U3 (Berlin U-Bahn)

U3
Map of Berlin's underground line U3
Overview
Type	Rapid transit
System	Berlin U-Bahn
Stations	15
Operation
Operator(s)	Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe
Events
Line opened	12 October 1913
U3 designation	12 December 2004
Technical
Line length	12.1 km (7.5 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Profile	Kleinprofil
Electrification	750 V DC third rail
Route map Warschauer Straße Schlesisches Tor Görlitzer Bahnhof Kottbusser Tor Prinzenstraße Hallesches Tor Möckernbrücke Gleisdreieck Kurfürstenstraße Nollendorfplatz Wittenbergplatz Augsburger Straße Nürnberger Platz (closed) Spichernstraße Hohenzollernplatz Fehrbelliner Platz Heidelberger Platz Rüdesheimer Platz Breitenbachplatz Podbielskiallee Dahlem-Dorf Freie Universität (Thielplatz) Oskar-Helene-Heim Onkel Toms Hütte Krumme Lanke

U3 is a line on the Berlin U-Bahn created in its current version on 12 December 2004.

The routing is largely the same as the previous U2 until 1993, but it runs from Krumme Lanke to Wittenbergplatz. The route was renumbered to U1 from 1993 to 2004. It was extended one station further east to Nollendorfplatz to enable trains to be reversed and to allow one-stop transfer to the U4 in 2003.

Routing

The lineto the subway station Krumme Lanke has changed in the course of their existence several times the line designation. Initially, line A connected Krumme Lanke in the south-west of Berlin with Pankow in the north and was marked in red on the network plans. Starting from 1957 served the southwestern route section even two lines: the red route AII as before to Pankow and a green route BII to the Warschauer Brücke. After the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, the small profile network was completely redesigned in 1966. The route to Dahlem got thereby the line designation 2, it led at first still to Gleisdreieck over Bülowstraße, starting from 1972 only to Wittenbergplatz. The "3" - with then dark green color code - was assigned to the stub track Uhlandstraße - Wittenbergplatz. This changed again in 1993. Now the route was marked green again and received the line number U1, which led to Warschauer Straße. The designation U3 for the route to Uhlandstraße, however, fell away, this now served a line U15, also to Warschauer Straße. Finally, the line appears since the timetable change in December 2004 in the networks in turquoise and is called U3. Since 2005, the line also operates in night traffic. From 4 to 7 March 2013, the trains, due to construction work on the section between Uhlandstraße and Kurfürstendamm conditionally, again as U1 between Krumme Lanke and Warschauer Straße. Unlike in analogous cases (U12), no corresponding line designation (U13) was introduced here.

Extension

In the south, there are plans to extend the U3 towards the Berlin Mexikoplatz station, and going via Lindenthaler Allee, Düppel, Kleinmachnow Nord, Hakenheide, Förster-Funke-Allee and towards Machnower Schleuse. Even though this would only take 700 meter of new tracks, the tight budgetary situation of the Berlin Senate hinders the realisation.

2018 extension

As of 7 May 2018, the U3 was extended from Nollendorfplatz to Warschauer Straße during the day. The line runs throughout the day on the entire line every 5 minutes from Monday to Friday. Early in the morning and in the late evening and on Saturdays/Sundays the train will run every ten minutes. Due to lower demand, during nights and early mornings (weekdays until 06:00 and weekends until 10:00), the line terminates at Nollendorfplatz.^[1]

Frequency

Train frequencies were running at 5 minutes on weekdays, 10 minutes on weekends and since 2006, a 15-minute night service was offered on weekends, and "N3" was offered during weekday nights.

The Old U3

Linie U 3 (Planning) CBTC Driverless Line
Technical
Line length	31.8 km (19.8 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Route map Karow Parkstadt Blankenburg Ost Malchow West Weißensee Falkenberger Straße Gürtelstraße Greifswalder Straße (Ringbahn) Danziger Straße Marienburger Straße Am Friedrichshain Alexanderplatz (Al)   (Stadtbahn) U 2 U 5 U 8 Rotes Rathaus (RHU) U 5 Dönhoffplatz Leipziger Straße U 2 U 6 (Stadtmitte) Potsdamer Platz (PP) (Nord-Süd-Tunnel) U 2 Kulturforum Genthiner Straße Lützowplatz Wittenbergplatz (Wt) U 1 U 2 Kurfürstendamm (Kfo) U 9 Uhlandstraße (U) Schlüterstraße Adenauerplatz (Adu) U 7 Holtzendorfplatz U 7 Suarezstraße U 7 Messedamm U 7 Theodor-Heuss-Platz (Thp) U 2

Until 1993 U3 referred to the section of line between Wittenbergplatz and Uhlandstraße, it was formerly numbered B II (until 1957), B IV (from 1957 to 1966) and Line 3 (from 1966 to 1984), just before renaming to 'U3'. In 1993, this section was renumbered to U15 and became a branch of the U1.

With the change of train numbers in December 2004, there were some confusion can now arise, as the planned final phase of the U3 line from Theodor-Heuss-Platz via Westkreuz, Adenauerplatz, Kurfürstendamm, Wittenbergplatz, Lutzowplatz, Potsdamer Platz and Leipziger Straße to Alexanderplatz, and from there on to Weißensee and Karow-Ost, will overlap with the present course of the U3, as the provisional name would be with driverless Alstom Metropolis trains to be purchased for the U3. However, this plans were shelved and scrapped.

References

External links

• Media related to U3 (Berlin U-Bahn) at Wikimedia Commons