Munich U-Bahn

Munich U-Bahn
Info
Locale	Munich
Transit type	Rapid transit
Number of lines	6
Number of stations	100
Daily ridership	990,000 (2010)
Operation
Began operation	19 October 1971
Operator(s)	Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft
Technical
System length	103.1 km (64.1 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (standard gauge)

Georg-Brauchle-Ring station (U1)

The Munich U-Bahn (German: U-Bahn München) system is an electric rail rapid transit network in Munich, Germany. "U-Bahn" is the German contraction for Untergrundbahn or "subway." It is operated by the municipally owned Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft (the Munich Transport Company or MVG). The network is integrated into the Münchner Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund (the Munich Transport and Tariff Association or MVV) and interconnected with the S-Bahn system.

Current routes

Munich U-Bahn Police after football game.

There are currently 6 lines:

	Olympia-Einkaufszentrum - Rotkreuzplatz - Central Station - Sendlinger Tor - Kolumbusplatz - Mangfallplatz
	Feldmoching - Harthof - Scheidplatz - Central Station - Sendlinger Tor - Kolumbusplatz - Giesing - Innsbrucker Ring - Trudering - Messestadt Ost
	Moosach - Olympia-Einkaufszentrum - Olympiazentrum - Scheidplatz - Münchner Freiheit - Odeonsplatz - Marienplatz - Sendlinger Tor - Implerstraße - Obersendling - Fürstenried West
	Westendstraße - Heimeranplatz - Central Station - Karlsplatz (Stachus) - Odeonsplatz - Lehel -Max-Weber-Platz - Arabellapark
	Laimer Platz - Westendstraße - Heimeranplatz - Central Station - Karlsplatz (Stachus) - Odeonsplatz - Lehel - Max-Weber-Platz - Ostbahnhof (East Station) - Innsbrucker Ring - Neuperlach Süd
	Garching-Forschungszentrum - Fröttmaning - Freimann - Studentenstadt - Münchner Freiheit - Odeonsplatz - Marienplatz - Sendlinger Tor - Implerstraße - Harras - Klinikum Großhadern

The network has 100.3 km (62.3 mi) of active lines and 100 stations (In 2009, 351 million passengers rode the U-Bahn.^[1] The trains operate at speeds up to 80 km/h, which is the top speed among German U-Bahns. There is no continuous operation during the night (break from 1 to 4 am, 2 to 4 am on weekends) except on special occasions such as New Year's Eve.

Only one line, the U6, crosses the municipal border to the town of Garching.

Except for the lines U5 and U6, all lines operate completely below ground. U5 only comes above ground at the south terminus Neuperlach-Süd, U6 on the northern section from Studentenstadt (except Garching and Garching-Forschungszentrums stations and tunnels).

There are three "line families", which consist of two lines (not counting peak hour lines) that share a common track in the city centre. The schedules of these lines are coordinated in a way which yields regular train intervals on the common section.

Most stations have two tracks with an island platform between them. Only the stations Olympia-Einkaufszentrum (U1), Richard-Strauss-Straße (U4), Neuperlach Süd (U5), Garching-Hochbrück and Nordfriedhof (both U6) have side platforms.

At the stations Scheidplatz and Innsbrucker Ring the four tracks lie in parallel on the same level and allow cross-platform interchange. Central Station (lower level) (Hauptbahnhof unten), where U1 and U2 branch into two different lines and Münchner Freiheit (U3/U6) also have four tracks. At Central Station, there is actually another U-Bahn station for lines U4/5 at a higher level (Hauptbahnhof oben) giving a total of six U-Bahn tracks. The junction stations Implerstraße (U3 and U6), Max-Weber-Platz (U4/5) and Kolumbusplatz (U1/2) only have three tracks: One with a side platform for outbound trains, and two with a shared island platform for inbound trains. Olympiazentrum and Fröttmaning also have four tracks each due to the proximity of the Olympic Stadium and the Allianz Arena football stadium, respectively.

Frequency and scheduling

Most lines operate with trains running at intervals of every 5 minutes during peak hours, but due to lines overlapping a suitable train for a journey can be as frequent as every 2 minutes.^[2] Outside of peak times lines operate trains at frequencies of every 10 minutes, however around the commencement of operation and after midnight the line frequency decreases to every 20 minutes or more on most lines, again with line overlap this means that a suitable train will arrive (often much) more frequently.

