A Port City with Crazy Good Transit! | Hamburg U-Bahn & S-Bahn

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Hamburg has one of Europe's most unique metro systems, with distinctive silver trains running along historic steel elevated tracks, and is complemented by an S-Bahn system. To find out all about it and more, check out todays transit Explained!
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Ever wondered why your city's transit just doesn't seem quite up to snuff? RMTransit is here to answer that, and help you open your eyes to all of the different public transportation systems around the world!
Reece (the RM in RMTransit) is an urbanist and public transport critic residing in Toronto, Canada, with the goal of helping the world become more connected through metros, trams, buses, high-speed trains, and all other transport modes.

[@AirRicDo]

I am surprised that you did not mention the ferries that go on the Elbe river. They are basically run as on-water buses, fully integrated into the city's transit system with line numbers and are a great way to see Hamburg from the river without having to buy a separate ticket

[@docugraf]

they don't have rails

[@Iikkxx35567]

​@@buni3629 you're. I use it a lot. It's pretty comfortable.

[@xfel5913]

A fun fact about the U3: Most of the line is at a constant elevation, switching between tunnels and viaducts as the terrain demands.

[@MarsupialDoku]

And it has the steepest section with the tightest curve of the Hochbahn (between Rathaus and Rödingsmarkt)

[@RMTransit]

I love It! Dynamic!

[@bossfight6125]

Despite the fact that this is a U-Bahn, I feel there is more elevated/at-grade stations than Underground, although they all look fantastic regardless of where they are.

[@dwh1664]

@@MarsupialDoku yes it feels a bit like a roller coaster (in a good way) whenever you go from Rödingsmarkt to Rathaus, from above ground, around the corner and then underground 😊

[@dwh1664]

@@bossfight6125 my wife is a designer and she was commenting how the elevated structures look old and classic and combined with the new U3 trains, it’s just such a beautiful combination of old and new ❤

[@thebackyard7661]

The fact that they got rid of the trams in the 70’s, and the fact that they replaced them all with busses which get stuck in traffic is the worst thing to ever happen to Hamburgs transport system…

[@erichamilton3373]

You're right. They said trams were too noisy...what a HUGE mistake

[@leDespicable]

Tbf, Trams would also get stuck in traffic, since they rarely had seperated tracks

[@userSchlonsch]

While you are completely right about getting rid of trams, the „Busbeschleunigungsprogramm“ (bus-acceleration-program) has done wonders to improve reliability and speed of the bus network in recent years. I still hope that Hamburg will consider implementing a modern tram network in the future (especially along the routes of the Bus lines 4 and 5), but I’d say Hamburg does have an above average bus network.

[@userSchlonsch]

@@leDespicable but that could have been changed, especially since most main bus lines now have separate lanes in typically congested areas in the city center

[@tickrob991]

But what is interesting for me is the fact that Hamburger seems to be very satisfied with their public transport (like the bus network). More than in other cities like Munich.

[@namenamename390]

I'd like to mention Hamburg's buses, because they're insane. Some lines, like line 5, used to be tram lines, but the tracks were dismantled and replaced with buses. This is not unusual, but these lines are insanely congested. The buses are enormous (look up what a Mercedes Benz CapaCity looks like), they run every three minutes, and are still overcrowded. They even run in dedicated lanes in the center of the road for most of their journey. It's basically still a tram line, they just don't use trams. It would probably be a good decision to rebuild the tracks and replace the gigantic buses with trams, but that's apparently not happening any time soon.

[@erikziak1249]

Hamburg is a prime example of why it is stupid to dismantle trams and replace them with buses. Modern, 2,65 m wide, 60 meter long trams would be much better than any bus service, that is running already at its maximum capacity and has no potential to attract more passengers.

[@trillionbones89]

Bus 5 is the most used bus line in Europe

[@delanofranklin5505]

Olaf Scholz, currently chancellor of Germany, had the chance to reintroduce the tram during his tenure (2011-2018). Refrained from it, meaning Hamburg is Europe's laughing stock as it's the only European city with 1M+ inhabitants and no tram.

[@TramHB]

Hamburg's current mayor thinks trams are steel monsters from bygone times that only would take space away from bicycle and pedestrian traffic. :-(

[@f.g.9466]

​@@TramHB that's exactly how I would describe cars & buses 😂

[@djvnsdjkvnsfjsrhbgdh]

As a person from Hamburg I am really happy u made a video about my homwtown! What you did not even touch upon are the extensive regional services. There are many regional lines connecting the other cities in the region. Most of the operating every 30 minutes the whole day and that is with 5 - 8 car double decker trains.

[@mountainous_port]

Wow

[@RMTransit]

It’s generally my policy not to, as in my videos for Berlin and Munich, though I do include the S Bahns!

[@N-WagenFan217.0]

@@RMTransit could you give me a Download to the thumpnail without the Text 😅😓

[@DoDo-dq7yf]

Also some of those regional trains used to be "S-Bahn" too Which is also why the S-Bahn in Hamburg doesn't extend much past the city borders, with the S3 being the only exceptions

[@faultier1158]

They're also a useful way to dodge the dreaded Schienenersatzverkehr when the S3 has problems again - at least between Harburg and HBF.

