Current routes
There are eight lines: The network has of active route, and 100 stations. In 2014, 390 million passengers rode the U-Bahn. The trains operate at speeds up to , which is the top speed among German U-Bahns. There is no continuous operation during the night (break from 1 to 4 am, 2 to 4 am on weekends) except on special occasions such asFrequency and scheduling
Most lines operate with trains running at intervals of every 5 minutes during peak hours, but due to lines overlapping, a suitable train for a journey can be as frequent as every 2 minutes. Outside of peak times lines operate trains at frequencies of every 10 minutes; however, around the start of operations and after midnight the line frequency decreases to every 20 minutes or more on most lines. Again with line overlap this means that a suitable train will arrive (often much) more frequently.U1
In 1980 the U1 commenced operation together with the U8 (now U2). At the beginning it was only operating on a section of U2's track. When the branch to Rotkreuzplatz was opened, it became a separate line. The line's colour is green. Today the U1 has a length of and 15 stations. It starts atU2
The route of the U2 line has undergone more changes than any of the other Munich underground lines. It also changed its name as it was first called U8. It is the only line that runs or ran on all three "line families" (U1/U2, U3/U6 and U4/U5). Today it has a length of and 27 stations. The line's colour is red. The U2 starts in the north at Feldmoching, where it connects to the S1 toU3
The U3 is the original Olympic line; the first section was opened for the Olympic Summer Games 1972. Today the line has a total of length of and 25 stations. The line's colour is orange. Today the U3 starts in the north atU4
With only and 13 stations, the U4 is Munich's shortest U-Bahn line. This line has originally been planned as U9 and is the only line that operates regularly with 4-car sets rather than the full 6-car set. The exceptions are Fridays in the late afternoon and during theU5
The U5 currently begins at Laimer Platz; an extension to is planned. The total length currently is . The line's signature colour is brown. Via Friedenheimer Straße, the U5 reaches Westendstraße. From there, the U5 shares the tracks with the U4 to Max-Weber-Platz (see above). At Max-Weber-Platz, the U5 branches off to the south to East Station (Ostbahnhof), where changing to all S-Bahn lines is possible. The next station, Innsbrucker Ring, allows cross-platform interchange to the U2. The U5 continues south to Michaelibad, Quiddestraße, and Neuperlach Zentrum, which is the centre of the satellite town ofU6
The U6 is the oldest U-Bahn line of the network and also features the oldest tunnel built: the section below theU7
This new booster line (it only operates during rush hours) was added in December 2011 along with the new tram extension to St. Emmeram. The U7 runs between Westfriedhof and Neuperlach Zentrum viaU8
This booster line started operations in December 2013. It only operates on Saturday afternoons. The U8 begins in the north at Olympiazentrum and shares the tracks with the U3 as far as Scheidplatz, where it continues along the U2 tracks toRolling stock
Munich U-Bahn uses three different generations ofClass A
Class A trains were built between 1967 (prototypes) and 1983. The units consist of two carriages, which always remain coupled in normal operation. The double-carriage units have a length of , a height of , and a width of . Each unit has three doors per side and a capacity of 98 seats and standing room for 192 passengers. A total of 193 double-carriage units were delivered, of which 179 are still in use in Munich. Up to three A two-carriage units can be coupled together to form a 3/3 train (Langzug).Class B
Class B trains were built between 1981 and 1994 to provide more stock to service the growing network in the 1980s. As with the class A trains, six prototypes were ordered. However, it took six years until the series production started and the prototypes had to be modified to match the series-production units. B units have the same size as A units but differ in the design (especially of the front window) and useClass C
Class C trains were designed in the late 1990s to gradually replace the Class A trains, which become more expensive to operate and maintain. Class C1 trains are six carriages attached together in one continuous length with gangways between the carriages, allowing the passengers to walk from one end to other. Ten trains, designated as C1.9 (Wagon No. 601–610), were ordered and delivered without prototype trains for evaluation. The technical difficulties delayed the entry into service to 2002. Eight more units, designated as C1.10 (Wagon No. 611–618), were delivered in 2005 prior to theOperation
