Frankfurt U-Bahn

At the beginning of the 1950s, the first plans were made to relieve the then already overburdened tram. More than 100,000 motor vehicles were registered in Frankfurt in 1958, and more than 180,000 commuters used the transport infrastructure on a daily basis. Various alternatives to the construction of a modern high-speed traffic system and the separation of above-ground traffic flows were discussed. On 5 April 1960 the SPD faction requested that the city council may commit to a Hochbahn of the system Alweg. Lord Mayor Werner Bockelmann, however, advocated from the outset the construction of a subway, which, however, was considered the most expensive option. On 7 July 1960 the city council therefore commissioned a city planner with the preparation of a general planning overview in order to compare the costs of the three systems: Alweg train, subway and sub-pavement tram. Responsible for the planning was elected in October 1961 Traffic Department Walter Möller. The decision was finally made in late 1961 in favor of the subway system, which was to be built in several sections using existing tram infrastructure. In the first construction phase, the tunnels of the inner city were to be built for the time being, which were to be connected via provisional ramps to the adjacent tram routes. It was not until the second construction phase that the tunnels were to be extended beyond the inner city and connected to suitable upgraded above-ground routes in the suburbs. In the third construction phase, the change from light rail to subway would have been completed, which was to operate completely independently of traffic in tunnels, cuts and dams.

On 28 June 1963 the first pile of rubble for the construction of the 3.2-kilometre (2.0 mi)-long tunnel under the Eschersheimer Landstraße. For the first stage of development until 1975 - approximately corresponding to today's main lines A and B - construction costs of 565 million DM were expected. The new Lord Mayor Willi Brundert compared the "boldly begun subway construction" in 1964 in its dimensions with the medieval cathedral building.

1966 near Hauptwache: Construction in progress under the street Roßmarkt up to Kaiserstraße.

After just one year, the ambitious mammoth project threatened to fail due to financing problems. Falling tax revenues and a tax policy geared towards federal and state governments drove the municipalities close to ruin in the mid-1960s. Frankfurt was 1.4 billion DM in debt in 1964, the most heavily indebted city in Germany, with a regular budget of 733 million marks. Under pressure to stabilize the budget deficit, the 1964-1965 municipal assembly reduced long-term investment planning from $2.7 billion to $1.7 billion and even hinted at some time that Eschersheimer Landstraße would be "impassable desert" after completion of the tunneling work.

The U-Bahn opened on 4 October 1968, with the underground route from Hauptwache to Nordwestzentrum.[4]

U-Bahn- and S-Bahn-lines in 1980 (yet without Line C)

Train of U4 class cars at Bad Homburg Gonzenheim station

U5 class car as line U6 underneath Bundesautobahn 66 close to final station Hausen.

U7 amidst Ludwig-Landmann-Straße in Rödelheim

The U-Bahn consists of nine lines, U1 to U9, running on three primary routes based on the three tunnels, with a planned fourth route from the suburbs to the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof only partially completed.

The route network consists of the four routes "A", "B", "C" and "D" of the standard gauge of 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in). The operating length of all routes is 64.85 kilometres (40.30 mi). Central sections of the route are called "basic route" or "trunk route"; these branch out into several "connecting lines", which are usually driven by only one line and are sometimes referred to as "upgraded lines". The terms "basic section" and "connecting section" and their designations are based on the names of the construction sections. Sections of the legs were designated by the letter of the route and a Roman numerical suffix - sections of the connecting lines with an Arabic numeral. The designation of the connecting lines "A1", "A2", "A3" and "B1" was also used to designate the lines until 1978.

Like all light rail vehicles, trams and subways in Germany, the Frankfurt U-Bahn is subject to the regulations of the tram construction and operating regulations. The tunnels as well as the above-ground section between Römerstadt and Ginnheim are completely developed as independent railway tracks, most of the other aboveground sections partly as an independent building, partly as a special track. These sections have numerous level crossings for road traffic and pedestrians. The U5 operates in the section between Friedberger Anlage and Marbachweg largely on street-level railway body.