[@mkoschmall]

Interesting side note: the HVV - Hamburger Verkehrsverbund - was the world‘s first integrated fare system. Until today, all public transport companies operating in Hamburg (The Hochbahn, the S-Bahn operated by DB, City Buses, regional trains and even river boats) can be used with one common ticket. It‘s also an open system without physical barriers or validators at the platform entrances.

[@mrm7058]

As someone who lived most of his life in Hamburg, I think it's a good, but not a crazy good system.(There is room for improvement) What's missing, IMHO; is a bigger loop other than the U3. Connection between parts of the city outside and around the city center can take quite a while. I commuted between Flottbek and Stellingen for some while, and it took twice as long with the S-Bahn compared with a bicycle. At the moment, almost everything goes to the main station (which is overcrowded in peak times anyway) or Altona. And a better connection between Harburg and the rest of Hamburg (the S3 is terrible overcrowded during rush hour) would also be great. Maybe a second line would help. I am also not quite happy with the relocation of Altona to Diebsteich. Altona is a city center of its own and a destination. In Diebsteich on the other hand is hardly anything. Also, it makes one more change necessary for routes west of Altona because the S1 will not be directly connected to Diebsteich. Great is however that they finally build a proper S4 to Ahrensburg. This is overdue.

[@kw1ksh0t]

I agree. Especially anything west of St. Pauli is very underserved by the network overall. Altona sometimes feels neglected. The Altona to Diebsteich idea is bizarre. Nothing is wrong with the Altona train station

[@acuteaura]

Also move anywhere south of Harburg and you're stuck on 2-3 tracks with tons of IC/ICE traffic with metronom trains basically having to sneak through fully loaded high capacity trains. Commuting on this route was always painful.

[@canardeur8390]

As someone who has also lived in Hamburg, I think it has a very bad system. What is missing is a reasonable tram network. I mean, I was there between 2004 and 2007; now 2023, people are still being packed like sardines in those stupid Metrobus-line-5 vehicles!

[@RMTransit]

Always room for improvement! I agrée about the need for a loop!

[@Wolfstarzan]

Yeah everytime I want into the centre something is with the S3/S31. That's one of the main reason I will look for a new place near the centre of Hamburg

[@8-bitoddish890]

The “chime” for stop announcements on the Hamburg U-bahn are probably my favorite in the world, they are so unique compared to anywhere else I’ve been

[@vladimiradoshev5310]

I agree. The new Berlin chime (in the U-Bahn) is crap

[@Dergelbe1208]

I think the chime in the Stockholm Metro is the best.

[@tonyulysse346]

My favorite is the mind the gap announcement at Klosterstern

[@connectingwings7212]

@@Dergelbe1208 i love the hannover lrt chime, it just sounds good in ur ears and doesn't sound painful or anything

[@1ich_mag_zuege]

Great video as always, though I’d like to add one thing: In early December the S-Bahn is planning to reorganise the entire network in order to improve reliability, which I can personally confirm isn’t the best. The S1 will stay the same, running from Wedel in the west through the city tunnel to Poppenbüttel and the airport in the east. The S2 will take over the services currently operated by the S21 apart from terminating at Altona like the S31 instead of continuing westwards. The S3 will also largely stay the same. The only difference is that it won’t run all the way to Stade on the southern branch and instead terminate at Neugraben. The S5 will be a completely new line taking over current S3 services on the southern branch running all the way to Stade and current S21 services to the north of central station. The services currently operated by the S2 and S11 will be taken over by the new S1 and S2. In the near future there will also be three major extension to the network including one not mentioned in the video: The S4 is currently being built and will start in the west at Altona running through the city tunnel and terminating in the northeast at Bad Oldesloe. The S5 will be extended in the north to Kaltenkirchen taking over services currently operated by the AKN. The S6 will be a new line starting at Neugraben in the south passing the central station and Dammtor and in the west it will presumably terminate in Osdorf where a new tunnel is planned.

[@BrokenCurtain]

That doesn't sound good for Stade, which has a unique historic city centre.

[@RMTransit]

Thanks for all the insights on the changes!

[@civishamburgum1234]

Wait. They've actually managed to get the S4 off the ground?

[@DoDo-dq7yf]

@@civishamburgum1234 yes, should be, and I say should be ready for 2027-29

[@Wildcard71]

Too chaotic! If I had to decide, I would only drop S2 and S31, rename S21 to S2 and S11 to S4. That would even match to the extensions to Ahrensburg and Osdorf.

[@broderbunto2305]

The U5 is really needed. I remember starting my vocational training as a teenager in Hamburg. I thought I could get there with public transport because I was used to travel to Hamburg via Rail and S-Bahn needing only around 30 to 45 minute to get into the city center. But my company send me to a branch in Bramfeld where I needed to leave home around three 3 and a half hours before my start time to not be late. I bought the cheapest a car after enduring the long travel times for 3 months with my first pay checks. With the car I needed only 25minuts instead of over 3 hours. No more taking the first train at 4am in the morning after riding the bike in the rain to the station because buses only started at 5am.

[@RMTransit]

Definitely not good and not the way to get people to use public transport!

