railway tracks to be swiveled into the Ebersstrasse ring station, after which the route should run along the Südringpitzkehre . Something similar was planned for the Papestrasse station at the intersection of the Ringbahn and Lichterfeld suburban railway. Schöneberg train station was to have two platforms for one-way operation. The Potsdam Ringbahnhof was intended as the common terminus, while the Wannsee station, which is to be abandoned, would have had other tasks. The banker's trains were to remain unaffected by all measures with the exception of the swiveling of the long-distance tracks to the west. In addition, two new stops at Feldstrasse and Zehlendorf Ost were planned for the expansion of the Wannseebahn . In 1930, the RBD Berlin revised the design fundamentally and presented three variants for the renovation in the Schöneberg area, of which the first two provided for a tower station at the intersection of the Wannsee and Ringbahn . On November 25, 1931, the General Director of the Deutsche Reichsbahn, Julius Dorpmüller , informed RBD Berlin that the Board of Directors had decided on the first draft. In addition to the tower station, the previous Schöneberg station would not have been affected by the renovation measures, which appeared to be the most cost-effective overall. Further measures included the renewal of the superstructure , the electrification of the long-distance tracks from Potsdamer Bahnhof - Zehlendorf Mitte and the construction of a S-Bahn depot at Wannsee station. From then on, the depot on the Landwehr Canal was used to park passenger coaches. The extension of the Wannsee - Schlachtensee freight line to Zehlendorf Mitte should be prepared. In addition, the sweeping systems had to be converted for electrical operation and the platforms had to be raised from 76 to 96 centimeters. The platform tracks of the Potsdam long-distance train station, where long-distance trains stopped in addition to the banker trains, were raised to 86 centimeters. Last but not least, the Ebersstrasse substation had to be expanded and an additional substation built in Lichterfelde West.
On March 1, 1933, the tower station Schöneberg was opened. The previous ring station Ebersstrasse was abandoned at the same time, the station building has since marked the west exit of Schöneberg station. Further west went to the Schoneberg main street of the Ring Station Innsbrucker place in operation. In the run-up to this, the Schöneberg ring station was given the name Kolonnenstrasse on December 1, 1932 . The Feldstrasse and Zehlendorf stops, designed according to plans by Richard Brademann , were named Feuerbachstrasse and Sundgauer Strasse at the request of the City of Berlin .
From May 15, 1933, the 18.61-kilometer route was converted to electric operation. The Wannsee S-Bw was put into operation four weeks earlier on April 15, 1933. At the same time, the Feuerbachstrasse S-Bahn station went into operation. The Sundgauer Straße S-Bahn station followed on July 1, 1934, as did the Zehlendorf Mitte - Schlachtensee freight track. The Reichsbahn ordered 51 quarter trains of the later ET / EB 165 8 series, known as the Wannseebahn type, for S-Bahn operations . The travel time of the Wannseebahn trains on the route between Wannseebahnhof and Wannsee decreased from 36 to 29 minutes as a result of electrification, and that of the banking trains between Potsdamer Bahnhof and Zehlendorf Mitte from 15 to eleven minutes. After electrification, the train sequence on the Wannseebahn was still ten minutes during the day. In rush hour traffic this was compressed to five minutes as far as Zehlendorf, occasionally also to Wannsee. The banker trains ran every 20 minutes in the morning and then every hour during the day. From 1936 onwards, S-Bahn trains of the later ET / EB 125 series with a speed of 120 km / h , a total of 18 quarter trains , were in use. The costs for the measures amounted to around 23 million marks .
No further modernization took place at the same time, not directly related to the electrification of the Wannseebahn. In 1931/32 a new reception building went into operation at the Neubabelsberg station , and in 1936 the Reichsbahn opened a pavilion-like entrance on the S-Bahn platform. Richard Brademann was responsible for both designs. Various bridges along the route were also renewed in consultation with the city of Berlin. Between 1936 and 1938, the stations equipped with freight transport systems received the Berlin intent , this affected the Wannsee, Steglitz, Lichterfelde West and Zehlendorf Mitte stations (the addition Mitte was omitted). After the merger of the municipalities of Neubabelsberg and Nowawes to form the municipality of Babelsberg, the stations Neubabelsberg and Nowawes were given the names Babelsberg Ufastadt and Babelsberg on April 1, 1938 .