MVG has made lot of effort in the last few years to increase the frequency for trains on the busier lines (U1/U2/U7 and U3/U6) to five minutes between trains and to ten minutes on less busy lines (U4 and U8). The busier lines (U1/U2/U7/U8 and U3/U6) have "Langzug" (3 Class A/Class B trains or 1 Class C1/C2 trains). "Kurzzug" (short train) with 1 or 2 Class A/Class B trains are operated on less busy lines (U4/U5) or during less busy times in the evenings or weekends. During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the "Kurzzug" has been temporarily removed from the service. U3/U6 lines on shared tracks within city boundary has a notorious reputation of frequent service interruptions due to unanticipated technical issues, overcrowding, and passengers requiring medical attention or falling into the tracks at the stations. Additionally, U3/U6 lines receive frequent maintenance and track replacements due to heavier than anticipated passenger load. This necessitates the planning of new U9 line as to reduce the burden on U3/U6 line. No 24-hour service is offered due to the nightly maintenance. Instead, the night buses are used.History
Already in 1905 there were plans to build an underground metro in about the route of today's trunk line of the S-Bahn between the main and Ostbahnhof and a ring road that surrounds the old town. Since these plans for the then traffic were clearly oversized, they came back into oblivion. The tram network was able to cover the traffic flows in the former half-million city. From 1910, the only 450 m long, automated Munich subway metro connected the main station with the post office on Hopfenstraße. It served only for the transport of letter post. In 1928 there were again plans to replace the trams in Munich by a subway network, but any such plans for this were thwarted the global economic crisis. A network of five subway routes, which had some similarities with today's route distribution, was to be realized. At the time of Nazi Germany, from 1936, a network of electric subterranean railways was planned for the "capital of the movement" and construction was begun, but the Second World War put an end to this. The tunnel of today's U6 between Sendlinger Tor and Goetheplatz - including the station there - were already completed in the shell, but still as part of a rapid-transit railway route. This also explains the relative generosity of Goetheplatz (especially in the blockade entrance Goetheplatz does not fit the architecture today) and the narrowness of the present interchange station Sendlinger Tor on the platform U3 / U6. In the Lindwurmstraße took place on 22 May 1938, the groundbreaking ceremony for this tunnel, which should herald the beginning of the end of the tram. By 1941, the shell was completed, first railcars were to be delivered in the same year. The war-related scarcity of resources led to the cessation of this work. The shell was used during the war as an air-raid shelter, of which today still bears inscriptions on the tunnel walls. Parts of the tunnel were filled with debris after the war, others served for a while as a breeding ground for mushrooms, before penetrating groundwater made the short piece of early metro history unusable. The Nazis forbade the acquisition of new rolling stock for theTimeline
Further extension plans
U1 (south): extension to Harlaching Hospital via Laurinplatz
Although the plans for this extension were quite advanced, low passenger forecasts have led to its abandonment in favour of a tram or light rail from Schwanseestraße. But in 2015 and 2016, it was also announced that it will be extended to Solln.U1 (north): extension to Feldmoching
With this extension, the U1 line would terminate at S-Bahn and U2 subway stations in Feldmoching. The subway station, Olympia-Einkaufszentrum, would be renamed as the Northern Cross. The extension is to connect with U2 line at currentU2 (north): extension to Karlsfeld
The city council of Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen and the CSU faction in the town council of Karlsfeld proposed the above-ground extension of the U2 from Feldmoching to Karlsfeld as a measure to relieve the municipality of the heavy car traffic. Moreover, this should provide a greater incentive for the employees of the large companies MAN and MTU to use public transport for their work. After initial investigations had shown a low cost-benefit ratio for this route, it was not cost-effective and was abandoned.U3 (west): extension to Untermenzing
This extension is planned after the U3 has been extended to Moosach, and it will go via Waldhornstraße.U4 (east): extension to Englschalking Bahnhof
This extension is considered in the third medium-term planning (Mittelfristprogramm) along with the plan of moving a portion of S8 line from surface to underground between Unterföhring and Leuchtenbergring stations. Whether the extension would be approved and when will it be built is not clear. The stations do include Cosimapark, Fideliopark, and Englschalking, all of which are in Bogenhausen.U5 (west): extension to Pasing Bahnhof