[@iliketoast-q9b]

Indeed, Bramfeld desperately needs a U- or S-line, prefereably one that also covers parts of Wandsbek and Tonndorf. If the coverage is there, the system works very well imho, but coverage is an issue still.

[@Blex_040]

Bramfeld and Steilshoop are definitely gaping holes in the railway system. However... 3.5 hours sounds exaggerated. The U Farmsen for example is connected to the U1 and has the metro bus line 26 which drives through both districts to the S Rübenkamp passing Steilshooper Allee. And from Steilshooper Allee you can switch to three different metro bus line which go through Bramfeld and either to U Berne or S Poppenbüttel. Though I had to commute via Steilshooper Allee myself in the late 2000 and remember it was very congested during rush hours, so some delays are expected, but not 3.5 hours... you could commute from Bremen to Bramfeld in under 3 hours 😂

[@mstrmren]

4:29 As far as I know, the metro system isn't called Hochbahn, but the company that operates it is. It's like if you called the NYC Subway the MTA. Hochbahn also operates most busses in Hamburg. Wikipedia says: "Hamburger Hochbahn AG (HHA) is the largest transport company in Hamburg. It operates the Hamburg subway and a large part of the Hamburg city bus network within the Hamburg Transport Association (HVV). Hochbahn is one of the largest local transport companies in Germany and the largest service provider in the HVV."

[@RMTransit]

Yes, but I think the system is also called that or was historically? Given it’s meaning…

[@mstrmren]

@@RMTransit It might was called that historically, but the majority of people I know just say U-Bahn or S-Bahn, and if they're mentioning Hochbahn it's always the company they're referring to (in my experience when talking to people from Hamburg).

[@heinzmeier2]

@@RMTransit Hochbahn translates to sort of „high railway“ in the sense of elevated, as the U3 with all it‘s elevated sections was mostly not underground. Same is valid for Berlins first underground lines (today‘s U1 and U2), which also had an operating company called Hochbahn. The firm Hochbahn is the network owner and operator, aside from operating the busses. The underground is still called U-Bahn for about a century now in common language, maybe especially to distinguish it from the S-Bahn

[@userSchlonsch]

@@RMTransit The system used to be called Hochbahn, which is now the name of the company running the U-Bahn and most of the Bus services. I know a few people that still call the U-Bahn „Hochbahn“, my grandmother for example. But nowadays people usually just refer to it as U-Bahn and S-Bahn

[@der_nik_7467]

I think it's simple, if you say "HOCHBAHN", you mean the Company an if you say "U-Bahn", you mean the network. I don't know any People who say "Hochbahn" to the network. I mean, except of the U3 it is an classic underground, it's just the very long U1 branches out of Hamburg which makes the network being overground for about 60%, Inside the City Center most of the Tracks are classic underground.

[@vladimiradoshev5310]

I'm from Berlin and I love Hamburg, it's probably my fav city in Germany. I just love Hamburg's maritime feeling, the transit system is also amazing. I would love to spend more time in Hamburg

[@AndreasWeberling]

Do it mate! It's just 1,45 Hours traveltime with the ICE so you can easily do a daytrip... I already did that multiple times.

[@mijos3]

A dream come true! I‘m from Hamburg and I hoped something like this would come! Thanks, Reece!

[@canardeur8390]

Good that your dream has come true about describing a real nightmare!

[@mijos3]

@@canardeur8390 And that nightmare is?

[@canardeur8390]

@@mijos3 Die Hochbahn! Und die ständig überfüllten Scheißbusse der Metrobuslinie 5! Und der Fakt, dass man 1000 Mal umsteigen muss, um von A nach B anzukommen.

[@mijos3]

@@canardeur8390 Überfüllte Busse sind ein Problem der MetroBus-Linien, also der Linien 1-29 (Allerdings wird auch etwas dagegen unternommen, bspw. mit dem Einsatz von 21m CapaCity L Bussen auf der Linie 26, auch wenn ich bis jetzt nur sehr wenige gesehen habe). Das ist wirklich ein Problem, auch wenn es Ausnahmen gibt, bspw. nehme ich die Linie 28 selten als voll wahr. Auch die normalen Linien haben manchmal Probleme, aber ich persönlich bin mit den U-Bahnen der Hochbahn äußerst zufrieden. Hohe Taktfrequenzen und relativ wenig Verspätungen. Und die Sache mit dem Umsteigen sehe ich als ein Problem von Deutschland allgemein an. In Berlin oder München ist das ja auch kaum anders.

