Hamburg S-Bahn
The Hamburg S-Bahn is a rapid transit railway system in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. Together, the S-Bahn, the Hamburg U-Bahn, the AKN railway and the regional railway form the backbone of railway public transport in the city and the surrounding area. The network has operated since 1907 as a commuter rail system, under the direction of the state railway, and is a member of the Hamburger Verkehrsverbund (HVV; Hamburg Transport Association). There are four lines, serving 68 stations, on 147 kilometres (91 mi) of route. On an average working day the S-Bahn transports about 590,000 passengers; in 2010 about 221 million people used the S-Bahn.
| S-Bahn Hamburg | |||
|---|---|---|---|
S-Bahn-Station "Hamburg Airport (Flughafen)" | |||
| Overview | |||
| Locale | Hamburg | ||
| Transit type | S-trains, Commuter rail | ||
| Number of lines | 4 (S Bahn Lines) | ||
| Number of stations | 68 (11 underground & 4 national railway stations) | ||
| Annual ridership | 227,000,000 (2016) | ||
| Website | S-Bahn Hamburg | ||
| Operation | |||
| Began operation | 1907 | ||
| Operator(s) | S-Bahn Hamburg GmbH | ||
| Technical | |||
| System length | 147 km (91 mi) | ||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge | ||
| Electrification | 1,200 V DC third rail, 15 kV 16+2⁄3 Hz AC overhead lines for the extension to Stade | ||
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The S-Bahn is the only railway in Germany that uses both 1,200 V DC supplied by a third rail and 15 kV 16+2⁄3 Hz AC supplied by overhead lines. Most of the tracks are separated from other rail services. The S-Bahn is operated by S-Bahn Hamburg GmbH, a subsidiary of DB Regio.
Similarly to Berlin but unlike Hanover, the S-Bahn is an important part of public transport within the city due to its dense schedule and good coverage of the metropolitan region. Unlike both Berlin and Hanover, the S-Bahn is of little importance for regional traffic since the network lies mostly within the city, though in 2007 the southwestern S3 line was extended about 32 km (20 mi) into the state of Lower Saxony (the Neugraben - Stade portion, which included seven new stations).