U1

Olympia-Einkaufszentrum

Sendlinger Tor platform U1/U2

In 1980, U1 commenced operation together with U8 (now U2). At the beginning it was only operating on a section of U2's track. When the branch to Rotkreuzplatz was opened, it became a separate line.

Today the U1 has a length of 12.2 km. It starts at Olympia-Einkaufszentrum in the district of Moosach. The U3 was extended to the same station (but on a different level) in 2007. On the way south it follows Hanauer Straße to Georg-Brauchle-Ring, which has been designed by Franz Ackermann, reaching Westfriedhof. It continues via Gern to Rotkreuzplatz, which was its terminus from 1983 to 1998. Below the Nympenburger Straße it goes on to Maillingerstraße and Stiglmaierplatz and finally merges into the U2 track at München Hauptbahnhof.

Candidplatz U1

On the busy city section, U1 and U2 run with a 5 minute offset, yielding 5 minute intervals even beyond peak hours. At Central Station, it also crosses the S-Bahn and U4/5. At the next station, Sendlinger Tor, it passes below U3/6. There U1/2 platforms lie in tunnels which are far from each others, the platforms are connected through a pedestrian tunnel.

Fraunhoferstraße, the next station, is also reached in separate tunnels, which had to be excavated using tunneling shields due to the proximity of the River Isar. However, the two tubes are connected by the platform, which demanded large pillars that are characteristic for this station. The next station, Kolumbusplatz, is a junction which has three tracks. Here U1 branches off U2 again.

The southbound branch line was opened in 1997 and traverses the colourful station Candidplatz, eventually reaching Wettersteinplatz. The following station, St.-Quirin-Platz has an extraordinary architecture as it is covered by a large, shell-like structure made from glass and steel, which is drawn nearly down to track level on one side. Below Neupliastraße, there is the terminus of U1, Mangfallplatz.

U2

The route of line U2 has undergone more changes than any of the other Munich underground lines. It also changed its name as it was first called U8. It is the only line that runs or ran on all three "line families" (U1/2, U3/6 and U4/5). Today it has a length of 24.4 km.

Feldmoching

Dülferstraße

U2 starts in the north at Feldmoching, where it connects to the S1 to Freising/Airport. The station there is decorated with rural and urban motives of Feldmoching's history. Below Hasenbergl, a district which was known for its social problems, it goes to Dülferstraße, which provides access to the eastern Hasenbergl and a newly-built area on Panzerwiese. Dülferstraße was the terminus from 1993 till 1996.

Via the stations Harthof and Am Hart, U2 reaches Frankfurter Ring. In the tunnel between Am Hart and Frankfurter Ring, there is a white and blue wave pattern, which is the only installation of art in a Munich U-Bahn tunnel outside of stations.

After Milbertshofen station U2 meets U3 at Scheidplatz, where cross-platform interchange is possible. Before the opening of the section to Dülferstraße in 1993, U2 went from Scheidplatz to Olympiazentrum, sharing the track with U3. Through the district of Maxvorstadt U2 continues to downtown Munich, reaching the stations Hohenzollernplatz, Josephsplatz, Theresienstraße und Königsplatz. At Königsplatz one can find artworks from the nearby Glyptothek on the platform.

At München Hauptbahnhof (Munich Central Station), U2 meets U1, with which it shares tracks until Kolumbusplatz (see above).

After Kolumbusplatz, U2 reaches the stations Silberhornstraße, Untersbergstraße and Giesing (Bahnhof), where one can change to S5 and S6. The next stations are Karl-Preis-Platz and Innsbrucker Ring, where cross-platform interchange to the U5 is possible. Until 1999, when the branch to the Messestadt stations was opened, the U2 ran from here to Neuperlach.

Via the stations Josephsburg and Kreillerstraße, U2 reaches Trudering, which features two platforms in separate tunnels, connected by two transversal tunnels. In 1994, during the construction of this section, an accident happened: the ceiling of the new tunnel collapsed due to the intrusion of water and a bus fell into the crater. Three passengers died and the construction was delayed.

Via Moosfeld, U2 reaches Messestadt-West and the terminus Messestadt-Ost. Theses stations are located between the fairgrounds (Messestadt) in the north and a development area and the Bundesgartenschau 2005 in the south.