[@canardeur8390]

@@mijos3 Dass ALLE MetroBus-Linien überfüllt sind, glaube ich dir gern. Ich habe nur die Linie 5 erwähnt (hätte aber auch die Linie 4 miteinbeziehen können), weil es diejenige ist, mit der ich täglich fuhr! Und ich mag lieber reden, nur über was ich kenne. Und als ich in Hamburg lebte, gab es nicht soviele MetroBus-Linie. Ja, das mit den 21-Meter langen CapaCities habe ich auch mitgekriegt. Und jedes 10-jähriges Kind würde verstehen, dass die das Problem der überfüllten Busse nicht lösen können, wenn die MetroBus-Linie 5 schon damals mit den 25-Meter Vanhools zur Sättigung kam! Ob das mit dem zigtausend mal umsteigen ein deutsches Problem ist? Ich kenne mich ja mit den BVG- und MVG-Netzen zwar nicht aus, war nur ein paar Tage in beiden Städten, deshalb würde mich die Meinungen der Berliner und der Münchner interessieren. Ich habe aber auch in NRW gelebt, und kann mich doch nicht erinnern, dass man im Großraum-Düsseldorf oder Köln zigtausend mal umsteigen musste, um von A nach B anzukommen, wie es der Fall in Hamburg ist. Die meisten deutschen Netzwerke, die ich kenne, seien es von Groß-, Mittelgroß- oder Kleinstädten, sind in der Regel auch so konzipiert, dass man höchstens nur einmal umsteigen muss, um ans Ziel anzukommen, auch wenn das heißt, dass Busse auch parallel zu Bahnen fahren.

[@noone.unknown]

I moved to hamburg a year ago and as someone from london i thiught i would never say this. But hamburg might have the best inner city line with the U3. Train comes every 3 minutes and is reliable and always on time. Plus it's not very loud. My flat is direktly next to the train Line.

[@toniderdon]

9:45 Blankenese is one of the richest areas in Germany, mostly filled with large single-family mansions that cost millions. So even the rich people get a very nice connection to the public transit network

[@brianalexeu]

I think it's interesting that you mentioned the good coverage of the system several times. Since in Germany, it's actually regarded as having less good transit coverage because there just aren't that many lines and the city also doesn't have a tram system like Cologne, Berlin or Munich. This is also why so much new stuff is being built now.

[@RMTransit]

Within Germany it’s coverage is not amazing, but I think it’s pretty good on a global scale

[@bahnspotterEU]

@@RMTransit Still doesn‘t warrant a title like “crazy good”, because it isn’t even good for its own country’s standards.

[@userSchlonsch]

I would actually disagree with the sentiment that the system in Hamburg is below average for Germany. While there aren’t as many lines numerically , the ones that are there focus mostly on the city itself and the immediate surrounding areas with regional services going further out to the rest of the metropolitan area. The lack of trams is a shame but Hamburg has a massive bus network that has been steadily improved over the years with separate bus lanes, rebuilding intersections and entire streets and syncing traffic lights to reduce travel time and delay. This allows busses to run up to every two minutes on the busiest sections.

[@iliketoast-q9b]

@@bahnspotterEU I strongly disagree. Hamburg does public transport very well and I have been to other german cities and friends from out of town who visit have often praised how easily and smoothly they can get from point A to point B...unless you have to use the infamous SEV (Schienenersatzverkehr). There are of course plenty of shortcomings but this bias against buses in favor of trams is unfounded imho. I've been on trams in other german, austrian and swiss cities and I wasn't impressed tbh. Also consider that Hamburg is rather large and we have the busiest bus-line in europe (Line 5). I frequently commute on it and while it can be overcroweded even on a 2-3 minute schedule with bi-articulated buses...I fail to see how a tram would improve the situation.

[@BLACKSTA361]

@@bahnspotterEU That's cap. If it was a Local Channel ok. RM transit is a international channel. So obviously he'll rate it on a international scale. And for International standards it is "crazy good". Like just compare this to other 2nd cities like Marseille or Manchester💀 and that's still Europe

[@namenamename390]

One thing to notice in the line numbering is that all one digit lines run through the city center via the southern route, the "City-Tunnel", while all two digit lines run through the center via the northern "Verbindungsbahn". I like this numbering system. However, it will be gone in December this year, being replaced by simple lines S1-S3 plus S5. By 2030, an S4 and S6 are supposed to join the network as well.

[@RMTransit]

Ah yes that’s a great note!

[@Heffen89]

There is also a new line S32 in the planning. This line will connect the Osdorfer Born for the first time in decades to high speed rail. The OsBo desperately needs that kind of connection. On the other and the track along the Luruper Hauptstraße will negatively influence the research facilities on the DESY campus nearby. Vibrations and magnetic fields from train motion and power supply will disturb many delicate instruments and electron beams of the particle accelerators such as PETRA.

[@kingrobin6582]

I would love to see a video about the metro/train system in Brussels and how Brussels is the backbone for the whole Belgian train network.

[@RMTransit]

I definitely want to do a Brussels Explained eventually

[@BLACKSTA361]

@@RMTransit please also consider doing a video on Frankfurt

[@zlennial]

I am studying in Hamburg. This city is just magnificent and deserves all kind of appreciation. The U3 ist designed to drive in a loop, seeing the Harborside at Landungsbrücken and Baumwall is just beyond beautiful.

