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Bahnhof Gleisdreieck

Gleisdreieck is an elevated Berlin U-Bahn station located on a viaduct in the Kreuzberg district, and served by lines U1, U2, and U3. The U1/U3 platform is at a higher level than, and perpendicular to, that of the U2. The station's name literally means "railway triangle," or wye in English, and marks the spot of an earlier major train hub that opened in 1902, where the three branches of the first Stammstrecke U-Bahn line from Zoologischer Garten, Potsdamer Platz and Warschauer Brücke met. Construction began in 1912 to replace the triangular junction with two lines built as a grade-separated cross with a new Gleisdreieck interchange station at the intersection. These lines now form part of U1 and U2. The new work was carried out largely with full services operating, although services were briefly interrupted on each line.The same year, the new Gleisdreieck station was opened but construction was not completed until 1913. The connecting track from the Pankow direction to the Warschauer Straße direction continued to be open until the completion of work for use by construction supply trains. A major accident at the triangle happened in 1908, when two trains collided. One car derailed and fell from the viaduct, killing 18 people and injuring 21. Upon another dangerous incident, the single-level triangle was rebuilt and replaced by the current two-level station. Since then there has been no direct rail connection between the two lines at Gleisdreieck, but only an intersection. In 1939 the North-South Tunnel was opened in the vicinity, though there is no interchange with the S-Bahn system. In 1944-1945, Gleisdreieck station and the viaduct suffered heavy bombings many times. In addition a viaduct was totally destroyed in the Battle of Berlin. After the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961, the lower platform became the eastern terminus of the U2, until service was finally discontinued in 1972. Between 1984 and 1991 it served as the southern terminus of the short-lived M-Bahn maglev running to Kemperplatz near the Philharmonie. The U2 train service on the lower platform was restarted in 1993. It is the westernmost station in Kreuzberg for both lines. The German Museum of Technology (Deutsches Technikmuseum) is adjacent to the station.

April 14th,  2025

 

 
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