Ghost stations in Berlin Ghost station

1 ghost stations in berlin

1.1 background
1.2 particular stations
1.3 reopening
1.4 list of berlin ghost stations
1.5 new ghost stations after reunification

ghost stations in berlin
background

sign @ unter den linden in 2007, unchanged since 1930s. has since been covered modern sign showing station s new name, brandenburger tor .



map of ghost stations in berlin

in august 1961 east german government built berlin wall, ending freedom of movement between east , west berlin. result, berlin public transit network, had formerly spanned both halves of city, divided two. u- , s-bahn lines fell entirely 1 half of city or other; other lines divided between 2 jurisdictions, trains running border , turning back. however, there 3 lines—the u-bahn lines designated u6 , u8, , nord–süd tunnel on s-bahn—that ran part through west berlin passed through relatively short stretch of east berlin territory in city centre. these lines continued open west berliners; however, trains did not stop @ of stations located within east berlin, though technical reasons did have slow down while passing through. (trains did stop @ friedrichstraße, on more below.) name geisterbahnhof aptly applied these dimly lit, heavily guarded stations travelers west berlin, watched them pass through carriage windows. however, term never official; west berlin subway maps of period labelled these stations bahnhöfe, auf denen die züge nicht halten ( stations @ trains not stop ). east berlin subway maps neither depicted west berlin lines nor ghost stations. u-bahn maps in friedrichstraße transfer station unique: depicted western lines, not geisterbahnhöfe, , showed city divided berlin, hauptstadt der ddr ( berlin, capital of german democratic republic ) , westberlin , official terminology used east germany.

the situation less ideal. lines vital part of west berlin transit network, because part of route of of lines lay in east berlin territory, difficult western support staff perform maintenance work on tracks , tunnels. if train on west berlin line broke down in east berlin territory, passengers had wait eastern border police appear , escort them out. east german government hinted might someday block access tunnels @ border , run own service on east berlin sections of these lines. however, awkward status quo persisted entire 28-year period of division of berlin.

at closed stations, barbed wire fences installed prevent would-be escapees east berlin accessing track bed, , electrically live third rail served additional , potentially lethal deterrent. alarm triggered if breached 1 of barriers. entrances, signage removed, walkways walled , stairways sealed concrete slabs. police stations built windowed platform service booths, whole platform area monitored.

a wide white line on wall marked exact location of border. later, gates installed @ stations rolled place @ night while guards off-duty. guard posts @ other stations staffed continuously, creating additional employment positions transport police. in platform area, guards worked in pairs, , care taken in assignment assure there no personal ties between them. in addition, superior officers conduct surprise inspections @ time, thus, maintaining maximum security. other stations secured east german border guards.

particular stations

friedrichstraße station, though served western lines , located in east berlin territory, not geisterbahnhof. instead, served transfer point between u6 , several s-bahn lines. western passengers walk 1 platform without ever leaving station or having show papers, air travellers changing planes @ international airport. westerners appropriate visas enter east berlin there.

the bornholmer straße s-bahn station ghost station not located in tunnel. situated close wall near bornholmer straße border crossing. west berlin trains passed through without stopping. east berlin s-bahn trains passed same station on different tracks. tracks used western , eastern trains sealed off each other tall fence.

another oddity wollankstraße station. bornholmer straße, s-bahn stop served west berlin trains, located on east berlin territory behind border. however, wollankstraße in use , accessible west berliners, 1 of exits opened on west berlin street. exit on border line, warning sign next informing passengers situation. other exits east berlin streets blocked.

reopening

the reopening of jannowitzbrücke u-bahn station on 11 november 1989, first of ghost stations reopened after fall of berlin wall

the first people enter ghost stations after fall of berlin wall in november 1989 found lived informal name, ads , signage on walls unchanged since 1961. none of them have been preserved.

the first ghost station reopen passenger traffic jannowitzbrücke (u8) on 11 november 1989, 2 days after fall of wall. equipped checkpoint within station akin friedrichstraße, east german customs , border control provisionally installed facilitate passengers heading or coming east berlin. hand-drawn destination signs hung covering old ones pre-1961; these signs both crumbling age , missing termini of post-1961 line extensions. on 22 december 1989, rosenthaler platz (u8) reopened similar provisional checkpoint.

on 12 april 1990, third station reopen bernauer straße (u8). northern exit directly on border, opened direct access west berlin without need of checkpoint. southern exit towards east berlin not reopened until 1 july 1990.

discussions on reopening u6 , u8 stations including s-bahn station oranienburger straße, unter den linden , nordbahnhof had begun on 13 april 1990 without border controls. these took 2 months clean up, removing dirt , refurbishing interiors; stations had been reopened on 1 july 1990 @ 11 a.m., east berlin , east germany had adopted west german currency (dm), leaving border checkpoints abandoned.

s-bahn station potsdamer platz – formerly ghost station , reopened

on 2 july 1990, oranienburger straße first ghost station on nord-süd-s-bahn reopen. on 1 september 1990, unter den linden , nordbahnhof opened following reconstruction works. on 12 december 1990, bornholmer straße reopened west berlin trains; second platform east berlin trains allowing interchange followed on 5 august 1991. last ghost station reopen potsdamer platz, opened on 3 march 1992, following extensive restoration of entire north–south tunnel.

in following years, city , german government put great deal of effort restoring , reunifying s-bahn , u-bahn networks in berlin. u-bahn system reached pre-wall status in 1995 reopening of warschauer straße on u1. s-bahn system reached preliminary completion in 2002 (with reopening of ring), though there still disused sections of lines closed in aftermath of wall. decisions on reopening of of these sections still made.

list of berlin ghost stations

this list includes stations in east berlin territory western trains passed through without stopping. there other stations on both sides of wall closed during division because sections of track not in use.

temporary checkpoints set stations access east berlin reopened before 1 july 1990. checkpoints no longer necessary reopened after date when border checks eliminated currency union between east , west germany.

new ghost stations after reunification

in contrast above-listed stations, multiple stations in berlin area of high importance during cold war rapidly lost importance , passengers after reunification, point of becoming ghost stations. notable examples are:

genshagener heide (in german): station on berlin outer ring located due south of berlin, quite far populated place, lost importance resumption of direct routes potsdam area east berlin , due reduction of workforce in industriewerke ludwigsfelde factory located nearby. trains running between potsdam , berlin schönefeld flughafen station stopped @ station until december 2012. since passenger trains pass through without stopping , officially reclassified betriebsbahnhof (service station). train stop named ludwigsfelde-struveshof built 2 km west (closer populated areas) , brought service closure of genshagener heide station.
potsdam pirschheide: interchange station located on berlin outer ring on outskirts of potsdam, named potsdam hauptbahnhof (potsdam main station) between 1961 , 1993, important station of potsdam when traffic flow west berlin (berlin–magdeburg railway) severely restricted. after resumption of service between potsdam , berlin-wansee station, pirschheide station lost importance, became unstaffed in 1994. tracks on upper deck demolished in 1999 (leaving pair of through tracks not adjacent platform), , on lower deck single platform left in service use local trains potsdam michendorf. although present-day importance negligible , decaying appearance not unlike real ghost stations cold war era, still has regular passenger trains stopping @ it.




^ 15 km/h, after east german policeman tried jump on moving train mandatory speed later increased 25 km/h. jürgen meyer-kronthaler, klaus kurpjuweit, berliner u-bahn - in fahrt seit über hundert jahren, be.bra verlag 2009 p. 119