[@Iikkxx35567]

Ikr, I am also living in Hamburg. What are the things you love about Hamburg. FG

[@Moshmaschine]

Relatively new Hochbahn U-Bahn conductor here - great and insightful video! The harbor view you get at Landungsbrücken/Baumwall is in fact a highlight... if you have time to enjoy it, since the U3 is often very congested (nightmarishly so during events like the Hafengeburtstag or after service interruptions) because the trains only have 2x3 DT5 cars instead of the usual 3x3. This is due to the short platforms of some of the beautiful historic stations (the shortest being Sierichstraße at a whopping 84m, giving us appx. 4m lenience to not have people fall onto the tracks when they exit). It also has one of the sharpest, if not THE sharpest, turn of any metro in Europe between Rödingsmarkt and Rathaus (the "rollercoaster" between the office buildings). And just a little nitpick: Technically, the U2 starts at Niendorf Nord (in the northwest) and terminates at Mümmelmannsberg (in the east). That's only relevant internally though, I guess. :)

[@trillionbones89]

Yay, my city! 🥳 I love the Hochbahn, the bridges and trees Fun fact: there is a reason why the S-Bahn is focused around Altona and Harburg: they weren't part of Hamburg, but Prussia. The Hochbahn was "by Hamburg for Hamburg".

[@Fan652w]

Thanks Reece for a very clear video about a system I am familiar with. One point in Hamburg;'s favour is that it was (in 1966) the first city to institute a Verkehrsverbund under which identical fares and tickets apply to the U-bahn, S-bahn, buses, trams and passenger ferries. All other major German-speaking cities have followed Hamburg's example. Against Hamburg is the fact that the last trams ran in 1978, and it has no plans to reintroduce them. On this point Hamburg is in marked contrast to every other major German-speaking city.

[@themariokartlick]

Fortunately these Verkehrsverbunde are finally giving way to the Deutschland ticket which is undeniably better. God I hated having to check which fare I needed to go somewhere

[@xderleonx7227]

No concrete plans rather it is discussed the whole time

[@drdewott9154]

Yeah lets also not forget the Line 5 bus. The busiest bus line in all of Europe that runs on what was one a former tram route. We have the very same issue in Copenhagen with our line 5C bus which has the #2 spot for busiest in Europe.

[@RMTransit]

Yeah the lack of trams is quite surprising indeed, the S Bahn also isn’t all that big at the moment!

[@xderleonx7227]

@@RMTransit while its no replacement for metro or S-Bahn, the bus system is pretty decent besides the usual side effects in big cities with huge traffic congestion

[@MTobias]

I love Hamburg! It's one of the best cities in Germany. The network has some weaknesses in terms of coverage, but they're trying their best to fix that with by far the most ambitious expansion plans of any city in Germany. You did a great job mentioning them all, I think the only one that you might have missed are the metro-like S6 (formerly S32) which is supposed to cover some ground in western Hamburg that U5 will miss. Great video, Reece!

[@RMTransit]

Ah yes, I think I Heard about this from a local but failed to include it! Oops!

[@patrickhanft]

To be honest, the S32/(is it really now called S6?) project is still in a very early phase and has unfortunately already a major problems to solve around DESY. Knowing that the western area (in which I also live) is promised after the end of the trams access to new rail bound transport for over 50 years now, makes me sceptical that this will be solved during my active work life (I'm in my mid 30ies now). @RMTransit your video has made me so aware again, how bitter it is to live right in the middle of the "western transit hole" here. It really doesn't feel as great as it might feel in other parts of the city. However, everyone living south of the Elbe river, has much worse options as S3 is over capacity all the time. We need a western S-Bahn/maybe even long distance rail tunnel parallel to the Autobahn as well!

[@MTobias]

@@patrickhanft according to Wiki, it seemingly is. However noz sure how accurate it is. The DESY issue seems to have been solved recently by changing the route to go around it.

[@LeZylox]

I think it's also notable that Hamburg doesn't have trams, wich is very unique for a city in Germany of its size. They were demolished after WW2 but are really needed because the busses are really crowded :/

[@hb-man]

Technically, you are correct, but almost everything in today's modern world happened after WW2. The decision to abandon the tram step by step was made in 1958, after most lines were repaired directly after the war. The last tram line closed down in 1978. The original plan to replace tram with more underground or "Hochbahn" turned out to be too costly, which is the reason surprisingly large parts of the city are only connected by bus, which was the obvious alternative to trams. Compare this to Munich, where they wanted to follow a similar plan without having any underground at that time, but somehow managed to botch execution, so tram remained in parallel to the newly constructed underground that was built for the Olympics 1972, and today is even getting expansions again.

[@timzschiedrich1004]

I think the metropolitan area of Leipzig-Halle deserves a video on it‘s own. Leipzig and Halle both have really extensive tram networks. Also this area has the largest S-Bahn system in all of Germany.

[@CharlsonS]

The S-Bahn is barely a S-Bahn. It's just a series of regional rail lines on a trunk line

[@timzschiedrich1004]

@@CharlsonS well it serves it’s purpose and many s-bahn systems in germany are like this

[@justsomeguy5103]

@@CharlsonS They rebuilt the system with a "metro" tunnel through the city centre about ten years ago. It is basically an archetypical S-bahn these days.

[@bahnspotterEU]

@@timzschiedrich1004 Doesn‘t make it any better. It‘s a „Regio S-Bahn“ at best

[@YungMerkel]

@@bahnspotterEU es ist schon komplizierter als du meinst, außerhalb Leipzig Halle ist es eine Regio S Bahn, aber innerhalb der Städte und zwischen den beiden Städten + die Strecken nach Markkleeberg sind definitiv eine S Bahn.

