U55 (Berlin)
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U55 is a Berlin U-Bahn line that is currently under construction. When completed, it will be very short (only three stations) and will not connect to any other U-Bahn line.
The unusual nature of U55 is a result of Berlin's troubled finances. When the German government decided to move from Bonn to Berlin after German reunification, it was decided to refurbish the area around the Reichstag into a modern government complex. As part of this effort, there were plans to extend line U5 from its current western terminus at Alexanderplatz through the city center, past the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag, and the new planned central train station at Lehrter Bahnhof. In the late 1990s, construction began on the western end of this extension. However, around that time the city government suffered a major financial crisis, and in 1999 completion on the extension was postponed indefinitely.
Unfortunately, the city had accepted money from the German federal government for the construction work already completed, and by the terms of the agreement, the city would have had to return the money if there were no operating trains on the line. In 2004, the city and federal governments reached a compromise: the city would complete the short section of line that had been mostly built already, and run it as a single-track shuttle between Lehrter Bahnhof and the Unter den Linden S-Bahn station. Although transit planners do not project that such a shuttle will attract a significant ridership, the city determined that the cost of building and operating the line would be less than the cost of returning the money to the federal government.
The line should begin passenger service in 2006. The designation of the line as U55 indicates that the city still ultimately intends to connect it to U5. However, this is unlikely to occur before 2020.
Because U55 is not connected to any other U-Bahn lines, trains will need to be towed along mainline or S-Bahn tracks and delivered to the new line via a connecting tunnel near Lehrter Bahnhof.
Stations on U55:
- Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Lehrter Bahnhof); transfer to the Stadtbahn S-Bahn lines and mainline trains
- Reichstag
- Unter den Linden; transfer to the Nord-Süd Bahn S-Bahn lines
It is likely that the new U- and S-Bahn station complex at the location of the current Unter den Linden S-Bahn station will be renamed Brandenburger Tor or Pariser Platz, with the Unter den Linden name being ultimately used for a station further east once the U5 extension is complete.de:U-Bahnlinie 55 (Berlin)