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FRANKFURT
am Main
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| Hessen . Germany |
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[ UrbanRail.Net ] [ Europe ] [ America ] [ Asia ] [ Africa ] [ News ] [ Books ] [ Links ] |
|
FRANKFURT
am Main
|
| Hessen . Germany |
Click here to expand to full size!
| System and History | |
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The Frankfurt "U-Bahn" is not a real metro, but rather a typical German Stadtbahn (like that of Stuttgart, Dortmund or Hanover), i.e. some sections in the city centre were built to full metro standards, whereas others along outer sections have level crossings, in the case of line U5 even some on-street running. The present network has a total length of 58.4 km and comprises three trunk routes. Besides the Stadtbahn and the S-Bahn, Frankfurt boasts an extensive tramway network with a total length of almost 60 km. |
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| Route A | Lines U1/U2/U3 - 31.1 km |
| The oldest underground route (opened in 1968 between Nordwestzentrum and Hauptwache) links the city centre to the northern suburbs. Lines U2 (Bad Homburg) and U3 (Oberursel) continue over former interurban tracks to the surrounding municipalities. The southern section of the line between Südbahnhof (South Railway Station) and Miquel-/Adickesallee trains run underground, but from Dornbusch the three lines run at grade with several level crossings. On line U1, there is another underground section around Nordwestzentrum station. The line was extended to the southern shore of the Main river in 1984. A branch from Niederursel to Riedberg, and from there to Kalbach on line U2 is under construction. | |
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| Route B | Lines U4/U5 - 14.1 km |
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The second trunk route was built as a tram tunnel between Konstablerwache and Hauptbahnhof (Central Station) and opened in 1974. In 1980 the line reached Seckbacher Landstraße and started to operate as a full U-Bahn, i.e. competely underground and entirely grade-separated. Construction for the 1.7 km long extension west to Bockenheimer Warte (2 stops) started in 1989 and after long delays it finally entered service on 10 Feb 2001. Eventually this line may be extended to connect to U1 at Ginnheim. Line U5 runs rather like a tram from Konstablerwache (underground station) to Preungesheim, and since January 1998 it has been sharing the U4 tracks between Konstablerwache and Hauptbahnhof. Between Musterschule and Marbachweg, stops have not yet been equipped with high-level platforms, and therefore line U5 may eventually be converted into a low-floor tram line. On 15 June 2008, line U4 was extended from Seckbacher Landstraße to Schäfflestraße, using the tracks that link the depot from both line U4 and line U7. This extension was a trial service for 6 months, with about every second train continuing to Schäfflestraße. Since 14 Dec 2008, every other train on line U4 has been running through to Enkheim sharing route with line U7, now as a permanent service. |
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| Route C | Lines U6/U7 - 15.1 km |
| This is the newest of the Frankfurt Stadtbahn lines. The central section runs in tunnel and was opened in 1986 to Zoo station in the east. Since 1992 U7 trains have continued to Enkheim. Since 30 May 1999, U6 trains have had the eastern terminus at Ostbahnhof (East Railway Station). The branch to Enkheim, as well as the two western legs, is a typical Stadtbahn route on a separate right-of-way, but with level crossings. All stops except Fischstein have high-level platforms. | |
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| S-Bahn | |
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Like in many other German cities, the S-Bahn run by DB (Deutsche Bahn) is an important means of transport also within the city. Therefore a new S-Bahn tunnel was built in the 1980s/90s through the city centre sharing tunnel but not tracks with U6/U7 between Hauptwache and Konstablerwache. Find out more about the S-Bahn system here. |
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Books |
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Schwandl, Robert: Schnellbahnen in Deutschland / Metros in Germany. U-Bahn - Stadtbahn - S-Bahn. - April 2007, Berlin, ISBN 978 3 936573 18 3 - Anything you want to know about German metro and light rail systems, with detailed maps and hundreds of colour photos; 192 pages; Text German and English - More details ---------------------------- NAHVERKEHR IN FRANKFURT - (Public Transport in Frankfurt), actually a magazine with many photos, 114 pages ISBN: 3897240106 Papst, Martin: U- und S-Bahn-Fahrzeuge in Deutschland. München: GeraNova, 2000. ISBN 3932785185. German metro and suburban rail rolling stock, 160 pages Dieter
Höltge, Günter H. Köhler: Straßen-
und Stadtbahnen in Deutschland 1. Hessen. - 1992, 358 p., EK Verlag,
Freiburg, ISBN 3882553359 |
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| Projects | |
| Line U4 was planned to be extended from Bockenheimer Warte to Ginnheim and connect to the present U1 branch, but this project was shelved in 2006. The northern section of this project to serve the Riedberg area is now being built as a branch off the existing A-route, diverging from U1/U3 near Niederursel station. | |
| Practical Info | |
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- OPERATION U-Bahn trains run from 04:00 until 01:30, every 3-4 minutes along bundled routes during daytime, every 10 minutes after 22:00. This way branches on U4, U5, U6 and U7 are also served every 7-8 minutes during daytime, U1 to Ginnheim every 10 minutes, U2 to Nieder-Eschbach every 10 minutes and further on to Gonzenheim every 20 minutes, and U3 to Oberursel-Hohemark every 15 minutes with additional trains to Oberursel Bahnhof during peak hours. - FARES (2010, in Euro for zone 5000 = Frankfurt City, price group 3): Single ticket
- 2.40 Day-ticket
- 6.00
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| Links | |
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RMV (Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund) incl. on-line timetable VGF - Verkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt/Main (Official - Subway Operator) traffiQ - Lokale Nahverkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt am Main mbH U-Bahn Frankfurt at Wikipedia.de Stephan Kyrieleis' Frankfurt TramPage Collection of Frankfurt Network Maps by Michael König Geschichte der Frankfurter Stadtbahn by Michael König Wolfgang Heinze's Straßenbahn and Stadtbahn Page |
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2004
© UrbanRail.Net by Robert
Schwandl.
