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In 1963, the city of Nuremberg approved the construction of underground routes for the existing tram network, similar to what was being developed at that time in Cologne and other German cities. But already in 1965, the city decided to follow Munich's example and build a full-scale U-Bahn system. The U-Bahn network comprises three lines, with line U1 (+ peak-hour extra trains labelled as U11) operating on its own route, while lines U2 and U3 run on the same tracks along the central section. In 2008, the total length of the network is 34.6 km, with 46 stations. Line U1 intersects with Lines U2/U3 twice, at Plärrer where U1 and U2/U3 join on two levels with cross-platform transfer in each direction, and at Hauptbahnhof where U1 uses the lower and U2/U3 the upper platform. The U-Bahn system is complemented by an S-Bahn network, with S1 to Lauf (1987) and S2 to Altdorf (1992) operating from the Central Station (Hauptbahnhof) towards the east, and line S3 south to Roth (2001). |
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Fürth Hardhöhe - Langwasser Süd ::
19 km, 27 stations |
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| Construction
work started in the south at Langwasser Süd and slowly approached
the city centre. The first section of U1 opened 1 March 1972 between
Langwasser Süd and Bauernfeindstraße. In 1982,
line U1 eventually reached the city of Fürth (Jakobinenstraße).
Maps also show line U11, which is used for trains not running the entire
route during peak hours only.
Line U1 is partly underground and partly above ground (at Hasenbuck, and between Bauernfeindstraße and Scharfreiterring) or even elevated (between Eberhardshof and Stadtgrenze). Apart from Muggenhof and Stadtgrenze all stations have a central platform. Station design is very functional, the only outstanding station being Lorenzkirche showing stone rosettes from the church above. 01-03-1972
- Langwasser
Süd - Bauernfeindstraße
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Röthenbach - Flughafen
:: 13.1 km, 16 stations |
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The southern branch of line U2 was built between 1978 and 1984, two years later trains reached Röthenbach. The northern branch opened in stages until 1996 as far as Herrnhütte. The extension to Nuremberg Airport (Flughafen) in the north (3.3 km, 2 stations) opened in 1999. This line is entirely underground although daylight can be seen at Opernhaus station which is open to one side towards the city wall moat. All stations have central platforms. At Nordostbahnhof, where regional train R21 leaves for Gräfenberg, part of the station allows daylight to come in. Line number U21 is used for peak-hour trains between Röthenbach and Ziegelstein. By 2009, line U2 is planned to be converted to fully automatic driverless operation, meanwhile manually driven trains and automatic U3 trains will share the same tracks. 28-01-1984
- Plärrer - Schweinau
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Gustav-Adolf-Straße - Maxfeld :: 6.1 km, 9 stations (3.6 km
and 6 stations shared with line U2) |
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Line U3, which actually consists of two branches off line U2, west from Rathenauplatz to Nordwestring and southwest from Rothenburger Straße to Gebersdorf, was due to start operation in 2005 as Germany's first fully automatic driverless metro line. But due to technical teething problems the start of operation was delayed time and again, but after endless test runs, normal service finally started on 15 June 2008. For the first year driverless trains will be operating jointly with manned U2 trains on the same track; after that line U2 will also be converted to driverless operation.
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Line U3 is further under construction from Maxfeld to Friedrich-Ebert-Platz (2010). Line U1 has been planned to run further west from Hardhöhe to Kieselbühl, but this project is currenly on hold due to a delay in the development of the area. |
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| Practical Info | |
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- OPERATION The Nürnberg U-Bahn operates from around 04:50 in the morning until around midnight with intervals of 3-7 minutes, every 10 minutes in the evening. Full trains have 4 cars, and short trains (evening time) only two. The U-Bahn system is easily accessible with elevators and escalators in all stations.
The Nürnberg U-Bahn operated by VAG (VerkehrsAG Nürnberg) is part of the VGN fare system (Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg) which includes all buses, trams, metro, as well as S-Bahn and regional trains operated by Deutsche Bahn AG. For the central zone of Nürnberg and Fürth served by the U-Bahn prices are as follows: Single
ticket - EUR 1.90 (Short trip - EUR 1.50) Tickets have to be bought from automatic ticket machines at station entrances and they have to be cancelled before entering the station. Passes can be bought at the Customers Offices at Hauptbahnhof, Plärrer or Fürth Hauptbahnhof. |
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| Links | |
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Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg (VGN) - Official site VAG Nürnberger Verkehrsbetriebe Official site Die Nürnberger U & S-Bahn by Michael Schedel Nahverkehr in Franken - U-Bahn Nürnberg incl. good photographs and details by Roland Gechter U-Bahn Nürnberg on Wikipedia.de RUBIN - An automatic U-Bahn for Nuremberg Linienchronik Nürnberg - Fürth by Klaus Schöner Freunde der Nürnberg-Fürther Straßenbahn Nahverkehrsbilder incl. U-Bahn Photos Photos of all U-Bahn stations (U1) - (U2) by Matthias Frey Nuremberg Tram on UrbanRail.Net |
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| Photos 1 | |
 Photos © UrbanRail.Net |
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| Book | |
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--------------------------------- Schwandl, Robert: Schnellbahnen in Deutschland / Metros in Germany. U-Bahn - Stadtbahn - S-Bahn. - April 2007, Berlin, ISBN 978 3 836573 18 3 - Anything you want to know about German metro and light rail systems, with detailed maps and hundreds of colour photos; 192 pages; Text German and English - More details ---------------------------- Papst,
Martin: U-
und S-Bahn-Fahrzeuge in Deutschland. |
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| Photos 2 | |
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Nürnberg
and Fürth, together with other towns, form a metropolitan area
with about 800,000 inhabitants, Nürnberg being the second largest
city in Bavaria (after the capital Munich).
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FARES (2008)