Tunnels exist at -

• A Line: South of Dornbusch, into the city centre, Nordwestzentrum (small section)
• B Line: Scheffeleck and Seckbacher Landstraße to Bockenheimer Warte.
• C Line: Kirchplatz to Johanna-Tesch-Platz and Ostbahnhof

Route	Line	Path	Stations
A (and D)		Ginnheim - Römerstadt - Nordwestzentrum - Hauptwache - Willy-Brandt-Platz - Südbahnhof	20
A		Bad Homburg-Gonzenheim - Ober-Eschbach - Nieder-Eschbach - Bonames - Hauptwache - Willy-Brandt-Platz - Südbahnhof	21
A		Oberursel-Hohemark - Oberursel - Niederursel - Hauptwache - Willy-Brandt-Platz - Südbahnhof	28
B (and C+D)		Enkheim - Schäfflestraße - Seckbacher Landstraße - Bornheim - Konstablerwache - Willy-Brandt-Platz - Hauptbahnhof - Festhalle/Messe - Bockenheimer Warte	15
B		Preungesheim - Eckenheim - Hauptfriedhof - Konstablerwache - Willy-Brandt-Platz - Hauptbahnhof	16
C		Heerstraße - Bockenheimer Warte - Hauptwache - Konstablerwache - Ostbahnhof	15
C		Hausen - Bockenheimer Warte - Hauptwache - Konstablerwache - Eissporthalle - Hessen-Center - Enkheim	20
A (and D)		Riedberg - Niederursel - Hauptwache - Willy-Brandt-Platz - Südbahnhof	19
D (and A)		Nieder-Eschbach - Riedberg - Niederursel - Nordwestzentrum - Römerstadt - Ginnheim	12

Routings

These are individual routings.

	Stretch	Line	Routing	Opening	Stations	Frequency
	A1		Ginnheim ↔ Heddernheim Hochbahn: Ginnheim – Römerstadt – Tunnel: Nordwestzentrum – Heddernh. Landstr. – Eisenbahn: Zeilweg – Heddernheim	1968–1978	6	7½	10	15
	A2		Bad Homburg-Gonzenheim ↔ Heddernheim Eisenbahn: Gonzenheim – Ndr.-Eschb. – Bonames – Mertonviertel – Heddernheim	1971	7	7½	10	15
	A3		Oberursel-Hohemark ↔ Heddernheim Eisenbahn: Hohemark – Oberursel – Weißkirchen – Niederursel – Heddernheim	1978	14	7½	15	15
	B1		Preungesheim ↔ Konstablerwache Stadtbahn: Preungesheim – Gießener Straße – Eckenheim – Marbachweg – Straßenbahn: Hauptfriedhof – Eckenh. Landstr. – Nordend – Tunnel: Scheffeleck – Konstablerwache	1974–1978	12	5	7½	10–20
	B2		Bornheim Seckbacher Landstr. ↔ Konstablerwache Tunnel: Bornheim – Berger Straße – Nordend – Konstablerwache Stadtbahn: Bornheim Seckbacher Landstr. – Schäfflestraße – (Enkheim mit U7)	1980	4	5	7½	10–20
	C1 [GS 1]		Zoo ↔ Enkheim Tunnel: Zoo – Ostend – Eissporthalle (nur U7) – Stadtbahn: Riederwald – Borsigallee – Enkheim (U4 und U7)	1992	9	7½	10	20
	C4 [GS 2]		Zoo ↔ Ostbahnhof Tunnel: Zoo – Ostbahnhof	1999	1	7½	10	20
	Hausen		Hausen ↔ Industriehof Stadtbahn: Hausen – Industriehof	1986	2	7½	10	20
	Heerstr.		Praunheim Heerstraße ↔ Industriehof Stadtbahn: Praunheim – Ludwig-Landmann-Str. – Hausen – Industriehof	1986	5	7½	10	20
	D4 (formerly known as A2)		Niederursel ↔ Abzweig Kalbach Stadtbahn: – Niederursel – Riedberg – Bonames → Nieder-Eschbach	2010	4	15	15	30

Frankfurt U-Bahn network map showing Sections A, B, C.

1. The connecting line C1 between the stations Schäfflestraße and Enkheim is additionally driven by individual trains of the line U4. The data in the table refers only to line U7.
2. The construction section C IV is actually a part of the basic section C. Since the section corresponds operatively to a connecting section, it is listed in this table.

• Heddernheim - for A & D Lines
• Ost - for B & C Lines

• Rhine-Main S-Bahn (Frankfurt)
• Trams in Frankfurt am Main
• Public transport in Frankfurt am Main
• List of rapid transit systems

German

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Frankfurt U-Bahn (category)

• vgF – official website
• traffiQ Mobilitätsberatung (in German)
• Nahverkehr Frankfurt am Main (in German)
• Frankfurt am Main at UrbanRail.net