Karlsruhe, Germany:
Stadtbahn and Streetcars (Trams)

Description

Karlsruhe has become famous in the urban-transportation field for its pioneering dual-system Stadtbahn "tram-trains" that run both on city streetcar tracks and on railroad lines shared with normal passenger and freight trains, in what is now known as the Karlsruhe Model.

The first step in this development came with the extension of the previously-existing Albtalbahn, an electric suburban light-rail line that runs southward from Karlsruhe to Bad Herrenalb and Ittersbach. In 1979, it was extended through the center of Karlsruhe on city streetcar tracks, then northward to Neureut, where it shares tracks with freight trains on a lightly-used branch of Deutsche Bahn (DB). Further track-sharing allowed the line to be extended to Hochstetten in 1989. This DB branch uses diesel power, so the shared sections were electrified with 750V DC to accommodate the light-rail (Stadtbahn) trains.

The success of this project stimulated interest in converting some of the DB's regional passenger services to Stadtbahn lines and running them into the city on streetcar tracks also. This would have significant advantages for passengers:

• They would no longer have to transfer between trains and streetcars at the main railroad station (Hauptbahnhof) or other stations on the fringes of the city, such as at Durlach.

• Because light-rail trains can accelerate more quickly than conventional trains, running time could be reduced. Alternatively, more stops could be made, so that fewer passengers would have to drive or take connecting buses to reach the outer stations.

For these lines, a new type of Stadtbahn train was developed, that can use both 750V DC power (on city streetcar tracks) and 15000V AC power (on railroad tracks). These trains also have to have two different sets of cab signals for the different types of trackage, and have to meet both sets of legal requirements for operation on a streetcar-type system and on a railroad system (under German regulations known as BOStrab and EBO respectively).

The first dual-system Stadtbahn service began operation in 1992, between Karlsruhe and Bretten, on what is now part of route S4. It was a huge success, with ridership several times previous levels. New routes and extensions have followed almost every year since then.

Most of the Stadtbahn routes are operated by the Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (AVG), which started out with just the original Albtalbahn suburban service mentioned above. Route S2 is operated by the Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe (VBK), which also operates the city streetcar and bus system. Route S3 is not a Stadtbahn route at all, but instead an S-Bahn to the Heidelberg-Mannheim area, operated by the S-Bahn RheinNeckar, a subsidiary of DB. It uses railroad-profile electric multiple unit (EMU) trains, runs only on railroad tracks, and is similar to S-Bahn operations in several other German cities.

The total length of the AVG's routes is now about 470 km (291 miles), making it one of the largest passenger rail operators in Germany after DB.

To an American, the amount of track-sharing between trains of different types is remarkable. Along route S5 between Söllingen and Pforzheim, for example, one can stand on the platform at a local station and watch long-distance express trains (IC and ICE) to and from Stuttgart pass by, then perhaps a freight train, and then board a Stadtbahn train using the same tracks. This would be completely impossible under the current U.S. regulatory climate, in which railroad trains (freight and passenger alike) cannot share tracks with light-rail trains unless they are strictly time-separated, for example with light-rail trains only during the day and freight trains only at night. The basic difference is in philosophy: U.S. regulations aim to minimize death and injury in collisions via strict standards for crashworthiness of passenger equipment, whereas German regulations aim to prevent the collisions in the first place, via strict standards for signaling and operations.

Despite all the attention given to the Stadtbahn routes, Karlsruhe has not neglected its traditional streetcar routes. Much of the system now uses lanes that are segregated from automobile traffic. In June 2004 a major extension of route 2 took place, from Durlach to Wolfartsweier Nord, and another new route is being planned for the northern part of the city. New low-floor equipment has replaced the classic 1960s Düwag design on all routes but one, as of summer 2004.

Urban and regional bus and rail services, and even some Rhine ferries, in the Karlsruhe area are coordinated by the Karlsruher Verkehrsverbund (KVV), with a unified fare structure that allows transfers between all transportation modes. Like most German cities, the KVV offers a wide variety of single-trip tickets and passes for periods ranging from a day up to an entire year, all based on distance via a zone system.

• A regional map of the Stadtbahn routes as of January 2005.
• A local map that also includes streetcar routes, also as of January 2005.
• [front] | [back] Single ticket for three zones, purhased from a KVV vending machine.
• [front] RegioX ticket, good for unlimited use for one day in the entire KVV, plus Stadtbahn lines extending outside that region. The back side is the same as on the single ticket.
• [front] | [back] RegioX Plus ticket, like RegioX but for up to five people traveling together, purchased from a DB vending machine at the Rastatt railroad station.