U3

Munich underground construction near Siegestor, 1967.

Oberwiesenfeld platform.

Construction of line U3 was speeded up significantly when Munich became the host city of the Olympic Summer Games 1972. In 1969, the network concept, only adopted one year earlier in 1968, was revised and the U3 was re-cast as a branch of the U6 serving the Olympic grounds. There were two reasons for this decision. 1/. There wasn't enough time to build, as originally planned, a connecting line from Hauptbahnhof (Central station) to Olympiazentrum. 2/. The line via Hauptbahnhof wouldn't have had a connection to the engineering base at Fröttmaning.

Since its introduction in 1972, the northern terminus of the U3 has been Olympiazentrum. This station is fitted out with four tracks which help ease the surges in traffic after major events at the Olympic Park. This station, now known as Olympiazentrum, was originally to be known as "Oberwiesenfeld", and that name is still visible on the western wall of that station, although perhaps not for much longer. In 2007 the line to Olympia-Einkaufszentrum (OEZ), via a new Oberwiesenfeld station (originally called Olympiapark-Nord). The name "Oberwiesenfeld" was given in honor of the site of Munich's first international airport.

Travelling south, the next station is Petuelring, after that the U3 reaches Scheidplatz, where cross-platform interchange to U2 is possible. Trains on both the U2 and U3 are timed to arrive simultaneously here to optimise interchange. Bonner Platz follows and at Münchner Freiheit the U3 joins with the U6 to run parallel as far as Implerstraße.

(See U6 below for the section to Implerstraße)

After leaving the three-track junction station Implerstraße, the U3 reaches Brudermühlstraße, Thalkirchen (Zoo) and Obersendling, which is built 30 metres higher than the Thalkirchen station because it is location on the "Hochufer" (eastern bank) of the River Isar. Here there is also an interchange to the S-Bahn at Siemenswerke station. The U3 continues via Aidenbachstraße and Machtlfinger Straße until reaching Forstenrieder Allee, Basler Straße and eventually the terminus Fürstenried West. This section was opened on October 28, 1989, as can be seen from huge date numbers on the western Obersendling entrance.

On 11 December 2010, the U3 extension from Olympia-Einkaufszentrum (OEZ) to Moosach has opened, making them the 99th and 100th U-Bahn stations to be opened in Munich. The transportation organisation, MVG, has stated that it has no consideration for any further extensions amongst the U-Bahn lines for the time being. This makes the new U-Bahn Stations, Moosach and Moosacher St.-Martins-Platz, the last ones to be opened until MVG changes its mind with the further extension plans.

U4

With only 9.3 km and 13 stations, U4 is the shortest U-Bahn line. This line has originally been planned as U9 and is the only line that operates with either 2- or 3-train sets rather than the full 3-train set. The exceptions are Fridays in the late afternoon and during the Oktoberfest.

U4 commences in the southwestern area at Westendstraße, which shares with U5 line. Both U4 and U5 are only lines that don't branch out to further stations from the transfer station. U4 was planned to branch out to the district of Blumenau with the stations west of Laimer Platz.

The Heimeranplatz station is connected to the S-Bahn lines S7, S20 and S27.

The U4 line also stops at two stations that serve the Oktoberfest at Schwanthalerhöhe and Theresienwiese. Schwanthalerhöhe was originally called Messegelände (German for fairgrounds) until the fair relocated to Riem in 1998. Between both aforementioned stations, there is a spur that links to Implerstraße for continuing to the depot in Fröttmaning.

Theresienwiese

Theresienwiese is the only U-Bahn station in Munich to have the command centre booth that is opened during the Oktoberfest for supervising the masses of passengers. The south exit of the station leads to the northern entrance of Oktoberfest. The trains travelling from the east (Arabellapark) often terminate at Theresienwiese rather than continue to Westendstraße even during the peak hours due to low traffic volume between Hauptbahnhof and Westendstraße.

At Central Station, the passengers can transfer to U1/U2 lines as well as to all of S-Bahn lines (except S20 which is only S-Bahn line not to serve the Hauptbahnhof). The next station is Karlsplatz (Stachus) with shorter and easier connections to S-Bahn (S1 to S8). Karlsplatz is the lowest station in Munich U-Bahn network (36 metres below the surface). From this point on, the line crosses the "boundary" to the north side of S-Bahn trunk route.