[@petersampel2180]

Yay, as a Hamburg-based person I was hoping for this one. :)

[@RMTransit]

I Hope it was worth it!

[@petersampel2180]

@@RMTransit definitely!

[@kassthered8452]

Oh man, I'm so glad my home town got the spotlight like this! Growing up in Hamburg, the public transport system was such a major part of life that I really notice it whenever I go to other cities that don't have a system as expansive as ours. Fun fact, one of the big reasons why the term "Hochbahn" is still in use so much is probably because the company that runs the Metros and most Busses is called "Hochbahn".

[@gunnarherzog5538]

Also of interest are the regional train services, which at most only serve the more important stations within the city, like Harburg Station and Dammtor. They often provide a faster and/or more comfortable service to the outlying towns which are also served by the S-Bahn and more service beyond. Of greatest interest are probably the RE8 and RE80, which connect Hamburg with the city of Lübeck, which is situated only 60 km distant and has about 220.000 inhabitants

[@RMTransit]

Yep! The RE services are always very interesting

[@pandastaubball3167]

I have been wanting this video for sooo long. Hamburg was my first introduction to a real U-Bahn & S-Bahn as a child when visiting friends. To this day whenever I come to Hamburg the first thing I want to do after the 5 hour ride on the metronom is taking a U-Bahn and just travel a bit around the network. It fills me with so much nostalgia every time and I really like the vibe of the systems and how interconnected both systems are (except for the U4). I am so happy that you made a video about it as it is my favourite Transit system.

[@erichamilton3373]

Me too...for a kid from San Diego, Cali the U and S Bahn network was so amazing.

[@hey4077]

Thanks for publishing this video! Hamburgs U-Bahn system is very interesting indeed, especially due to similarities with some other old North American metro systems like the Chicago L or the elevated branches in the Philadelphia and New York subways. Also, just like most of the rail cars in North America, the U3 and U4 line operate in stainless steel rail cars. The downside of Hamburgs U-Bahn is that although it is reliable, the coverage isn't good at all. But I think Hamburg is trying to fix the issues they made in the past with very ambitious projects like the new U5, U4 extension, S32 (Osdorf), S5 and more. But ripping off the tram/street car system like West-Berlin, Chicago, New York etc. did back then was a big mistake and I think the only way fixing this mistake is to reintroduce the tram in Hamburg. Very sad for a city with that many residents and such a long public transportation history.

[@Txkato]

fun fact of history: hamburg has independence as a city from any larger region sort of baked into its local culture since the middle ages, and you can actually see this in the layout of the u-bahn and s-bahn. before 1937 altona was it's own city with 200k residents, inside of the state of prussia. it was prussia (and after railways were nationalized, the german empire as a whole) who operated what would become the sbahn, while hamburg operated the ubahn. thats why there is no ubahn to altona, despite having quite alot of residents (when the ring opend the mayor of hamburg actually specificly said "the hochbahn is build for all HAMBURG residents - and should be beneficial for everyone") the main reason for the north eastern u1 branch to großhansdorf was that großhansdorf was an exclave of hamburg back then aswell

[@enderdavid_hdde348]

Btw. Hamburg as a city has the most bridges in entire europe... Having more than rotterdam and amsterdam together

[@friddevonfrankenstein]

*entire world ;)

[@Frank-yx9zl]

Its often reporeted, Hamburg have more bridges than Venice (Italy) , Amsterdam (NL) and London (UK) combined , though

[@AustinKelly94]

I'm visiting Hamburg next week, you picked a wonderful time to release this video 😂

[@RMTransit]

I Hope you enjoyed it and it inspired you to visit some spots!

[@derlaurenz]

I think the Cologne stadtbahn could be also really interesting or the Ruhr area, as its multiple city systems acting as one big network basically. The amount of lines is NUTS 🥜🥜🥜

[@RMTransit]

I gotta do a whole Ruhr video

[@spm9153]