The construction of the north-south S-Bahn tunnel led to further construction work at the northern end of the line. In order to thread into the tunnel, the Wannsee railway tracks had to be swiveled to the east side of the main line, for which a short tunnel was created. The Großgörschenstraße station was also relocated to the east and moved to Yorckstraße . The "mutton walk" was omitted. The first plans provided for a four-track S-Bahn station Großgörschenstraße with one-way operation between the Wannsee and Ringzügen. Since the Kolonnenstrasse S-Bahn station was also to be expanded to four tracks, there was a slimmed-down variant on Großgörschenstrasse with only one central platform for the Wannseebahn. The trains ran to the Wannsee station until October 6, 1939, after which it was closed. The systems were then used for long-distance traffic, the platform tracks were used to park passenger cars. On the following two days, the switch connections between the lines were made, and from October 9, 1939, the Wannsee railway trains ran through the tunnel to Oranienburg . The section north of Schöneberg station has been part of the route through the north-south tunnel since the renovation work . After separate suburban tracks had also been built on the Wetzlarer Bahn through the Grunewald by 1937, the section between Wannsee and Potsdam is no longer part of the Wannseebahn, but continues to run the Berlin Stadtbahn .
The plans drawn up from 1937 to transform Berlin into the world capital Germania envisaged comparatively minor changes for the Wannseebahn itself. The link between the banker trains, now referred to as the long-distance S-Bahn or FS-Bahn, and the normal S-Bahn trains in Zehlendorf should be in one-way operation. The FS-Bahn was to run as a normal S-Bahn from Königs Wusterhausen via the Görlitzer Bahn and Görlitzer Bahnhof via an east-west S-Bahn to the Anhalter Bahnhof tunnel station and then switch to the former long-distance tracks. The above-ground facilities of the Potsdamer and Anhalter Bahnhofs should give way to the construction measures. The ten-track Hornstrasse tunnel station was to be built at the intersection of the planned north-south axis with the general train . The pair of suburban tracks was to be extended from Potsdam to Werder, and a separate S-Bahn line parallel to the main line between Zehlendorf and Babelsberg Ufastadt was planned.
World War II and post-war period
During the Second World War , the theoretical timetable on the Wannseebahn remained almost constant, and the banker trains are said to have run every 20 minutes until February 18, 1945. By April 1945 at the latest, the Potsdamer Bahnhof had been so badly damaged by air raids that the train service had to be stopped. The route was interrupted several times due to the extensive or complete destruction of the bridges over the Landwehr and Teltow canals. On May 2, 1945, the north-south S-Bahn tunnel was blown up at the level of the Landwehr Canal, flooding the tunnel and large parts of the underground network . After the capitulation, the track was dismantled for reparation purposes; the Wannseebahn remained double-tracked between Berlin and Wannsee, there was one track from Wannsee to the Teltow Canal, behind it to Potsdam both tracks were removed for the time being.
From June 6, 1945, a pair of trains ran morning and evening on the Schöneberg - Wannsee section. A short time later, a shuttle service was carried out between Wannsee and Großgörschenstrasse with four pairs of trains a day, and from July 21, twelve pairs of trains. As a result of the flooded tunnel, the Reichsbahn switched to establishing a connection from Großgörschenstrasse to the Südringpitzkehre, which was abandoned in 1944, so that the Wannsee railway trains could travel to the Potsdam Ringbahnhof from August 6th. At the same time, double-track operation between Großgörschenstraße and Wannsee was resumed and the train sequence on the entire route was reduced to 20 minutes. From September 6, 1945, a ten-minute cycle was also offered between the Potsdam Ringbahnhof and Zehlendorf at peak times. The banker train traffic, however, was not resumed. The trains were adapted to the other series and the power rails were used to rebuild the completely dismantled suburban line Berlin - Erkner . From Wannsee there was S-Bahn traffic to Teltow again from February 16, 1946, but a change had to be made at the Teltow Canal, for which emergency platforms were built on both sides of the canal. A pedestrian bridge formed the crossing. Due to the lack of crossing tracks, the Potsdam section was only passable at 30-minute intervals until May 12, 1946, and then every 20 minutes. From July 7, 1946, through traffic was again possible. In downtown Berlin, the S-Bahn trains ran from July 27, 1946 through the north-south S-Bahn tunnel to Friedrichstrasse station , and from November 16, 1947 to the Stettiner station . From June 6, 1948, the northern end point was in Birkenwerder , where there was a shuttle connection to Oranienburg. Continuous traffic to Oranienburg resumed from February 8, 1950.