The next station is Odeonsplatz that shares with the U3/U6 lines, and the line continues to Lehel. This line runs under the river Isar to the final transfer station, Max-Weber-Platz. Max-Weber-Platz has three tracks with U4 and U5 sharing the single track while continuing to the east and having separate tracks when travelling west. From there, U4 and U5 branch off to the north and to the south respectively.

The three stations before the terminus at Arabellapark are Prinzregentenplanz, Böhmerwaldplatz, and Richard-Strauss-Straße. The latter one is only station on U4 line to have the platforms on the both sides of tracks rather than in the middle.

The original plan called for continuing to Christian Social Union of Bavaria has called for the U4 extension to edit] U5

U5 currently starts at Laimer Platz, an extension to Pasing or to Blumenau is planned but not to be constructed in the near future. The total length currently is 15.4 km.

Via Friedenheimer Straße, U5 reaches Westendstraße and shares the tracks with U4 to Max-Weber-Platz (see above).

From Max-Weber-Platz, U5 goes south to East Station (Ostbahnhof). There one can change to S-Bahn lines S1 to S8. The next station, Innsbrucker Ring, allows cross-platform interchange to U2.

Via Michaelibad and Quiddestraße U5 eventually reaches Neuperlach Zentrum, which is the centre of the satellite town of Neuperlach built during the 1960s and 1970s. After Therese-Giehse-Allee, U5 comes above ground and reaches the terminus Neuperlach Süd, where it allows cross-platform interchange with S-Bahn line S7. South of Neuperlach-Süd, there is a large parking yard (Betriebsanlage Süd) used to park trains which can't be parked in Fröttmaning or within the network.

U6

Garching

Fröttmaning

Großhadern

U6 is the oldest U-Bahn line in Munich and also features the oldest tunnel built: The tunnel below the Lindwurmstraße (between Sendlinger Tor and including the station Goetheplatz) was already built 1938-41 as part of a planned S-Bahn network. For this reason, Goetheplatz has a platform longer than 120 m. Today the line has a length of 27.4 km.

U6 starts in Garching-Forschungszentrum and continues via Garching to Garching-Hochbrück. These three stations are outside the city limits of Munich.

The distance of 4.1 km to the next station, Fröttmaning, is the longest distance between stations in Munich's U-Bahn network. Fröttmaning has been expanded to four platforms to cater for the Allianz Arena, built for the 2006 Football World Cup. In Fröttmaning, there is also the engineering base of Munich's U-Bahn. After the next station, Kieferngarten (also four platforms), it passes over a bridge to Freimann and Studentenstadt. Between these two stations there is a connection to mainline railway tracks, which is used to bring new trains into the network. The right of way between the mentioned bridge and Studentenstadt was used by tramway before. This was the only tramway line to be converted to U-Bahn and the last one to be opened before U-Bahn construction began in the late 1960s. The U6 then continues underground for the rest of its journey.

Via Alte Heide, Nordfriedhof (only U6 station with side platforms) and Dietlindenstraße U6 reaches Münchner Freiheit, from where it shares tracks with U3.

Via Giselastraße and Universität (University) it reaches Odeonsplatz, passing over U4/5. At Marienplatz it passes under S-Bahn lines S1 to S8. During peak hours, this station is overloaded, which is why additional pedestrian tunnels were built between 2003 and 2006. To dig these tunnels, ground water had to be frozen, which lifted the city hall above a few millimeters.

At Sendlinger Tor the U3 and U6 pass over the U1 and U2. The line now uses the tunnel built in 1941 mentioned above as far as Goetheplatz. The next station, Poccistraße was added later, constructed between the two running tunnels which stayed in operation. At Implerstraße, U3 and U6 separate again. To the north of the station, facing north, there is a branch to U4/5 at Theresienwiese, which is not used for passenger transport.

At Harras U6 meets the S-Bahn lines S7 and S27. The section via Partnachplatz and Westpark to Holzapfelkreuth was constructed for the Internationalen Gartenbauausstellung (IGA) in 1983 as the "flower line", which is reflected in the design of these stations. Via Haderner Stern and Großhadern U6 reaches its terminus at Klinikum Großhadern, where the entrance to the station is covered by a glass pyramid.