Some historical (and fun) facts about the Hamburg Transit System : The Hamburg S-Bahn is the oldest in Germany. It opened in oktober 1907, 17 years before Berlin. The original name was "Hamburg und Altonaer Stadt- und Vorortbahn", it was renamed in S-Bahn in 1934. The first Hochbahn line, the "Ring" (present U3) opened in 1912, the Hochbahn was renamed in U-Bahn in 1947, although a lot of older (and less older) people still call the system "Hochbahn" (elevated railway), as more than 60% of the system is overground. The Hochbahn was the first metro in the world where the 3rd rail was contacted from the underside. In the tunnels, the 3rd rail is 5cm lower than on the overground lines, thus the lights in the trains were automatically switched on on the original trains from 1912-1929. The S-Bahn had originally 6300 Volt AC overhead wire and was converted to 1200 Volt DC 3rd rail in 1940. Due to the war, both systems remained until 1954 on the same tracks ! In Hamburg, the S-Bahn is not a S-Bahn in its present modern conception, even more than in Berlin, it is more like a big metro. To my knowledge, the Hamburg S-Bahn is the only system in the world, where the 3rd rail is contacted from the side instead of from the top or the underside. The current on the 3rd rail of the S-Bahn ist not +1200 Volt DC, but -1200 Volt DC. Originally, the Hochbahn (present U-Bahn) was built by the city to serve the city of Hamburg and the Hamburg owned suburbs, while the S-Bahn was built by the Prussian state to serve Hamburg, the (then Prussian independent city of) Altona and the Prussian owned suburbs of Hamburg and Altona. In 1937, Hamburg, Altona, Wandsbek and Harburg where merged to a greater Hamburg of 750 Km2. From 1907 till 1959 (so during 52 years !), there was only 1 S-Bahn line, the present S1 from Poppenbüttel to Blankenese (and later Wedel), but until 1979 it ran over Dammtor, the city tunnel only opened between 1975 and 1979. Originally until 1962, the outer sections of the present line U1 where not owned by the Hochbahn company, they were owned by the city of Hamburg itself, but they were operated by the Hochbahn: Originally, passengers had to change trains at Barmbek to continue to Volksdorf, Ohlstedt and Großhansdorf and at Ohlsdorf to continue to Ochsenzoll. This is why Ohlsdorf originally had 2 platforms with 4 tracks instead of the super large platform and the 2 tracks it has at present. Hauptbahnhof(-Süd), the present U3 station, also had 2 platforms and 4 tracks as it was the beginning of another Hochbahn line of 3,2 Km with 5 stations, which existed from 27 July 1915 until 27 July 1943. In the night of 27-28 July 1943, the line and the whole area where competely destroyed by British air raids, the line has never been rebuilt and the remains were dismanteled in 1951. Between Buchenkamp and Großhansdorf, the U1 has single track. It was built double track in 1915-1918, but before the opening of the line, they dismanteled and sold the rails of the 2nd track to have money to buy the 3rd rail for the sections Barmbek - Volsdorf - Ohlstedt and Volksdorf - Großhansdorf. On the U1, behind Großhansdorf, the line continues for 1 station until Beimoor, which was completely built in 1918, but never ever opened, as the planned suburb was never built. The rails were dismanteled and sold, like the 2nd track between Buchenkamp and Großhansdorf after the 1st WW, the station building of Beimoor was dismanteled after the 2nd WW, to recuperate the stones to rebuilt destroyed houses. The platform still exists. The section Schlump (U3 platform) - Christuskirche still exists, but is not any more operated since the opening of the city tunnel of the U2 on 3 June 1973. Since 2007, the line S3 operates on railway tracks and 15000 Volt AC between Neugraben and Stade. The rest of the system is -1200 Volt DC 3rd rail and more like a metro city system than a suburban system. The Hamburg equivalent of the modern S-Bahn systems like München (Munich), Leipzig, Köln (Cologne), Stuttgart, etc. is the R-Bahn (regional trains), which operate several lines starting from Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (Central Station) or Altona. In the north of Hamburg, there is a S-Bahn like network of private railways, operated with diesel trains but with a very distinctive S-Bahn character : Line A1 (former AKN) 64,5 Km from Eidelstedt (originally Altona) to Ulzburg, Kaltenkirchen, Bramstedt and Neumünster, Line A2 (former ANB, "Alsternordbahn") 7,8 Km from Norderstedt to Ulzburg and Line A3 (former EBO, Elmshorm - Barmstedt - Ulzburg - Oldesloe, cut back to Ulzburg in 1973) presently 24 Km. Between Eidelstedt, Ulzburg and Kaltenkirchen, the Line A1 is presently being electrified and will be coverted to S-Bahn (new line S5), and there are plans to convert the A2 to U-Bahn line U1. In the south-east of Hamburg also existed a network of private railways, all of them closed between 1950 and 1953 : Line BGE (Bergedorf - Geesthacht), closed on 26 october 1953 and is due to reopen by 2030, Vierländer Bahn (Bergedorf - Zollenspieker) closed and dismanteled in 1952, Hamburger Marschbahn (Billwerder - Zollenspieker - Geesthacht) closed in steps between 1950 and 1952, and the Südstormarnsche Kreisbahn (Tiefstack - Glinde - Trittau), closed in 1952 and dismanteled between Glinde and Trittau. In the north-west existed another private railway Uetersener Eisenbahn (Tornesch - Uetersen) until 1965. The (electrical) Tramway network existed from 1894 until 1978. About 20 Km closed as early as 1923 during the economic recession, another 30 Km were not rebuilt after the 2nd WW. After the 2nd WW, the remaining network of 187 Km was reorganised in 17 lines. Lines 1, 2, 3, 16 (should have been renumbered 4, but this never happened), 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 18 (intended to be renumbered 10, but this never happened) ran west to east through the city center, Rathaus, Mönckebergstraße, Hauptbahnhof. Lines 11, 12, 13 from the west to the south, but over the Alster bridge instead of the city center. Lines 14, 15 were semi-circle lines, line 14 mostly running a few streets closer to the center as line 15. Line 17 was a short connection in the west between Eimsbüttel and Altona. Line 19 ran in the south-east from Berliner Tor to the industries of Billwerder. The 3 tram lines in the suburb of Harburg were already closed before the renumbering of the system in 1955. In 1958, the socialist city senate decided to close the whole tram system within the next 20 years. The last lines to close were line 9 in 1974, line 11 in 1975, line 15 in 1976, lines 1 and 14 in 1977, and finally line 2 on 30 september 1978. Most of the Hamburg trams were built by Falkenried in Hamburg. Several sections of lines were on separate tracks, Hamburg trams were much faster than other German trams, reaching speeds up to 70 Km/h. Hamburg never had any standard DÜWAG trams. A new tramway system was planned under mayorship of Ole Von Beust (CDU) until 2010. New mayor Olaf Scholz (SPD) cancelled all the plans just after being elected in 2011. The HADAG operates (-ed) boat lines on the river Elbe : 61, 62, (63), 64, (65), 68, (71), 72, 73, 75, (76), (77), HBEL, integrated in the HVV fare system. () = closed or renumbered lines. They are accessible with single trip tickets, day tickets and group tickets. Until 1983, the Alster boat lines 51, 52, 53 and 55 were also integrated in the HVV fare system. At present, they only operate as touristic lines. They can not be used any more for the HVV fare.

