page_title: U8 (Berlin U-Bahn)
section_title: Completion of the U8
hierarchical_section_title: U8 (Berlin U-Bahn) / History / Completion of the U8
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Berliner U-Bahnhof Wittenau, Linie U8Deutsch: Berlin's underground station Wittenau, line u8
context_page_description: U8 is a line on the Berlin U-Bahn. It has 24 stations and is 18.1 km long. The U8 is one of two north–south Berlin U-Bahn lines, and runs from Wittenau to Neukölln via Gesundbrunnen. The original proposal was for a suspended monorail like the Wuppertal Schwebebahn.
context_section_description: The residents of Märkisches Viertel had been promised a U-Bahn connection ever since the late 1960s. After examination of several options, the decision was to extend the U8. By 1987, two stages in this extension had been completed: Gesundbrunnen – Osloer Straße and Osloer Straße – Paracelsus-Bad. The third stage still remained to be built. After the BVG took over operation of the S-Bahn in West Berlin and the Frohnau section of line was reopened on 1 October 1984, there was increasing criticism of the U8 extension, which would run almost parallel to the S-Bahn. However, the Senate of West Berlin was not to be dissuaded and resumed construction on the U-Bahn. Even a directive from the government of the Federal Republic in Bonn to instead invest in badly needed renovations of the S-Bahn, coupled with a warning that subsidies to Berlin would be reduced, was dismissed with the argument that cessation of the U-Bahn construction would cause severe economic harm to the city.
  Construction began on 27 February 1985, while the preceding segment of the U8 was also still under construction. The intended terminus of the third stage of the line extension was Wilhelmsruher Damm, near the Wittenau S-Bahn station. This was apparently to distinguish the U-Bahn from the S-Bahn. Only shortly before dedication of the new segment did the Senate correct the name of the station, which has since been called Wittenau (Wilhelmsruher Damm), but is commonly known simply as Wittenau.
  After the fall of the Berlin Wall, three stations were opened simultaneously - Bernauer Straße, Rosenthaler Platz and Jannowitzbrücke. Station restoration was started after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and all the former “ghost stations” had been opened by 1 July 1990.
  After Paracelsus-Bad, the line continues under Lindauer Allee to Lindauer Allee station, the only one on the U8 to have outside platforms. After a long curve, the U8 is running under the S-Bahn. The location of the next station requires a long walk to transfer between the two. There was also disagreement concerning the name of this station: the S-Bahn station at this point was called Wittenau (Kremmener Bahn), to distinguish it from Wittenau (Nordbahn) (which is now Wittenau (Wilhelmsruher Damm) to match the U-Bahn station). The U-Bahn station was to be called Karl-Bonhoeffer-Nervenklinik after the psychiatric clinic. This was a mouthful that was only slowly accepted. On the S-Bahn, to this day "Karl-Bonhoeffer-Nervenklinik" is announced but the shorter "Karl-Bonhoeffer-Klinik" appears on signs. The subway line then continues under the clinic. To minimise disturbance, this stretch of tunnel was excavated using a shield, and rubber sound baffling was also needed. This attracted repeated criticism from those who would have preferred open tunnelling with shoring up of buildings. Other problems also arose during construction of this stretch of line: the Brandenburg sand made work particularly difficult and numerous oversized boulders (glacial erratics) caused delays.
  After Karl-Bonhoeffer-Nervenklinik the U8 turns onto Eichborndamm, where the Rathaus Reinickendorf station was built. 1,101 m further, it reaches its current and probably ultimate terminus, Wittenau. The intention still remains today to extend this line to Märkisches Viertel. However, as with other U-Bahn construction projects, the extreme budgetary crisis in the state of Berlin is preventing further construction.
  The completed extension, which is 3.6 km (2.2 mi) long and comprises 4 new stations, was opened on 24 September 1994. Construction cost 600 million DM. As with other newly built sections of the U-Bahn in this period, Rainer Rümmler was responsible for the design of the stations. Critics say that this section would represent his peak, but that Rümmler had a tendency to excess. This is particularly evident in the Lindauer Allee station, where he primarily made use of the symbol on the coat of arms of the city of Lindau, the linden tree. At the Wittenau U-Bahn station, the colours green and yellow were supposed to radiate a certain peace, w
caption: Wittenau station, provisional and probably eventual terminus of the line
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA", "Image Make": "OLYMPUS OPTICAL CO.,LTD", "Image Model": "C120,D380", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "ACD Systems Digital Imaging", "Image DateTime": "2004:10:06 10:05:50", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "276", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1467", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "9756", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/13", "EXIF FNumber": "4", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2004:10:05 13:16:44", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2004:10:05 13:16:44", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "2", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "4", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "9/2", "EXIF SubSecTime": "421", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1024", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "768", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "1395", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed"}