Rolling stock

Munich U-Bahn uses three different generations of electric multiple unit trains. The stock of over 550 trains is shared between all lines.

Inside a Class A train

Class A trains were built between 1967 (prototypes) and 1983. The units consist of two carriages, which always remain coupled in normal operation. The double-carriage units have a length of 37.15 m, a height of 3.55 m and a width of 2.90 m. Each unit has 6 doors per side and a capacity of 98 seats and standing room for 192 passengers. A total of 193 double-carriage units were delivered, 6 units have been sold to Nuremberg U-Bahn, 3 units have been scrapped. Up to three A double-carriage units can be coupled together to form a 3/3 train (Langzug).

Class B trains were built between 1981 and 1994 to provide more stock to service the growing network in the 1980s. As with the class A trains, six prototypes were ordered. However, it took six years until the series production started and the prototypes had to be modified to match the series-production units. B units have the same size as A units but differ in the design (especially of the front window) and use three-phase current instead of direct current motors. A total of 63 units were delivered, all of which are still in service. As with A trains, up to three B double-carriage units can form a 3/3 train (Langzug). However, it is not possible to form a mixed train of A and B units, which are not compatible.

Inside a Class C train

Class C units were designed in the late 1990s to replace the A units, the operation of which is no longer cost-effective after 30 years. C units consist of six carriages allowing passage through the whole train. Only the first and last unit have cabs. C units can only operate as 6 unit trains which have the same length as 3/3 trains. 10 trains were ordered without prototype units being previously tested, and these were finally put into service in 2002 after long delays due to technical defects. Eight more units were delivered in the run up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

A further 21 six-car "class C" vehicles were ordered from Siemens Mobility in November 2010.^[3]

Class C train at Garching-Hochbrück

Operation

Most lines are serviced by trains of 3 class A or B units or one class C unit (Langzug, "long train") during the day. In the early morning and the late evening, some lines are only serviced with 2 unit trains (Vollzug, "full train") or single unit trains (Kurzzug, "short train")

During the Olympic Summer Games 1972 and the visit of the Pope in 1980, stock from Nuremberg, which was then compatible with Munich's stock, was used in Munich.

All stock has a maximum speed of 80 km/h and can be operated by LZB, which allows short train intervals at distances down to 80 m.

As the control couplings are asymmetric, only units facing in the same direction can be (electrically) coupled. As there is no way to turn units in the network, they are tied to the direction, which is why the different parts are called "north" and "south" carriages.

Accidents

Fortunately, there have been no serious accidents on the Munich U-Bahn. To date only three double-carriage units have been scrapped.

Two double-carriage units were destroyed on 5 September 1983, when a fan cooling the brake system was damaged. The train was taken out of service at Hauptbahnhof and parked on an underground siding track between there and Königsplatz, where it caught fire. Even though the fire brigade were quickly on the scene, the units were damaged beyond repair. Despite the tunnel ceiling being damaged in the incident, operation was quickly resumed.

Another double-carriage unit (one of the former class A prototypes) was damaged on 28 December 1995 during marshalling. It is intended to use the undamaged half of this unit as a display item in the transport department of the Deutsches Museum.

History

Plans for an underground for Munich are quite old. In the 1930s the Nazis forbade the acquisition of new rolling stock for the Munich tramways in order to show how "insufficient" the tram system was. At that time trams were the primary means of public transportation in Munich. The Nazis made ambitious plans to change Munich into their "Reichshauptstadt der Bewegung" (Capital of the movement; the Nazi party had come to existence in Munich). This included the construction of an underground system. In the late 1930s construction started on Lindwurmstraße and Sonnenstraße where a synagogue was torn down because it was supposedly a "traffic obstacle". Construction was abandoned in 1941 as World War II intensified. After the war reconstruction of the badly damaged tram system took priority. However, even during the 1950s plans were discussed at Munich City Council to run a few of the tram lines underground because the capacity for surface traffic was overstretched. In 1964 plans were, however, changed and it was decided to build a "real" underground.