The Laimer Platz-Pasing extension has been approved on 14 July 2015 as to relieve the overburdened tram and bus routes serving the area between Laimer Platz and Pasing neighbourhoods. In case of S-Bahn disruption between Pasing Bahnhof and Ostbahnhof via Hauptbahnhof, the U5 can supplement the connection between both stations. The construction is to commence in 2021 at cost of 547 million euros and be completed in 2028-2029. Two new subway stations are Willibaldplatz and Am Knie. When completed, U5 will be only subway line in Munich to connect Hauptbahnhof with both west (Pasing) and east (Ostbahnhof) termini that provide regional and long-distance train services.U5 (west): further extension to Freiham
The residents called for the further extension of U5 toU5 (south): extension to Taufkirchen
After the success of citizen initiative to extend the U5 West to Pasing and then to Freiham, the state parliament is exploring the extension south of Neuperlach Süd station to Taufkirchen. The extension would serve several important large-scale industries (including Ludwig-Bölkow-Systemtechnik and Airbus), theU6 (south): extension to Martinsried
This extension will serve a large biotech centre atU6 (north): extension to Munich Airport
This would be only U-Bahn line with direct access to theU9 and U29 bypass lines
On 11 February 2014, SWM/MVG announced a detailed report for the construction of a new 10.5 km bypass line, a sixth intracity underground line, to be called the U9. The new line will relieve the overburdened U1/U2/U7/U8 and U3/U6 lines, especially the transfer stations at Sendlinger Tor (U1/U2/U7/U8 and U3/U6), Hauptbahnhof (U1/U2/U7/U8, U4/U5, and S-Bahn), and Odeonsplatz (U3/U6 and U4/U5), and will shorten the travel time between the Hauptbahnhof and theU26 tangent line
Another proposal for crosstown travel in the north between U2 - Am Hart and U6 (or U9 when opened) - Kieferngarten is under consideration. This U26 would serve the people who live in the north and don't need to travel south in order to travel between northwest and northeast regions. The high cost and fewer stops as compared to tram line would make this proposal less feasible. However, the new massive expansion plan for BMW's Forschungszentrum (Research Centre) in the north of BMW headquarter buildings and manufacturing plants would employ about 40,000 employees by 2050. The increased number of employees would lead to the vehicular traffic chaos and collapse unless the new S-Bahn North Ring and new U26 are built with stations at Forschungszentrum. The higher capacity of U26 and underground placement (without impacting the vehicular traffic) could make it more feasible and possible than tram line.More booster lines
Different booster lines have been discussed for years without any concrete plans. ; U10: Harthof - Münchner Freiheit - Odeonsplatz - Sendlinger Tor - Harras : A third booster line, U10, would share U2 line betweenRenovations and upgrades of subway stations
;Platform Screen Doors Munich U-Bahn system is experiencing the increasingly frequency of passengers and objects falling from the platforms into the tracks lately, disrupting the service. The latest statistics showed for 2018 215 passengers falling in and being rescued, 22 seriously injured or dead, 115 objects, and 10 animals. MVG plans the pilot project at Olympiazentrum up to two years to test the feasibility and to resolve any issues before deploying system-wide technology. If these test at Olympiazentrum stations are successful, platform screen doors will be implemented in the high-frequency stations first then gradually and successively added to more stations when they are being renovated. The anticipated completion date of system-wide installation is 2028. ; Fröttmaning station (U6, North) — Completed The newPlannings and in progress
The original planners in the 1960s and 1970s did not envision the massive growth of passengers, increased number of subway lines, and continued extensions of current subway lines in the forthcoming years. Thus, they did not design the subway stations accordingly as to make them "future proof". The intersecting subway lines cause the overcrowding and frustrating movements between two station platforms, especially at Hauptbahnhof (U1/U2/U7/U8, U4/U5, and future U9 as well as S-Bahn), Sendlinger Tor (U1/U2/U7/U8 and U3/U6), and Odeonplatz (U3/U6 and U4/U5). The platform width and passage between stations and a fewer number of escalators were inadequate for larger number of people moving from one station to other as well as from aboveground to the underground during the rush hour. ; Sendlinger Tor station (U1/U2/U7/U8 and U3/U6) — Renovation In Progress Due to poor design and unanticipated explosive growth of passenger traffic, Sendlinger Tor station has severe congestion and chokepoints for passengers moving between upper U3/U6 and lower U1/U2/U7/U8 platforms as well as upper levels (mezzanine and street). The €150 million renovation and upgrade of station was approved on 30 December 2015 byNetwork map
See also
*Notes
References
External links