The Munich U-Bahn () is an electric rail rapid transit network in Munich, Germany. The system began operation in 1971, and is operated by the municipally owned Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft (MVG; Munich Transport Company). The network is integrated into the Münchner Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund (MVV; Munich Transport and Tariff Association) and interconnected with the Munich S-Bahn. The U-Bahn currently comprises eight lines, serving 96 stations (100 stations if four interchange stations with separate levels for different lines are counted twice), and encompassing of routes.
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 as New Year's Eve.
Currently, only the U6 line crosses the municipal border to the town of Garching.
Except for the lines U5 and U6, all lines operate completely below ground. U5 only comes above ground at the south terminus Neuperlach-Süd, U6 on the northern section from Studentenstadt (except Garching and Garching-Forschungszentrum stations and tunnels).
There are three "line families", which each consist of two lines (not counting peak hour lines) that share a common track in the city centre. The schedules of these lines are coordinated to produce regular train intervals on the common section.
Most stations have two tracks with an island platform between them. Of the single-line stations, only the stations Olympia-Einkaufszentrum (U1), Richard-Strauss-Straße (U4), Neuperlach Süd (U5), Garching-Hochbrück and Nordfriedhof (both U6) have side platforms.
At the junction stations Scheidplatz and Innsbrucker Ring, the four tracks run in parallel on the same level, with two island platforms allowing cross-platform interchange. The stations Hauptbahnhof (lower level), where U1 and U2 branch into two different lines and Münchner Freiheit (U3/U6) also have four tracks, while Implerstraße (U3/U6), Max-Weber-Platz (U4/U5) and Kolumbusplatz (U1/U2) have three: one with a side platform for outbound trains and two with a shared island platform for inbound trains.
Olympiazentrum, Fröttmaning and Kieferngarten also have four tracks each, the first due to the proximity of the Olympic Stadium, the others to support both traffic directed to the technical base and depot in Fröttmaning, and passengers attending the Allianz Arena football stadium.
At Hauptbahnhof, there is a second U-Bahn station for lines U4/5 at a higher level, giving a total of six U-Bahn tracks. Sendlinger Tor, Odeonsplatz and Olympia-Einkaufszentrum also each have two quite separate stations at different levels, connected with each other by escalators and elevators.
Frequency 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 at Olympia-Einkaufszentrum in the district of Moosach. The U3 was extended to the same station (but on a different level) in 2007. On the way south it follows Hanauer Straße to Georg-Brauchle-Ring, which has been designed by Franz Ackermann, reaching Westfriedhof. It continues via Gern to Rotkreuzplatz, which was its terminus from 1983 to 1998. Below Nymphenburger Straße it goes on to Maillingerstraße and Stiglmaierplatz and finally merges into the U2 track at München Hauptbahnhof.
On the busy city section, U1 and U2 run with a 5-minute offset, yielding 5 minute intervals even beyond peak hours. At Central Station, it also crosses the S-Bahn and U4/U5. At the next station, Sendlinger Tor, it passes below U3/U6. There the U1/U2 platforms for each direction lie in tunnels which are apart from each other and are connected by a pedestrian tunnel.