Karlsruhe Stadtbahn
The Karlsruhe Stadtbahn is a German tram-train system combining tram lines in the city of Karlsruhe with railway lines in the surrounding countryside, serving the entire region of the middle upper Rhine valley and creating connections to neighbouring regions. The Stadtbahn combines an efficient urban railway in the city with an S-Bahn (suburban railway), overcoming the boundary between trams and trains. Its logo does not include the green and white S-Bahn symbol used in other German suburban rail systems and the symbol is only used at stops and stations outside the inner-city tram-operation area.
| Karlsruhe Stadtbahn | |||
|---|---|---|---|
A Stadtbahn train at Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof | |||
| Overview | |||
| Locale | Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany | ||
| Transit type | Light rail (Stadtbahn) | ||
| Number of lines | 12 | ||
| Number of stations | 190 | ||
| Daily ridership | 192,876 | ||
| Annual ridership | 70,400,000 | ||
| Website | AVG and KVV | ||
| Operation | |||
| Began operation | 25 September 1992 | ||
| Operator(s) | Albtal Verkehrs Gesellschaft mbH (AVG); Karlsruher Verkehrsverbund (KVV) | ||
| Technical | |||
| System length | 262.4 km (163.0 mi) (660 km (410 mi) including track operated by Deutsche Bahn) | ||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge | ||
| Electrification | 750 V DC 15 kV 16.7 Hz AC | ||
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The idea to link tram and railway lines with one another in order to be able to offer an attractive transport system for town and outskirts was developed in Karlsruhe and implemented gradually in the 1980s and 1990s, with the system commencing operation in 1992. This idea, known as the Karlsruhe model or tram-train, has been adapted by other European cities. A new section in tunnel through central Karlsruhe was completed in December 2021.
The Karlsruhe Stadtbahn is operated in co-operation by Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (Alb valley transport corporation, AVG), Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe (Karlsruhe transport authority, VBK) and Deutsche Bahn (DB). The two urban transport operators, VBK and AVG, operate most services, while DB is responsible for the sections from Pforzheim and Bretten to Bietigheim-Bissingen. As of 2013, AVG quotes the size of the part of the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn system that is not operated by DB as 262.4 kilometres (163.0 mi), with 12 lines serving 190 stations.