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System

With just over a million inhabitants, Cologne (Köln) is Germany's fourth largest city. In the 1960s, Köln decided to build an underground tram system (like Stuttgart or Hanover) instead of a full metro (like Nuremberg or Munich). The first underground stretch opened in 1968. Most tunnel sections in the city centre were built until 1974, and in the 1980s and 1990s the tunnel network was gradually expanded. Currently the system includes some 50 km of metro-like routes, either underground, elevated (L13) or at grade. This is complemented by 45 km of conventional railway lines (Lines 16 and 18 to Bonn) and 94 km of tram-like routes. The total length of the network is approx. 195 km (2016). The system is a true network with many lines sharing certain stretches. In 1994 it was decided that the east-west lines shown in red on the map will not be converted to Stadtbahn operation with high-floor vehicles. Instead new low-floor trams were acquired which offer the same accessibility (35 cm). From Dec. 2003, also the "ring lines" (shown in green) were added to the low-floor network, whereas all other lines will eventually be converted to Stadtbahn lines similar to the networks in Stuttgart or Frankfurt with high platforms (90 cm) and tracks mainly on a separate right-of-way when running at grade. In Aug. 2007, the line layout was simplified, with several line numbers (6, 8, 17, 19) having disappeared. A new line 17 was introduced in Dec. 2015, when the southern part of the north-south tunnel was brought into service. This new cross-city route from Breslauer Platz/Hauptbahnhof to Bonner Wall (3.9 km) has been delayed by many years following the collapse of the tunnel and the city's Archives on 3 March 2009. The north-south tunnel was mostly excavated by tunnel-boring machines, with some stations being of the tube-type. South of Bonner Wall, a surface route will eventually continue to Arnoldshöhe, whereas line 17 rejoins the existing alignment along the River Rhine. The missing gap between Severinstraße and Heumarkt might not be opening until the mid-2020s. For Bonn click here. Cologne Photo Galleries: High-floor network | Nord-Süd-Stadtbahn | Low-floor network

Photos

Cologne Photo Galleries: High-floor network | Nord-Süd-Stadtbahn | Low-floor network

History of underground sections and recent extensions

1968 - Friesenplatz - Dom/Hauptbahnhof 1969 - Appellhofplatz - Barbarossaplatz 1970 - Poststraße - Severinstraße and Dom/Hbf - Breslauer Platz (- ramp Turiner Str.) 1973 - Chorweiler subway 1974 - Breslauer Pl. - Ebertplatz - Neusser Str/Gürtel (3.6 km); Hansaring - Reichenspergerstr. (2.8 km); elevated "Gürtel"-route Nußbaumerstr. - Mülheim Bridge (Line 13 - 5.9 km) 1976 - underground station Fuldaer Str. (650 m) 1983 - Deutz subway 1985 - Friesenplatz - H.Böckler-Platz - Gutenbergstr. 1987 - Hansaring - Rudolfplatz - Zülpicher Platz 1989 - H.Böckler-Platz - Venloer Str./Gürtel 1992 - Venloer Str./Gürtel - Bocklemünd 1997 - Mülheim Bridge - Bf. Mülheim 27 May 2000 - Line 1 extended underground (500 m) at its eastern end to Bensberg 15 June 2002 - Line 1 Junkersdorf - Weiden-Schulstraße (2.7 km)        - Line 3 Bocklemünd - Mengenich-Ollenhauerring 16 June 2003 - Line 4 rebuilt to Stadtbahn standard between Keupstraße and Odenthaler Straße 28 May 2006 - Line 1 Weiden-Schulstraße - Weiden West (1 km) 12 Dec 2010 - Line 5 Rektor-Klein-Str. - Butzweilerhof (1.8 km) 09 Dec 2012 - Line 5 Dom/Hbf - Rathaus 15 Dec 2013 - Line 5 Rathaus - Heumarkt 13 Dec 2015 - Line 17 Severinstraße - Bonner Wall - Schönhauser Straße (2.4 km) 27 Aug 2018 - Line 3 Ollenhauerring - Görlinger-Zentrum (0.6 km)

Projects

Southern surface extension from Bonner Wall to Arnoldshöhe

Links

KVB Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe (Official Page) VRS Info Page (Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg - Official page) Nord-Süd-Stadtbahn (Official site) Stadtbahn Köln at Wikipedia Rheinsiegbahn Stadtbahn Bonn at UrbanRail.Net UrbanRail.Net > North-South Line Gallery Betriebshof Köln (incl. large photo gallery) Cologne Track Map at gleisplanweb.de Read your webmaster's impressions of Cologne's Stadtbahn (Dec. 2015)

Older Photos

Cologne Photo Galleries: High-floor network | Nord-Süd-Stadtbahn | Low-floor network

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

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