Karlsruhe Stadtbahn - Rolling Stock

Rolling Stock

Stadtbahn cars of the Karlsruhe type have been used since 1983 (such as class GT6-80C). The fleet includes 60 single-current vehicles for the direct current services only and operate on lines S1, S11 and S2. This type was derived from the Stadtbahnwagen B. 40 vehicles are 38 m-long 8-axle cars, while the remaining 20 6-axle cars are 28 m-long.

An 8-axle two-system car of the design GT8-100C/2S was developed for services running under a mixture of DC and AC lines from the DC vehicles, and 36 examples were supplied between 1991 and 1995. As technology advanced the follow-up design GT8-100D/2S-M was developed in 1997 and 85 vehicles were delivered up to 2005, carrying the numbers 801–886. In the autumn of 2009, 30 new two-car Flexity Swift sets were ordered, with an option for a further 45 sets. To bridge the bottleneck in deliveries at the end of 2009 three sets were borrowed from the Saarbahn.

In the two-area system served by the GT8-100D/2S-M Flexity Swift vehicles, 55 cm high platforms were built to provide step-free entrances. These were mostly built on the newer line (especially the Murg Valley, Enz Valley, the line to Odenheim and the Kraichgau line to Eppingen) while the older routes have been only been sporadically raised to this height. The Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn on the other hand, uses 76 cm high platforms for accessibility on the Durlach–Bruchsal section, but only at Durlach and Bruchsal stations. These stations have been equipped with the conversion to S-Bahn operations with platforms of heights of both 55 and 76 cm.

The older two-system and all single-system high-floor Stadtbahn vehicles do not offer barrier-free entry. These trains run on line S 2, but alternate with low-floor vehicles of class GT6-70D/N or GT8-70D/N which are also operated on most urban tram lines and provide accessible entrance at the 34 cm high platforms. The single-system Stadtbahn vehicles are to be replaced by low-floor vehicles by 2016 in preparation for the opening of the Stadtbahn tunnel being built in central Karlsruhe. The tender for these vehicles is being prepared.

There are currently no stops in Karlsruhe city with platforms providing level access to two-system vehicles (such as those used on lines S 4 and S 5). The Stadtbahn tunnel will have platforms that are up to 80 m long with a height of 34 cm, which are raised to a height of 55 cm for a length of 15 metres to give step-free access to the first two doors of two-system trains.