Мюнхенский метрополитен: история, линии и подвижной состав.

Rapid transit railway in Germany
Alongside the S Bahn, the Munich subway is the most important means of local public transport in Munich. Since the opening of the first line on October 19, 1971, a network with 103.1 km of track and 96 stops has been built, to which the neighboring town of Garching near Munich is also connected and in future also the Planegg district of Martinsried (both in the district of Munich). The Munich subway is operated by Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft (MVG) and is integrated into the Munich Transport and Tariff Association (MVV). In 2019, it transported 429 million passengers.

Currently, there are eight lines. 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.

Munich U Bahn uses three different generations of electric multiple unit trains. The stock of over 550 carriages is shared between all lines.

Class A trains were built between 1967 (prototypes) and 1983. The units consist of two carriages, which always remain coupled in normal operation. The double carriage units have a length of , a height of , and a width of Each unit has three doors per side and a capacity of 98 seats and standing room for 192 passengers. A total of 193 double carriage units were delivered, of which 179 are still in use in Munich. Up to three A two carriage units can be coupled together to form a 3/3 train (Langzug).

Class B trains were built between 1981 and 1994 to provide more stock to service the growing network in the 1980s. As with the class A trains, six prototypes were ordered. However, it took six years until the series production started and the prototypes had to be modified to match the series production units. B units have the same size as A units but differ in the design (especially of the front window) and use three phase current instead of direct current motors. The other difference is the door opening mechanism. On B units, the passengers only need to pull just one handle to open both door leaves rather than both handles as on A units. Of a total of 63 units, 57 are still in service (including one prototype), and six have been scrapped. As with A trains, up to three B double carriage units can form a 3/3 train (Langzug). However, it is not possible to form a mixed train of A and B units, which are not compatible.

Class C trains were designed in the late 1990s to gradually replace the Class A trains, which become more expensive to operate and maintain. Class C1 trains are six carriages attached together in one continuous length with gangways between the carriages, allowing the passengers to walk from one end to other. Ten trains, designated as C1.9 (Wagon No. 601–610), were ordered and delivered without prototype trains for evaluation. The technical difficulties delayed the entry into service to 2002. Eight more units, designated as C1.10 (Wagon No. 611–618), were delivered in 2005 prior to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The total number of C1 trains in operation is 18. A second generation, designated as Class C2, were ordered from Siemens Mobility in November 2010. They are based on new Siemens Inspiro subway trains. The first delivery of 21 units (C2.11) began in 2012 but was delayed until 2018 due to the technical defects and changes in federal and state regulations. The second order for 22 units (C2.12) was announced in 2019 with delivery commencing in 2020 and continuing until 2022. The third order for 24 units (C2.13) was placed in May 2020 for the delivery from 2022 to 2024. The total number of C2 trains in operation and under construction is 67.

MVG has made lot of effort in the last few years to increase the frequency for trains on the busier lines (U1/U2/U7 and U3/U6) to five minutes between trains and to ten minutes on less busy lines (U4 and U8). The busier lines (U1/U2/U7/U8 and U3/U6) have "Langzug" (3 Class A/Class B trains or 1 Class C1/C2 trains). "Kurzzug" (short train) with 1 or 2 Class A/Class B trains are operated on less busy lines (U4/U5) or during less busy times in the evenings or weekends. During the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020, the "Kurzzug" has been temporarily removed from the service. U3/U6 lines on shared tracks within city boundary has a notorious reputation of frequent service interruptions due to unanticipated technical issues, overcrowding, and passengers requiring medical attention or falling into the tracks at the stations. Additionally, U3/U6 lines receive frequent maintenance and track replacements due to heavier than anticipated passenger load. This necessitates the planning of new U9 line as to reduce the burden on U3/U6 line. No 24 hour service is offered due to the nightly maintenance. Instead, the night buses are used.

Although the plans for this extension were quite advanced, low passenger forecasts have led to its abandonment in favour of a tram or light rail from Schwanseestraße. But in 2015 and 2016, it was also announced that it will be extended to Solln.

With this extension, the U1 line would terminate at S Bahn and U2 subway stations in Feldmoching. The subway station, Olympia Einkaufszentrum, would be renamed as the Northern Cross. The extension is to connect with U2 line at current Hasenbergl subway station then continue to their terminus in Feldmoching. This plan was abandoned.

The city council of Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen and the CSU faction in the town council of Karlsfeld proposed the above ground extension of the U2 from Feldmoching to Karlsfeld as a measure to relieve the municipality of the heavy car traffic. Moreover, this should provide a greater incentive for the employees of the large companies MAN and MTU to use public transport for their work. After initial investigations had shown a low cost benefit ratio for this route, it was not cost effective and was abandoned.

This extension is planned after the U3 has been extended to Moosach, and it will go via Waldhornstraße.

After the success of citizen initiative to extend the U5 West to Pasing and then to Freiham, the state parliament is exploring the extension south of Neuperlach Süd station to Taufkirchen. The extension would serve several important large scale industries (including Ludwig Bölkow Systemtechnik and Airbus Defence and Space), the Bundeswehr University Munich, the Technical University of Munich Department of Aerospace and Geodesy, and suburban towns (Neubiberg, Ottobrunn, and Taufkirchen). The six kilometre extension with four new stations is estimated to cost 300 400 million Euros, and the exact route hasn't been determined yet. Due to the cost factor, the extension would be built above ground since the tunnel costs approximately €80 million per kilometre. The Bavarian minister president, Markus Söder, is pushing for the large portion of federal funding, following the recent change in the outdated federal law, Gemeindeverkehrsfinanzierungsgesetz (Municipal Transportation Finances Act), to address the issues with cost factor analysis for the suburban regions and beyond. No construction or completion date is given yet.