Work started on 1 February 1965 at Nordfriedhof (North Cemetery) in Ungererstraße. Today a steel girder at the first building site is a monument to Munich's first Underground railway. When the Olympic Games of 1972 were awarded to Munich in 1966, construction was sped up to get the "Olympic" line finished on time. On 19 October 1971 the first line commenced operations between Kieferngarten and Goetheplatz with a total length of 12 km. On 8 May 1972 the line between Münchner Freiheit and Olympiazentrum ("Olympic line") to the Olympic Summer Games 1972 was opened, just 10 days after the Munich S-Bahn commenced operations. To satisfy demand during the Games, some DT1 trains were borrowed from Nuremberg. On 22 November 1975 the extension from Goetheplatz to Harras was opened. The network has been expanded continuously since 1980.

Line Chronicle

Opened	Line	Section	Length
19 October 1971	U6	Kieferngarten - Goetheplatz	12.0 km
8 May 1972	U3	Münchner Freiheit- Olympiazentrum	4.0 km
22 November 1975	U6/3	Goetheplatz - Harras	2.7 km
1978	U6/3	Poccistraße infill station	0.0 km
18 October 1980	U2 (then U8)	Scheidplatz - Neuperlach Süd	16.0 km
16 April 1983	U6 (West)	Harras - Holzapfelkreuth	2.7 km
28 May 1983	U1 (West)	Central Station - Rotkreuzplatz	3.3 km
10 March 1984	U4/5	Westendstraße - Karlsplatz (4,6 km) + connection tunnel to U6/3 (1,4 km)	6.0 km
1 March 1986	U4/5	Karlsplatz - Odeonsplatz	0.7 km
24 March 1988	U4/5	Westendstraße - Laimer Platz	1.4 km
27 October 1988	U5	Odeonsplatz - Innsbrucker Ring (4.1 km)	4.1 km
	U4	Max-Weber-Platz - Arabellapark (3.6 km)	3.6 km
End of 1988	-	Enlargement of Technical Base	0.3 km
28 October 1989	U3 (South)	Implerstraße - Forstenrieder Allee	6.1 km
1 June 1991	U3 (South)	Forstenrieder Allee - Fürstenried West	1.9 km
22 May 1993	U6 (West)	Holzapfelkreuth - Klinikum Großhadern (Großhadern Clinical Centre)	2.9 km
20 November 1993	U2 (North)	Scheidplatz - Dülferstraße	5.0 km
30 June 1994	U6 (North)	Kieferngarten - Fröttmaning	1.0 km
28 October 1995	U6 (North)	Fröttmaning - Garching-Hochbrück	3.8 km
26 October 1996	U2 (North)	Dülferstraße - Feldmoching	1.9 km
8 November 1997	U1 (South)	Kolumbusplatz - Mangfallplatz	3.6 km
23 May 1998	U1 (West)	Rotkreuzplatz - Westfriedhof	2.0 km
29 May 1999	U2 (East)	Innsbrucker Ring - Messestadt-Ost	7.7 km
18 October 2003	U1 (West)	Westfriedhof - Georg-Brauchle-Ring	0.8 km
31 October 2004	U1 (West)	Georg-Brauchle-Ring - Olympia-Einkaufszentrum	0.5 km
14 October 2006	U6 (North)	Garching-Hochbrück - Garching-Forschungszentrum	4.4 km
28 October 2007	U3 (North)	Olympiazentrum - Olympia-Einkaufszentrum	2.2 km
11 December 2010	U3 (North)	Olympia-Einkaufszentrum - Moosach	2 km

Source: Municipality of Munich, Construction Office.

Extensions

Recent Extensions

Fröttmaning

U6 (North): Upgrade of Fröttmaning station

The new Allianz Arena (football stadium) required a larger capacity of the nearby U-Bahn station. A new, second platform was built and the old platform was moved north by about 100 m. For easy access to the platform, a second pedestrian bridge was built. Further, new holding tracks were also built. Start of construction: 10 October 2002, opened: 4 May 2005

New pedestrian tunnel at Marienplatz station

U3/U6: Upgrade of Marienplatz station

The increase in traffic and the new Allianz Arena also required a larger capacity of this central transfer station. New pedestrian tunnels were built, which provide more room for passengers transferring from and to the S-Bahn. They lie in parallel to the existing platforms and are connected to them by 11 portal-like a gallery. At the south end, they meet the transverse tunnel, where the escalators to the S-Bahn platforms are located. Start: 27 May 2003, opened: 29 May 2006