The Wannseebahn in the divided city
The 1961 timetable provided for train group 1 from Wannsee to Oranienburg a continuous 20-minute cycle, amplifier trips between Wilhelmsruh and Wannsee condensed this to a ten-minute cycle during the day. With the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, traffic on the Wannsee – Frohnau section had to be reduced, although no stops were made at the East Berlin tunnel stations (with the exception of Friedrichstrasse station as a border crossing). The amplifiers were reduced to the section Anhalter Bahnhof - Wannsee. The subsequent boycott of the S-Bahn resulted in a drastic drop in passengers of around four fifths. Since the fare income declined and employment at the Reichsbahn in West Berlin was frowned upon, the latter converted the routes to one-man operation from 1967 onwards.
After the strike of the West Berlin employees of the Deutsche Reichsbahn in September 1980, passenger services on the Wannsee Railway were not resumed. However, it was still used for operating trips between the north-south tunnel and the Wannsee S-Bahn depot, in order to be able to transfer trains from the Lichtenrade / Lichterfelde Süd - Heiligensee routes . In order to speed up the empty runs, the signals were made invalid.
On January 9, 1984, the operation of the S-Bahn in the western part of Berlin was handed over by the Deutsche Reichsbahn to the Berlin Senate , which entrusted the BVG with operational management. The population demanded that passenger services on the Wannseebahn also be resumed. This required extensive work, especially at the train stations. On February 1, 1985, a few weeks before the election to the Berlin House of Representatives on March 10, 1985 , the route was reopened. The S1 line ran between Wannsee and Anhalter Bahnhof. Line S2 coming from Lichtenrade first ended at Anhalter Bahnhof in January 1984, but was extended to Gesundbrunnen in May of the same year and then to Frohnau in autumn.
Due to renovation work on the railway bridge over Albrechtstrasse, the S-Bahn tracks in the area of Steglitz station were swiveled over the mainline line and temporary platforms were built between the end of 1988 and mid-1990 .
Development since 1989
After the fall of the Berlin Wall , the S1 line from Wannsee to Oranienburg has been used since 1992 . In the same year, the S-Bahn traffic between Wannsee and Potsdam was resumed, which is now served by the S7 line.
Between 1999 and 2003, the line between Anhalter Bahnhof and Wannsee was completely renovated in several construction phases. By installing new signaling technology and an electronic interlocking , a five-minute cycle is now possible on this section of the route. The maximum line speed has been increased from 80 km / h to 100 km / h.
Today the Wannseebahn is again an important connection from the southwest residential areas to Berlin-Mitte as well as to the parliament and government district . Demand has risen steadily, so that in addition to the 10-minute basic cycle, additional repeater trains have been used on the southern part of the S1 line since the beginning of the 2000s, but not from 2009 to 2016 due to the operational restrictions on the Berlin S-Bahn were offered.
The largely single-track route between Berlin-Wannsee and Potsdam Hauptbahnhof is prone to delays. For this reason, a section of the route from Potsdam Central Station in the direction of Babelsberg, around 700 meters long, was expanded to double tracks and the sweeping track at Potsdam Central Station was moved from the east to the west. The total costs were estimated at around 6.6 million euros. The expanded track system went into operation on March 25, 2019, together with the ZBS train control system newly installed in the Berlin-Wannsee section (exclusively) to Potsdam Hauptbahnhof .
literature
- The new suburban railway Berlin – Potsdam (Wannseebahn) and the reconstruction of the Potsdam train station in Berlin . In: Centralblatt der Bauverwaltung . No. 39 . Berlin September 26, 1891, p. 378-379 ( zlb.de [PDF]).
