First tram on Berlin’s latest extension

The first test run on the M10 tramway extension from Hbf to Moabit U-Bahnhof Turmstrasse (interchange with U9) took place on 13 July.  

 

Trams 2237 and 9081 carried out the test runs. The 2.2km line has cost EUR 33M and should be carrying passengers to the four new stops in the autumn, as soon as a critical traffic light has been installed.A five-minute peak headway is planned, replacing the 245 bus that runs every 7.5 minutes at peaks.  

 

After planning permission was given in November 2017, construction finally started in August 2021. The line features mostly grassed tracks, with some sections of street running. 70 parking places were eliminated in order to make space for the new tracks. 50 trees were felled, but replaced by new plantings. 10 000 extra passengers/day are expected to be generated.  

 

A further 3.8km to Jungfernheide is planned with 2028 pencilled in for completion. 

 

The new line brings trams firmly into what was known as West Berlin; previous tram tracks disappeared from here 60 years ago as the West Berlin system was replaced by buses. After re-unification the extensive East Berlin network is slowly being extended with new links to the west. Berlin’s tramway network currently stretches over 193km with 22 lines worked by some 600 trams from seven depots.