U6 (North): Extension Garching-Hochbrück - Garching - Garching-Forschungszentrum

This extension through the town of Garching connects Campus Garching of Technische Universität München and other research institutes to Munich U-Bahn network. Start: 2 April 2001, opened: 14 October 2006

Oberwiesenfeld station under construction

U3 (North): Extension Olympiazentrum - Oberwiesenfeld - Olympia-Einkaufszentrum

Start: 5 June 2001, opened: October 28, 2007

U3 (North): Extension Olympia-Einkaufszentrum - Moosacher St.-Martins-Platz - Moosach railway station

Start: 7 August 2004, opened: 11 December 2010

Further Plans

U1 (South): Extension Mangfallplatz - Laurinplatz - Harlaching Hospital

Although the plans for this extension are quite advanced, low passenger forecasts led to the abandonment in favour of a tram or light rail from Schwanseestraße.

U1 (North): Extension OEZ - Fasanerie (S)

With this extension, the U1 would end at an S-Bahn station and the Olympia-Einkaufszentrum would become the Northern Cross envisioned by the U-Bahn Office.

U3 (West): Extension Moosach Bf. (S) - Waldhornstraße - Untermenzing (S)

This extension is planned after the U3 has been extended to Moosach.

U4 (East): Extension Arabellapark - Fideliopark - Englschalking (S)

This extension would bridge the gap between the current terminus Arabellapark and the S8 at Englschalking. However, the funding is unclear. The portion between Arabellapark an Cosimapark will be served by a tramway system connecting St-Emmeram with Effnerplatz.

U5 (West): Extension Laimer Platz - Willibaldstraße - Am Knie - Pasing Bf. (S)

Although the proceedings for official approval (Planfeststellungsverfahren) of this extension were already under way, this section has been put on hold. The line would be parallel to the S-Bahn and the tram line 19, so there is a debate over the utility of this extension. Some passenger associations suggested an alternative route via Blumenau with five to six stations, to allow access to an area more remote from the S-Bahn. As the funding is also uncertain, it is unlikely that this extension will be built soon.

U6 (South): Extension Klinikum Großhadern - Martinsried

This extension will give access to the biotech centre at Martinsried. As the tracks would cross the municipality boundary of Munich, planning and financing falls under the responsibility of the municipality of Planegg or the Free State of Bavaria. The further extension of the U6 to Martinsried was approved by the district council in July 2009. The 67 million euro costing and approximately 900 metres long line will start operation in 2014/2015.^[4]

U6 (North): Extension Garching-Forschungszentrum - Neufahrn

An extension of the northern U6 from Garching to the S-Bahn station of Neufahrn would create a significant short cut for the northern boroughs of Munich on their way to Franz-Josef-Strauss Airport. This extension is currently under discussion.

U7 (West-East): New Booster Line

The old U7 booster line was from Rotkreuzplatz to Messestadt Ost via U1 and U2 lines was abandoned in the early 2000s. There is a push for a new U7 booster line from Westfriedhof to Neuperlach-Zentrum.

U9: Central Station (S-Bahn)/Karlsplatz (Stachus) - Pinakotheken - Münchner Freiheit

To shorten the travel times between Central Station and Münchner Freiheit and onward to Allianz Arena a direct connection has been suggested. There are two variants to connect to Central Station, the tunnels either connect to the new, second S-Bahn tunnel at Central Station (which would require two-system trains) or to the existing U4/5 tunnel at Karlsplatz. This plan has still been strongly promoted by the political group, CSU.

Connection between U2 and U6: Harthof/Am Hart - Kieferngarten

This connection would also allow a direct service from Central Station to the Allianz Arena at Fröttmaning. However, it would be serviced by U2 and the travel time would be longer than with the U9.

See also

• List of rapid transit systems
• List of Munich U-Bahn stations

References

1. ^ "MVG in figures" (PDF). Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft mbH (MVG). April 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-02-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20070216193917/http://www.mvg-mobil.de/pdf-dateien/downloads/mvg_in_figures_s.pdf. Retrieved 2007-07-04. 
2. ^ Münchner Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund - Timetable information
3. ^ "Railway Gazette: München U-Bahn orders more trains". http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/muenchen-u-bahn-orders-more-trains.html. Retrieved 2010-11-19. 
4. ^ MVG-Pressemitteilung.

External links

• Munich Verkehrsgesellschaft
• Pictures of the Munich U-Bahn