- The construction of the Wannseebahn and the redesign of the Potsdamer Bahnhof in Berlin . Part 1. In: Zeitschrift für Bauwesen . Issue 7–9, 1893, Col. 421-440 ( zlb.de [PDF]).
- The construction of the Wannseebahn and the redesign of the Potsdamer Bahnhof in Berlin . Part 2. In: Zeitschrift für Bauwesen . Issue 10-12, 1893, Col. 539-556 ( zlb.de [PDF]).
- Udo Dittfurth, Michael Braun: The electric Wannseebahn. Time travel with the Berlin S-Bahn through Schöneberg, Steglitz and Zehlendorf . Ed .: Berlin S-Bahn Museum. Verlag GVE, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-89218-085-7 .
- Peter Bley: 175 years of the Berlin-Potsdam Railway. 175 years of the railroad in Prussia . VBN Verlag B. Neddermeyer, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-941712-29-4 .
Web links
- The Wannseebahn on stadtschnellbahn.de
- The Wannseebahn on berliner-bahnen.de
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Prussian Minister of Public Works (ed.): Berlin and his railways 1846–1896 . Verlag Ästhetik und Kommunikation, Berlin 1982, p. 159 (first edition: Julius Springer Verlag, Berlin 1896).
- ↑ a b c Peter Bley: 175 years of the Berlin-Potsdam Railway. 175 years of the railroad in Prussia . VBN Verlag B. Neddermeyer, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-941712-29-4 , p. 62-66 .
- ^ Stefan Handke: 150 years of the Berlin-Potsdam railway . In: Berliner Verkehrsblätter . Volume 9, 1988, pp. 235-255 .
- ↑ a b c d e Reinhard Demps, Peer Hauschild: "Alte Wannseebahn" and "Neue Wannseebahn" (part 1) . In: Verkehrsgeschichtliche Blätter . Volume 6, 1988, pp. 122-126 .
- ↑ Peter Bley: 175 years of the Berlin-Potsdam Railway. 175 years of the railroad in Prussia . VBN Verlag B. Neddermeyer, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-941712-29-4 , p. 70-72 .
- ↑ Peter Bley: 175 years of the Berlin-Potsdam Railway. 175 years of the railroad in Prussia . VBN Verlag B. Neddermeyer, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-941712-29-4 , p. 75-81 .
- ↑ a b c d Peter Bley: 175 years of the Berlin-Potsdam Railway. 175 years of the railroad in Prussia . VBN Verlag B. Neddermeyer, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-941712-29-4 , p. 82-102 .
- ^ The new Berlin – Potsdam suburban railway (Wannseebahn) and the renovation of the Potsdamer Bahnhof in Berlin . In: Centralblatt der Bauverwaltung . No. 39 , September 26, 1891, p. 378-379 ( zlb.de [PDF]).
- ↑ a b c Bernd Neddermeyer: The electrical operation on the Berlin S-Bahn. Volume 1: Steam or Electricity? 1900 to 1927 . VBN Verlag B. Neddermeyer, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-933254-05-1 , p. 19-25 .
- ↑ a b Dietrich Kutschik: Electric traction on the Wannseebahn. The trial operation from 1900 to 1902 . In: Verkehrsgeschichtliche Blätter e. V. (Ed.): Electricity instead of steam! 75 years of the Berlin S-Bahn. The great time of electrification . Verlag GVE, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-89218-275-2 , p. 7-10 .
- ↑ a b c d Peter Bley: 175 years of the Berlin-Potsdam Railway. 175 years of the railroad in Prussia . VBN Verlag B. Neddermeyer, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-941712-29-4 , p. 103-124 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Peter Bley: 175 years of the Berlin-Potsdam Railway. 175 years of the railroad in Prussia . VBN Verlag B. Neddermeyer, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-941712-29-4 , p. 125-157 .
- ↑ Udo Dittfurth, Michael Braun: The electric Wannseebahn. Time travel with the Berlin S-Bahn through Schöneberg, Steglitz and Zehlendorf . Ed .: Berlin S-Bahn Museum. Verlag GVE, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-89218-085-7 , p. 38-48 .