This would be only U Bahn line with direct access to the Munich Airport. At Hallbergmoos station, U6 would continue in parallel with S8 line to the airport and stop at both terminals before travelling further to Eching and Neufahrn. However, the plan was abandoned.

On 11 February 2014, SWM/MVG announced a detailed report for the construction of a new 10.5 km bypass line, a sixth intracity underground line, to be called the U9. The new line will relieve the overburdened U1/U2/U7/U8 and U3/U6 lines, especially the transfer stations at Sendlinger Tor (U1/U2/U7/U8 and U3/U6), Hauptbahnhof (U1/U2/U7/U8, U4/U5, and S Bahn), and Odeonsplatz (U3/U6 and U4/U5), and will shorten the travel time between the Hauptbahnhof and the Allianz Arena by removing the need to transfer at Marienplatz or Odeonsplatz. MVG is predicting tremendous growth of passenger traffic in the northern section of Munich in the next twenty years and wants to plan accordingly. The proposal was revised and approved in January 2018 to integrate the three major construction projects at Hauptbahnhof: the second S Bahn tunnel and station, a new dedicated U9 platform, and the reconstruction of Hauptbahnhof. On 2 July 2019, funding for the U9 construction was approved, with most of the €3.5 billion to be provided by the federal government. The confirmed completion date is 2038 at latest. The revised plan eliminates U6 service between Implerstraße and Münchner Freiheit to relieve the overburdened U3 and reduce the heavy congestion at Sendlinger Tor and Odeonplatz when transferring between lines during rush hour. The U9 takes over the current U6's southwestern (Klinikum Großhadern – Implerstraße) and northeastern (Münchner Freiheit – Garching Forschungszentrum) extensions. The new stations would be Martinsried (a new extension west of Klinikum Großhadern), Esperantoplatz, Hauptbahnhof (dedicated platform), Pinakotheken, and Elisabethplatz. At Münchner Freiheit, the U9 is connected to the current U6 tracks to continue to its northeastern terminus at Garching Forschungszentrum. A further plan to add a second spur to connect with the U2 line at Theresienstraße is planned. The second spur would be called U29: Klinikum Großhadern – Hauptbahnhof – Theresienstraße – Harthof. This plan would extend the current U6 southwestern terminus from Klinikum Großhadern to Martinsried. Theresienwiese park has currently one subway station on site in the north but is served by two additional subway stations a few blocks away (U3/U6 Goetheplatz in the southeast and U4/U5 – Schwanthälerhöhe in the west). Adding a second onsite subway station in the southeastern area would reduce the heavy Oktoberfest crowd at Theresienwiese station, especially during the closing time. Both stations would have direct connection to Hauptbahnhof without transferring. The name of second onsite station has not been officially determined yet, but the working title at moment is 2. Wiesnbahnhof. Esperantoplatz and Bavaria (in reference to the Bavaria statue nearby) have been suggested. and construction of a new four track station underneath the Südring, serving the U3, U9, and U29, and connecting to the new aboveground station serving regional trains and possibly the S Bahn if the future S Bahn Ring is approved. The new U Bahn station would be called Impler /Poccistraße to differentiate it from the current U3/U6 – Implerstraße and Poccistraße stations. The current Poccistraße station has serious structural problems requiring expensive maintenance and extensive monitoring; it is cheaper to build a new station nearby than to continue using Poccistraße. At Hauptbahnhof, the new dedicated U9 platform would be built underneath the current S Bahn platform but above the U4/U5 platform. The platform would be located underneath the regional and long distance train tracks between Holzkirchner Bahnhof (Holzkirchner wing station, serving southeastern Bavaria) and Starnberger Bahnhof (Starnberg wing station, serving southwestern Bavaria) with a new mezzanine level connecting the U9 platform with both wing stations and the rest of Hauptbahnhof. The advantage of locating the U9 platform in the western section of Hauptbahnhof is a quick transfer between platforms without a long, circuitous walk from one platform to other via the grand platform in the east. On 3 July 2019, Deutsche Bahn announced the new "2. Stammstrecke — Die Optimierungen" (Second Trunk Line Optimisation). The State of Bavaria and the Munich city council want the first U9 station to be built at the Hauptbahnhof at the same time as the reconstruction of the Hauptbahnhof main building and the construction of the second S Bahn trunk line. The design revision relocates the U9 platforms from the west end of the regional and long distance platforms to the middle of the main Hauptbahnhof building below ground. The relocation places the U9 station directly above the second trunk line station in a cross arrangement. This improves the passenger flow between two current U Bahn lines (U4/U5 and U1/U2/U7/U8), one current S Bahn trunk line, and the above ground level.

Another proposal for crosstown travel in the north between U2 Am Hart and U6 (or U9 when opened) Kieferngarten is under consideration. This U26 would serve the people who live in the north and don't need to travel south in order to travel between northwest and northeast regions. The high cost and fewer stops as compared to tram line would make this proposal less feasible. However, the new massive expansion plan for BMW's Forschungszentrum (Research Centre) in the north of BMW headquarter buildings and manufacturing plants would employ about 40,000 employees by 2050. The increased number of employees would lead to the vehicular traffic chaos and collapse unless the new S Bahn North Ring and new U26 are built with stations at Forschungszentrum. The higher capacity of U26 and underground placement (without impacting the vehicular traffic) could make it more feasible and possible than tram line.