Hanover Stadtbahn

Light rail system in Hanover, Germany

Three types of light rail cars operate on the system, the TW 6000, built from 1974 to 1993, the TW 2000 (the so called "Silberpfeil"), built from 1997 to 1999, and the TW 3000, which was first introduced into A line service in 2015. The system is extensively used, especially during trade shows on the Hanover fairground like CeBIT or the Hannover Messe. It makes up for more than 60% of the GVH transport association's total traffic, spanning over four cities and two counties. Hanover Stadtbahn is complemented by DB owned Hanover S Bahn, a suburban heavy rail network which links the outlying suburbs and towns, as well as Hanover Airport, to the city centre.

One proposed major tunnel that was part of the 1965 plans has not been built so far and probably will never be. The city centre tunnel for the D line was originally supposed to run from a ramp at Goethestraße via Steintor – Hauptbahnhof/ZOB – Berliner Allee – Sallstraße to Bahnhof Bismarckstraße, resurface on a ramp at Lindemannallee and continue to Bischofsholer Damm. Whilst some preparations have been made, most notably an empty station under today's Hauptbahnhof station and a special arrangement of pillars at stations Steintor and Marienstraße to allow a tunnel to be built underneath, the plans could not be realised, due to the high costs. It would however have been greatly beneficial to the D line, reducing stepover times to other lines. The current surface D line between Goetheplatz and Aegidientorplatz is regarded as a permanent solution for the mid term future, although this statement could be argued against, for example when the wye at Steintor was demolished after the tearing down of tram tracks that had been replaced by the C Nord line, the points were not removed but just welded shut. During the renovation of the Hauptbahnhof in 1999 and 2000, the tram tracks in front of the station were not replaced either. üstra started undertaking major improvement works on the D line in 2017. This is called "Projekt zehn siebzehn" (see below) and consists of renovating the existing surface line instead of building new tunnels.

Even though it is of a relatively young age, the Hanover Stadtbahn already has some buildings that are likely not to be used as intended. These are three tunnel stubs in the A and B tunnels. Under both the ramps Hammersteinstraße (A Nord) and Vahrenwalder Platz (B Nord) the tunnel continues until the ramp's end since the original U Bahn plans had proposed an extension of the tunnels. Whilst this made some theoretical sense at the A Nord due to the relatively narrow Podbielskistraße, an extension of the tunnel is completely unneeded on the rather wide Vahrenwalder Straße. The stubs currently house some technical service rooms. A notably larger structure exists behind the middle tracks of the station Waterloo. It was originally supposed to extend a tunnel toward the A West (line 9 toward Empelde) and to construct a turning loop. However, this would require tearing down the current A West ramp at Gustav Bratke Allee which would disconnect the Glocksee depot from the network. Thus, this will likely never be carried out.

LinefromtoOpening dateThe lines to Laatzen/Süd and Rethen were built according to Stadtbahn standards but used as tramway lines until September, 1982. B SüdLaatzen/NordLaatzen/Süd*Sep 20 1973A SüdWallensteinstraßeHauptbahnhofSep 26 1975A NordHauptbahnhofBuchholz Paracelsusweg FasanenkrugApr 4 1976B SüdLaatzen/SüdRethen/Nord*Jun 18 1976A SüdWallensteinstraßeMühlenberger MarktSep 25 1977C OstNackenbergMed. Hochschule/SüdOct 1 1978A WestEmpeldeSchwarzer BärMay 27, 1979B NordHauptbahnhofVahrenwald Langenhagen Alte HeideMay 27, 1979BHauptbahnhofKröpcke BMay 27, 1979B SüdKröpcke BSchlägerstraßeMay 31, 1981B SüdBetriebshof DöhrenSep 2 1982B SüdSchlägerstraßeDöhren Messegelände Rethen Laatzen – SarstedtSep 26 1982CAegidientorplatzKröpcke CSep 26 1982C WestKröpcke CSteintorMar 30 1983C OstMed. Hochschule/SüdRoderbruchSep 29 1984C WestSteintorStöckenJun 2 1985C OstAegidientorplatzKleefeld Roderbruch OstfeldstraßeSep 24 1989FreundalleeSep 24 1989B NordLgh./Berliner PlatzLangenhagenSep 29 1991C NordSteintor(Nordstadt) – Haltenhoffstraße NordhafenSep 26 1993C OstClausewitzstraßeZooSep 26 1993D WestBrunnenstraßeAhlemMay 29, 1994C WestHogrefestraßeWissenschaftspark MarienwerderSep 24 1995C WestWissenschaftspark MarienwerderGarbsenSep 29 1996C WestStadtfriedhof StöckenBetriebshof FuhsestraßeSep 26 1998D SüdFreundalleeKinderkrankenhaus auf der BuiltDec 5 1998A SüdWaterlooAllerweg (Legionsbrücke)May 29, 1999A SüdMühlenberger MarktWettbergenMay 29, 1999D SüdKinderkrankenhaus auf der BuiltBünteweg/Tierärztliche HochschuleMay 30, 1999D SüdBünteweg/Ti. Ho. KronsbergOct 13 1999D SüdKronsbergMesse/OstFeb 19 2000C OstOstfeldstraßeAnderten2002A NordParacelsuswegAltwarmbüchenJune 2006A NordParacelsuswegMisburgDec 14, 2014D Centreclosure hauptbahnhof(Rosenstrasse) Aegidentorplatz2017D CentreHauptbahnhof (Rosenstrasse)Hauptbahnhof ZOB2017