Opened in 1929, the 4.5km branch from Jungfernheide to Gartenfeld was built by Siemens to carry workers to and from its factories in the area. The line was electrified at 750V dc and operated as part of the Berlin S-Bahn network until 1980, when services were withdrawn.
The rebuilt Siemensbahn will serve Siemens’ €600m Siemensstadt 2.0 technology park, where the company plans to locate research, specialist and start-up centres - as well as non-university and scientific institutions and their partner companies.
DB says the rebuilding of the Siemensbahn will be technically challenging because of the infrastructure’s historic monument status, the reconstruction of a 70m-long bridge across the River Spree, and the need to reconnect the line to the busy S-Bahn Ring Line at Jungfernheide.
Under the agreement €2.3m has been allocated for preliminary planning, which will include environmental studies and surveying.
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