Potsdam tramway network
A "Tatra KT4" at Nauener Tor
Operation
LocalePotsdam, Brandenburg, Germany
Horsecar era: 1880 (1880)–1907 (1907)
Status Converted to electricity
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (standard gauge)
Propulsion system(s) Horses
Electric tram era: since 1907 (1907)
Status Operational
Lines 7
Operator(s) Verkehrsbetrieb Potsdam(ViP) (since 1990)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) ((standard gauge)
Propulsion system(s) Electricity
Electrification 600 V DC overhead
Stock 17 Combino
18 Tatra KT4DC
18 Variobahn
Route length 28.9 km (18 mi)
Stops 63
Map of the network, 2009
Map of the network, 2009
Website Stadtwerke (and Verkehrsbetrieb) Potsdam (in German)

The Potsdam tramway network (German: Straßenbahnnetz Potsdam) is a network of tramways forming part of the public transport system in Potsdam, the capital city of the federal state of Brandenburg, Germany.

The network is owned and operated by the public citizen company Verkehrsbetrieb Potsdam(ViP), and included in the "Berlin C" fare zone (Tarifbereich Berlin C) of the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg.[1]

History

The network opened on 12 May 1880: It was a horsecar system owned by the society Reymer & Masch, named Potsdamer Straßenbahn-Gesellschaft and consisted of a pair of lines.[2] 1907 saw the introduction of electric trams which ran on a new line of 8 km (5.0 mi).[3] In 1908 the network consisted of 4 lines (named from A to D) and in 1949 of 5 lines (named from 1 to 5).

At the end of the 1950s, new streetcar models were introduced (typical during the DDR era), the Gothawagen (T57, G4-61, G4-65 and T2-62), produced in the Thuringian town of Gotha by the Gothaer Waggonfabrik.[4]

In the 1980s, a pair of new routes were built: in 1984 through the new residential center in Babelsberg and in 1988 from Am Stern stop to the new south-eastern residential area in Drewitz.[2] The Czech trams Tatra KT4 were introduced in 1993, and the modern Combino and Variotram in the 2000s. Some of the Tatra KT4D were given to Ploiești, a industrial city in Romania.[5]

Network

Line network, 2022
Track plan, 2014
KT4Dm-cars 153/253 at Nauener Tor

The Potsdam route network is a standard-gauge railway. It is 28.9 kilometres (18.0 mi) long and has 63 stops. The track length is 59.6 kilometres (37.0 mi).[6] It is driven by five main and two amplifier lines. It is almost continuously double tracked, only the Nauener Tor is crossed by means of a gauntlet track.

The network consists, as of June 2022, of 7 lines:[7]

91 Bhf. Pirschheide ↔ Bhf. Rehbrücke
92 Bornstedt, Kirschallee ↔ Schlaatz, Bisamkiez (↔ Kirchsteigfeld, Marie-Juchacz-Straße) to Kirchsteigfeld only Saturday and Sunday
93 Glienicker Brücke ↔ Bhf. Rehbrücke
94 (Bhf. Pirschheide ↔) Schloss Charlottenhof ↔ Babelsberg, Fontanestraße
96 Campus Jungfernsee ↔ Kirchsteigfeld, Marie-Juchacz-Straße
98 (Schloss Charlottenhof ↔ Bhf. Rehbrücke, Bisamkiez) only Monday to Friday in the rush hour and not in the school holidays
99 Babelsberg, Fontanestraße ↔ S Hauptbahnhof (↔ Schlaatz, Bisamkiez) from Bisamkiez only in the morning, to Bisamkiez only in the evening

The tram lines 91 to 96 operate on all days according to a uniform timetable scheme. This should give passengers better visibility. The basic scheme of the tram lines is a 20-minute-cyclic schedule. The timetable of the tram lines are coordinated at the linking points Potsdam Hauptbahnhof and Babelsberg station with the Berlin S-Bahn.

Lines 98 and 99 are amplifier lines that don´t operate at certain times. They are only a part of the timetable scheme. On Line 92, extra rides are offered throughout the route in the rush hour. As a result, lines 92 (with 2 courses) and 96 (with one course) run at 6/7/7-minute intervals, which in turn means that line 91 and 92 as well as 96 and 93 do not drive at an interval of 10 minutes.

The network is navigated with uni-directional vehicles. There are turning loops at all terminal stops. Exceptions are Glienicker Brücke, which is crossed by a triangular junction, as well as Schloss Charlottenhof , where the tramcars can be turned around by a block bypass.

Photogallery

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "S+U-Schnellbahn Berlin (Tarifbereich ABC)". Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe. 4 August 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  2. 1 2 (in German) Günther Wolf-Dietger, Michael Wolf-Dietger, Machel Wolf-Dietger: "Potsdamer Nahverkehr: Straßenbahn und Obus in Brandenburgs Landeshauptstadt". Geramond-Verlag GmbH, Munich 1999 - ISBN 3-932785-03-7
  3. ↑ "Potsdam Light Rail".
  4. ↑ (in German) Gothawagen in Potsdam
  5. ↑ (in German) History of transport in Potsdam
  6. ↑ "Zahlen und Fakten" (in German). Stadtwerke Potsdam. Archived from the original on 2015-05-27. Retrieved 2015-04-23. Stand 2008
  7. ↑ (in German) Potsdam tram network infos on ViP website
  8. ↑ Note the DVG logo on the vehicle

Bibliography

  • Bauer, Gerhard; Kuschinski, Norbert (1995). Die Straßenbahnen in Ostdeutschland [The Tramways in East Germany]. Vol. Band 3: Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern [Volume 3: Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern]. Aachen, Germany: Schweers + Wall. ISBN 3921679818. (in German)
  • Schwandl, Robert (2012). Schwandl's Tram Atlas Deutschland (in German and English) (3rd ed.). Berlin: Robert Schwandl Verlag. pp. 116–117. ISBN 9783936573336.
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