Facts, Tickets and Tricks
U-Bahn (Metro)
- Company: BVG
- Since 1902
- 10 Lines
- 173 Stations
- 146km
- 500 Million passengers a year
Operation:
- Weekdays trains start at 4 in the morning, last train is around 1 in the night
- every line will be replaced with a night bus, so for example U1 will be N1 and runs in front of the stations
- Weekend (Fr-Su) all main lines run 24h (except U4, U55)
- Daytime trains operate every 5 minute, late evening every 10 minutes and night time every 15 minutes
S-Bahn (Urban-Rail)
- Company: Deutsche Bahn
- Since 1871
- 16 Lines
- 166 Stations
- 331,5km
- 430 Million passengers a year
Operation:
- Weekdays trains start at around 4 in the morning, last train is around 1.30 and 2 on the ringline in the night
- Ringlines S41 (clockwise) and S42 (anticlockwise) will be replaced in the night by bus N41/N42
- Weekend (Fr-Su) all lines rund 24h
- Daytime trains operate in 10 minute frequency, the ringline runs every 5 minutes, late evening lines run every 20 Minutes (ring every 10) and in the night every 30 minutes (ring every 15)
Trains (Bahn)
Beside intercity trains like ICE (InterCityExpress), IC (InterCity) and International Intercity Trains there are Regional Trains running through Berlin. Regional Trains (RB, RE) are signed in the Metro Map, and can be used with a normal AB Pass, what can be way more comfortable and faster if you need to do a longer distance. They serve all Major stations such as “Hauptbahnhof”, “Zoo”, “Charlottenburg”, “Ostkreuz”, “Südkreuz”, “Potsdamer Platz”, “Lichtenberg”, “Friedrichstraße”, “Ostbahnhof”, “Alexanderplatz”, “Spandau”, “Wannsee”, “Flughafen (Airport) Schönefeld” and some smaller ones
Bus
- Company: BVG
- Since 1825
- 152 Lines in the daytime (122 City-Lines, 17 Metro-Bus-Lines, 13 Express-Bus-Lines
- 62 Lines in the nighttime (45 Night-Lines and 17 Metro-Bus-Lines
- 390 Million passengers a year
Operation:
- Normal City-Bus-Lines and Express-Lines run from 4 in the morning until about 0.30 in the night all week
- The Metro-Bus-Lines run 24h all week long
- City and Express-Bus-Lines run every 20 minutes, Metro-Busses run every 10 minutes or sometimes every 5 minutes and every 30 minutes in the night
Tickets & Tricks:
- There are 3 Ticket Areas, A, B and C. – A is inside the ring-line, B is the white area outside the ring-line and C is the state of Brandenburg around Berlin (gray area).
- AB(C) Ticekts include all kind of public transportation, no matter which company
- If you just plan to visit Berlin (white area) you need a Berlin AB ticket. Single ticket is 2.80€ and a day-pass is 7.20€, so if you do 3 or more rides a day, it’s cheaper to buy a day-pass
- If you visit Berlin in a group there is a day-pass for about 16 euros, which can take 5 people for one day – so if your are 3 or more people, this is by far the best option
- If you visit Berlin with 1 or 2 people for a week, there is the option for around 30 euros for a 7-day-pass
- If you want to go to C-Area (for example Potsdam or Airport Schönefeld), you need to buy an ABC Pass or, if you have already a day/week pass, you can buy a connection ticket (Anschlussticket) for 1.60€ (One way)
- Alternative is the official Berlin-Welcome-Card which includes AB(C)-Tickets and discounts for attractions, museums, activities and several other things
- Note that the Berlin-Welcome-Card is just worth it if you plan to do some attractions, museums or activities – you need to calculate for yourself the money you save with the entrance-discounts it offers
- Note that there are no electronic checkpoints in Berlin in any public transport – System is based on trust and the tickets will be randomly controlled in the trains/busses
- Important: Validate your ticket! Once you buy a ticket there is no time and date on it, so you can buy a ticket and validate it, when you need it. If you don’t, controllers will fine you (60€)
- Bus-Lines 100 and 200 from Zoo-Station to Alexanderplatz can be used as unofficial Hop On/Off bus as they both pass lot of sights (they each have a different route)
- Free WIFI: Most stations in the Metro (U-Bahn) have Free WIFI. If you log into one of them, it will auto-login in every other station – so keep WIFI activated
- There is a historic bus-line to an UNESCO island and several ferries included in your AB Pass – more information in the “City Trips” and “Ferry” articles
- There is the “U-Bahn-Cabrio” Tour bookable via BVG – it’s basicly a Cabrio-Metro-Train running a circle of different lines. Berlin is the only place where you can book a tour like this, Tickets are about 50€ and fast sold
Downloads:
Metro-Map ABC: https://www.bvg.de/de/index.php?section=downloads&cmd=58&download=399
Metro-Map AB: https://www.bvg.de/de/index.php?section=downloads&cmd=58&download=400
Do download the free “BVG Fahrinfo Plus” App – it will give you always the fastest connection to any destination in the city including Live-Information (Delays, Cancelled connections, changes due to constructions etc.) – It will save you a lot of trouble and time
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