VnK Railway

Connection to Kaulsdorf
The VnK line on the bridge (above left) in Rummelsburg
Overview
Native name	VnK-Strecke
Locale	Berlin, Germany
Line number	6070
Technical
Line length	7.8 km (4.8 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	15 kV/16.7 Hz AC overhead catenary
Route map from Friedrichstraße -0.2 Ostbahnhof B 96a Warschauer Straße Ostkreuz to Lichtenberg Rummelsburg from the Ringbahn Berlin-Rummelsburg 3.9 to Köpenick to Köpenick to Berlin outer ring (BAR) U5 from Alexanderplatz BAR, connecting to Outer freight ring (GAR) Biesdorf-Süd Grabensprung junction from GAR/BAR Elsterwerdaer Platz B 1, B 5 via Wuhletal to Hönow (U5) from Lichtenberg Wuhletal 11.74 Kaulsdorf To Strausberg Source: German railway atlas

The VnK line is a railway line in Berlin that formerly connected the Berlin Stadtbahn in Rummelsburg with the Prussian Eastern Railway in Kaulsdorf. The acronym may stand for Verbindung nach Kaulsdorf (connection to Kaulsdorf); Verbindung nach Küstrin (connection to Küstrin) or von und nach (from and to) Kaulsdorf or Küstrin are common interpretations. The western part of the line is still in operation. This single-track electrified line links the Stadtbahn with the Berlin outer ring (German: Berliner Außenring, BAR).

Following the closure of the old Berlin Ostbahnhof in 1882 a connection from the Eastern Railway to the Stadtbahn was needed. A grade separated junction at today’s Ostkreuz, where the two lines separated was not possible because there was insufficient space. Therefore, a flying junction was built two and a half km further east on the Lower Silesian-Märkische Railway near Rummelsburg marshalling yard. An eight kilometre line was built that by-passed Lichtenberg station. It was opened for passenger services on 29 January 1901, primarily for long-distance services.

After the Second World War, the new border with Poland ended long-distance traffic. Passenger trains to the east began in Strausberg or in Lichtenberg and no longer used the VnK line.

The opening of the first section of the Outer freight ring (GAR) on 31 December 1940 included a 1.2 kilometre connecting curve to the VnK, the so-called Grabensprung curve. It achieved importance after the war when the northbound track leading to the GAR was dismantled in 1947-1948 for reparations. In 1948, a short-term trial was established of a passenger service operated with railcars from Berlin-Grünau station over the GAR, the Grabensprung curve and the eastern part of the VnK line to Kaulsdorf. A temporary halt was established at the junction of the Grabensprung curve and the VnK line. The service was stopped after a few months.