Gleisdreieck (Berlin U-Bahn)

Entrance

Gleisdreieck is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on a viaduct on the U1 and the U2 lines in the Kreuzberg district. The station has platforms elevated above ground level for both lines. The platforms of the U1 are at a higher level than, and at right angles to, those of the U2.[1]

Overview

Gleisdreieck accident, 1908

The station's name literally means "railway triangle" or wye in English and marks the spot of an earlier major train hub opened in 1902, where the three branches of the first Stammstrecke U-Bahn line from Zoologischer Garten, Potsdamer Platz and Warschauer Brücke met. A major accident at the triangle happened on September 26, 1908, when two trains collided. One car derailed and fell from the viaduct, killing 18 people and injuring 21. Upon another dangerous incident, the single level triangle from 1912 was rebuilt and replaced by the current two-level station. Since then there is no direct rail connection between the two lines at Gleisdreieck, only an intersection.

Lower U2 platform

Though in 1939 the North-South Tunnel was opened in close vicinity, there is no interchange to the S-Bahn system.[2]

After the building of the Berlin Wall from August 13, 1961 the lower platform became the eastern terminus of the U2, until service finally discontinued on January 1, 1972. Between 1984 and 1991 it served as the southern terminal of the short-lived M-Bahn maglev running to Kemperplatz near the Philharmonie. The U2 train service on the lower platform was resumed on November 13, 1993. It is the westernmost station in Kreuzberg for both lines.

The German Museum of Technology (Deutsches Technikmuseum) is adjacent to the station. The name Gleisdreieck also refers to a large area in the south, the former freight yards of the Anhalter and Potsdamer Bahnhof, which are currently redeveloped as an urban park.

Upper U1 platform, modern HK train departing to Uhlandstraße

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Hardy, Brian (1996). The Berlin U-Bahn. Capital Transport Publishing. p. 77. ISBN 1-85414-184-8.
  2. ↑ J. Meyer-Kronthaler, Berlins U-Bahnhöfe, Berlin: be.bra, 1996

Bibliography

Preceding station   Berlin U-Bahn   Following station
towards Uhlandstraße
U1
towards Ruhleben
U2
towards Pankow

Coordinates: 52°29′54″N 13°22′31″E / 52.49833°N 13.37528°E / 52.49833; 13.37528

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