Background Ghost station

sign @ unter den linden in 2007, unchanged since 1930s. has since been covered modern sign showing station s new name, brandenburger tor .



map of ghost stations in berlin

in august 1961 east german government built berlin wall, ending freedom of movement between east , west berlin. result, berlin public transit network, had formerly spanned both halves of city, divided two. u- , s-bahn lines fell entirely 1 half of city or other; other lines divided between 2 jurisdictions, trains running border , turning back. however, there 3 lines—the u-bahn lines designated u6 , u8, , nord–süd tunnel on s-bahn—that ran part through west berlin passed through relatively short stretch of east berlin territory in city centre. these lines continued open west berliners; however, trains did not stop @ of stations located within east berlin, though technical reasons did have slow down while passing through. (trains did stop @ friedrichstraße, on more below.) name geisterbahnhof aptly applied these dimly lit, heavily guarded stations travelers west berlin, watched them pass through carriage windows. however, term never official; west berlin subway maps of period labelled these stations bahnhöfe, auf denen die züge nicht halten ( stations @ trains not stop ). east berlin subway maps neither depicted west berlin lines nor ghost stations. u-bahn maps in friedrichstraße transfer station unique: depicted western lines, not geisterbahnhöfe, , showed city divided berlin, hauptstadt der ddr ( berlin, capital of german democratic republic ) , westberlin , official terminology used east germany.

the situation less ideal. lines vital part of west berlin transit network, because part of route of of lines lay in east berlin territory, difficult western support staff perform maintenance work on tracks , tunnels. if train on west berlin line broke down in east berlin territory, passengers had wait eastern border police appear , escort them out. east german government hinted might someday block access tunnels @ border , run own service on east berlin sections of these lines. however, awkward status quo persisted entire 28-year period of division of berlin.

at closed stations, barbed wire fences installed prevent would-be escapees east berlin accessing track bed, , electrically live third rail served additional , potentially lethal deterrent. alarm triggered if breached 1 of barriers. entrances, signage removed, walkways walled , stairways sealed concrete slabs. police stations built windowed platform service booths, whole platform area monitored.

a wide white line on wall marked exact location of border. later, gates installed @ stations rolled place @ night while guards off-duty. guard posts @ other stations staffed continuously, creating additional employment positions transport police. in platform area, guards worked in pairs, , care taken in assignment assure there no personal ties between them. in addition, superior officers conduct surprise inspections @ time, thus, maintaining maximum security. other stations secured east german border guards.