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The capital of Bavaria is Germany's third largest city with 1.3 million inhabitants. The city hosted the Olympic Games in 1972 and for this occasion the first metro line was built. Since then, Munich has developed one of Europe's best metro networks which together with the S-Bahn serves almost all parts of the city. Munich also boasts an extensive tram network.

In the 1950's-60's, Munich, like other German cities such as Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Cologne or Hanover, decided to build underground sections especially in the city centre for its existing tram routes. But before construction started, the city changed its mind in favour of a full metro. In 1964, construction of the first north-south route (now U6) between Kieferngarten and Goetheplatz began. A 600 m long tunnel (at Goetheplatz) built in 1941 for a planned north-south rail tunnel was able to be used. When the city was chosen to host the 1972 Olympics, a branch was planned from Münchner Freiheit to Olympiazentrum (U3). At the same time the S-Bahn tunnel straight through the city centre was built (opened May 1972). In 1971 Munich joined the European metro cities. The Munich U-Bahn system is actually a 3-line network with several branches.

Since its last extension in Dec. 2010 the network has had a total length of 95 km (100 stations), with approx. 9 km being above ground:
- U6 from Studentenstadt to Garching-Hochbrück - 7.9 km; and a short stretch between Garching and Garching-Forschungszentrum
- U5 Neuperlach Süd (0.3 km; sharing platform with single track S-Bahn).

The U-Bahn's main depot and maintenance yard is located next to Fröttmaning station on U6, another depot lies just south of Neuperlach Süd. More sidings are distributed all over the network between the running tracks or behind termini.

19 Oct 1971: U6 Kieferngarten - Goetheplatz (12 km)
08 May 1972: U3 Münchner Freiheit - Olympiazentrum
22 Nov 1975: U3/U6 Goetheplatz - Harras (except Poccistraße)
28 May 1978: U3/U6 Poccistraße added
16 Apr 1983: U3/U6 Harras - Holzapfelkreuth
28 Oct 1989: U3 Implerstraße - Forstenrieder Allee

U3 - 20.9 km, U6 - 27.4 km (5.8 km shared)

18 Oct 1980: U8 Scheidplatz - Innsbrucker Ring [- Neuperlach Süd] (16 km)
  [U2 was initially called U8 and continued from Scheidplatz to Olympiazentrum sharing the U3 route]
28 May 1983: U1 Hauptbahnhof - Rotkreuzplatz
20 Nov 1993: U2 Scheidplatz - Dülferstraße
26 Oct 1996: U2 Dülferstraße - Feldmoching
08 Nov 1997: U1 Kolumbusplatz - Mangfallplatz
24 May 1998: U1 Rotkreuzplatz - Westfriedhof
29 May 1999: U2 Innsbrucker Ring - Messestadt-Ost (Munich Fair Centre - former airport) (7.7 km - 6 stations)
18 Oct 2003: U1 Westfriedhof - Georg-Brauchle-Ring (0.7km)
31 Oct 2004: U1 Georg-Brauchle-Ring - Olympia-Einkaufszentrum (0EZ) (0.6km)

U1 - 12.2 km, U2 - 24.4 km (2.8 km shared)

[initially planned as U5/U9]
18 Oct 1980: [Scheidplatz -] Innsbrucker Ring - Neuperlach Süd
10 Mar 1984: U4/U5 Westendstr. - Karlsplatz (plus service tunnel between Schwanthalerhöhe** and Implerstraße)
01 Mar 1986: U4/U5 Karlsplatz - Odeonsplatz
24 Mar 1988: Laimer Platz - Westendstr.
27 Oct 1988: Odeonsplatz - Arabellapark (U4) / Innsbrucker Ring (U5) - continues to Neuperlach Süd (with U2 until May 1999)

U4 - 9.3 km, U5 - 15.4 km (6.3 km shared)

 Projects

Short term project:
- U6 from Klinikum Großhadern to Martinsried (1.3 km)

Mid-term project:
- U5 west Laimer Platz to Pasing (S) (3.6 km)

Long-term projects:
- U4 east Arabellapark to Englschalking (S) (1.9 km)
- "U9" cross-city link between Implerstraße and Münchner Freiheit via Hauptbahnhof to relieve the U3/U6 trunk route

The Munich S-Bahn operated by Deutsche Bahn AG is an important complementary rapid rail service also within the city. All routes have a basic frequency of at least 20 minutes which results in a 3-5 minute interval along the common city route between Pasing and Ostbahnhof. Munich Airport can be reached on two routes, the S8 connects the city centre via Ostbahnhof and Ismaning, a second connection (an S1 branch opened in Nov. 1998) runs on a western route with transfer to U2 at Feldmoching and U3 at Moosach.

A second cross-city S-Bahn tunnel is under construction to provide more capacity between Hauptbahnhof and Ostbahnhof. (DB Project Website)

Our book about Urban Rail in München | Munich
Robert Schwandl & Wolfgang Wellige: U-BAHN, S-BAHN & TRAM IN MÜNCHEN Urban Rail in the Bavarian Capital - Nov 2021, Berlin, ISBN 978 3 836573 65 7 - In der bayerischen Landeshauptstadt betreibt die MVG ein modernes U-Bahn-Netz mit drei Stammstrecken durch die Innen­stadt sowie ein klassisches Straßenbahnnetz, das in den letzten Jahren wieder etwas erweitert wurde. Dazu kommt ein von der Deutschen Bahn betriebenes S-Bahn-Netz, das die Region mit der Stadt München verbindet. Das Zusammen­spiel dieser drei Schienenverkehrsmittel platziert München ganz oben in der Liste der europäischen Städte mit dem ­besten ÖPNV. Wie gewohnt ist das Buch mit unzähligen Fotos, darunter zahreiche historische Aufnahmen, sowie detaillierten Netzplänen illustriert. Außerdem werden alle aktuellen Fahrzeugtypen sämtlicher Bahnen vorgestellt. - In the Bavarian capital, the MVG operates a modern U-Bahn system with three trunk routes through the inner city, plus a classic tram system, which has been slightly expanded in recent years. These two urban rail systems are complemented by an S-Bahn network run by Deutsche Bahn, which provides a link between the region and the city of Munich. The combination and interaction of these three urban rail systems places Munich at the top of the list of European cities with the best public transport. As always, this book includes numerous photos, many of them historic views, as well as detailed network maps and useful information about all the current rolling stock. - Text German and English - More details
Our books about Urban Rail in Germany
Robert Schwandl: TRAM ATLAS DEUTSCHLAND 6 - 06/2024, Berlin, ISBN 978 3 836573 74 9 - Detailed colour maps for more than 50 German tramway cities, illustrated with numerous photos - Text German and English - More details	Robert Schwandl: U-Bahnen in Deutschland + U-Stadtbahnen - Feb 2019, Berlin, ISBN 978 3 836573 57 2 - Anything you need to know about German metro and light rail systems with underground sections, with detailed maps and hundreds of colour photos; 160 pages; Text German and English - More details