Berlin North-South mainline

Berlin North–South mainline
Line between tunnel exit and Südkreuz with an InterConnex train
Overview
Native name	Nord-Süd-Fernbahn
Termini	Wedding Südkreuz
Line number	6171 (whole line) 6134 (tracks 3/4 Hbf–Südkreuz)
Technical
Line length	9.053 km (5.625 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	15 kV/16.7 Hz AC Overhead catenary
Operating speed	120 km/h (75 mph) (maximum)
Route number	203, 204, 205
Route map WeddingRing line from Gesundbrunnen 0.000 Wedding junctionRing line Berlin-Spandau Ship Canal from Moabit goods yard Hamburger and Lehrter station from Hamburg/Hanover Berlin Hbf Lehrter station north Start of Tunnel Berlin HbfStadtbahn (S-Bahn) 2.169 Berlin HbfStadtbahn (main line) Spree from Berlin-Friedrichstraße 4.196 Potsdamer Platz to Anhalter Bahnhof Landwehrkanal End of Tunnel from Anhalter Bahnhof to Wannsee from Anhalter Bahnhof Yorckstraße 7.946 SüdkreuzRing line Ring line freight line freight from Ring line 9.053 Berlin Südkreuz south end junction to Marienfelde to Priesterweg, Halle/Leipzig and Dresden Source: German railway atlas

Source: German railway atlas

The Berlin North-South main line (German: Nord-Süd-Fernbahn), also called the North-South link (Nord-Süd-Verbindung) is an electrified railway line in Berlin which was opened in 2006. It is an important component of the “mushroom concept” (Pilzkonzept) adopted for long-distance and regional rail services through the city. Its core is an approximately 3.5 km long tunnel under the Tiergarten in Berlin. The tunnel section includes the underground level of Berlin Hauptbahnhof (main station) and the Potsdamer Platz regional station. The above-ground section of the line includes the Berlin Südkreuz station.

The line is a four-track connection between the Ringbahn (Ring line) in the north of Berlin via the Berlin Hauptbahnhof to Südkreuz and the Anhalt Railway in the south. North of the Hauptbahnhof the line divides into two double-track lines. One of them runs east, the other west, both running on to the Ring line. The tunnel and the connecting to the northeast are entirely new lines. The connection from the tunnel to the north-west to Moabit follows the course of the Lehrter railway. The southern section runs above ground through the former yards of the Anhalt Railway.

The route from Wedding junction starts at a grade-separated junction towards the southwest from the Ring line’s mainline tracks. It first crosses over the southern mainline track of the Ring line, and is rising. It then runs across a bridge, called the Überflieger (overflyer) that crosses the Berlin-Spandau navigation canal, Perleberger Straße (street), the lines of the old Lehrter railway, the freight lines serving the Hamburger and Lehrter stations and one of the tracks of the new Lehrter line. The line descends to the south and reaches the level of the tracks of the Lehrter railway at the entrance to the tunnel and then descends a ramp with a gradient of 2.5 per cent.