- ↑ a b Wolfgang Kiebert: The electrical operation on the Berlin S-Bahn. Volume 2.2: The Great Electrification - 1931 to 1936 . VBN Verlag B. Neddermeyer, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-933254-24-5 , p. 4-7 .
- ↑ Wolfgang Kiebert: The electrical operation on the Berlin S-Bahn. Volume 2.2: The Great Electrification - 1931 to 1936 . VBN Verlag B. Neddermeyer, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-933254-24-5 , p. 8-9 .
- ↑ a b Udo Dittfurth, Michael Braun: The electric Wannseebahn. Time travel with the Berlin S-Bahn through Schöneberg, Steglitz and Zehlendorf . Ed .: Berlin S-Bahn Museum. Verlag GVE, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-89218-085-7 , p. 49-66 .
- ↑ a b Wolfgang Kiebert: The electrical operation on the Berlin S-Bahn. Volume 2.2: The Great Electrification - 1931 to 1936 . VBN Verlag B. Neddermeyer, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-933254-24-5 , p. 12-25 .
- ↑ Wolfgang Kiebert: The electrical operation on the Berlin S-Bahn. Volume 3: Ten Dramatic Years - 1937 to 1946 . VBN Verlag B. Neddermeyer, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-933254-20-7 , p. 21-28 .
- ↑ a b c Udo Dittfurth, Michael Braun: The electric Wannseebahn. Time travel with the Berlin S-Bahn through Schöneberg, Steglitz and Zehlendorf . Ed .: Berlin S-Bahn Museum. Verlag GVE, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-89218-085-7 , p. 72-81 .
- ^ Bernd Kuhlmann: Railway megalomania in Berlin. The plans from 1933 to 1945 and their implementation . 2nd Edition. Verlag GVE, Berlin 2008, ISBN 3-89218-093-8 , p. 64-79 .
- ^ A b Peter Bley: 175 Years of the Berlin-Potsdam Railway. 175 years of the railroad in Prussia . VBN Verlag B. Neddermeyer, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-941712-29-4 , p. 158-165 .
- ↑ Wolfgang Kiebert: The electrical operation on the Berlin S-Bahn. Volume 3: Ten Dramatic Years - 1937 to 1946 . VBN Verlag B. Neddermeyer, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-933254-20-7 , p. 113-121 .
- ↑ a b Udo Dittfurth, Michael Braun: The electric Wannseebahn. Time travel with the Berlin S-Bahn through Schöneberg, Steglitz and Zehlendorf . Ed .: Berlin S-Bahn Museum. Verlag GVE, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-89218-085-7 , p. 94-103 .
- ↑ Udo Dittfurth, Michael Braun: The electric Wannseebahn. Time travel with the Berlin S-Bahn through Schöneberg, Steglitz and Zehlendorf . Ed .: Berlin S-Bahn Museum. Verlag GVE, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-89218-085-7 , p. 104-109 .
- ↑ Peter Bley: 175 years of the Berlin-Potsdam Railway. 175 years of the railroad in Prussia . VBN Verlag B. Neddermeyer, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-941712-29-4 , p. 206-207 .
- ↑ 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall - completion of the renovation of the S1. (No longer available online.) In: s-bahn-berlin.de. S-Bahn Berlin GmbH, February 8, 2010, formerly in the original ; Retrieved August 2, 2012 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Ehrenfried Welzer: Renovation 1999 to 2003 . In: Berlin S-Bahn Museum (ed.): The electric Wannseebahn. Time travel with the Berlin S-Bahn through Schöneberg, Steglitz and Zehlendorf . Verlag GVE, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-89218-085-7 , p. 113 .
- ^ Potsdam: S-Bahn should be faster. Land finances planning for the railway. In: mil.brandenburg.de. Ministry of Infrastructure and Agriculture, May 5, 2014, accessed May 11, 2014 .
- ↑ News in brief - S-Bahn . In: Berliner Verkehrsblätter . No. 5 , 2019, p. 96 .