[@friddevonfrankenstein]

Sweet, I've been waiting for this episode for ever. Thank you, Reece! Greetings from Hamburg

[@RMTransit]

I hope you enjoyed it!

[@jeroenlasure8338]

I visited Hamburg a few years ago and was stunned to find that our party of 3 could travel unlimited on public transport for just 11 EUR per day. Fantastic city!

[@StuffWePlay]

As someone living in Hamburg, this made my day! Fantastic video! I do want to mention that the AKN lines may be worth some sort of look as well, as they run metro-style trains but at way low frequencies, serving mostly exclusively outer areas of the city (and also the A1 goes all the way up to Neumünster, which I think is pretty neat). Also, there's a bunch of big changes happening soon to the S-Bahn, such as the new S5 service taking over a lot of the current S3!

[@schnarde4934]

I live near Hamburg, amazing to see it covered by you!

[@RMTransit]

I Hope your thought it was good!

[@schnarde4934]

@@RMTransit It was!

[@Foxy_AR]

why does the sound get so weird whenever you say ''Altona''?

[@AldanFerrox]

Well, he probably said something incorrect in the original recording and had to overdub it in the final video with the correct information

[@Foxy_AR]

@@AldanFerrox probably

[@sams3015]

I like it, it reminds me of train announcements where they have one saying “the next station is” and they’ve some other voice or tone saying the station name

[@christophernoble6810]

Yes, he gets the pronunciation of Altona correct initially but then has to correct himself, and then much later in the video he reverts but fails to correct it! Rather weird🙄

[@sams3015]

@@christophernoble6810most likely under pressure. It’s ok, he’s human and it’s a free channel on KZbin

[@JohnDoe-us5rq]

I have to admit, whenever visiting Hamburg I miss my Straßenbahn 😃. Its network in Bremen is quite extensiv. And although suffering from the shortcomings of a star design, it feels better accessible than the U- and S-Bahn in Hamburg. A very interesting video though.

[@kurthackenberg9549]

Thanks for finally making this video!!!

[@RMTransit]

Thanks for watching!

[@krugmax]

Shout out to the Isemarkt, a weakly farmers market between the stations Hoheluftbrücke and Eppendorfer Baum on the U3 Line. This is one of the longest markets in Hamburg / Germany and I personally loved to shop there as a kid. 4:13 As a local I am so happy you made this video.

[@acuteaura]

It's so weird having moved from the south of hamburg, to NRW, where essentially every place is easy to reach. The lack of rail capacity to the south leading to constantly running full DoSto instead of something like a Class 423 (the quintessential S-Bahn) and the now several decade old fight to increase capacity is probably worth a video on its own.

[@IANinALTONA]

Very well done! On top of trains and buses, Hamburg has public transit ferries too! Only thing missing: A tram. Sadly, the extensive Hamburg tram network was shut down in the car-crazy 60ies and 70ies...

[@dominik6375]

First of all I’m so happy you finally covered the Hamburg system 😍😍! It’s my fav city and system in the whole of Germany. Like the others mentioned a few regional services could’ve been covered that basically act like Paris‘ RER and the ferries which are so unique and the first thing I show to ppl that visit me. One thing that you could do (although I know time’s limited) is to include shortcomings or negative points. For example one being that Hamburg is a really big metropolitan area with lots of smaller cities surrounding it, that are all well connected to the centre but lack connection between each other. One line that I would love to see but will probably never be build bc it’s not profitable enough would be a ring SBahn like the one in Berlin connecting the outskirts. Running from Pinneberg to Norderstedt further to Poppenbüttel and then ending in Rahlstedt for example. Everyone who lives in the northwest knows that the east and especially the southeast is about as far as it can get in Hamburg. The lack of this line leads to insane suburban traffic congestion and is not even properly serviced by busses. Another cool fact would have been the old AKN train models which can switch between diesel and 3rd rail to service into Hamburg and still run to this day (they’re suuuuper old and really unbearable in summer but I get so nostalgic when I see them pulling into the stations).

[@murti1565]

Hamburg bus System (VHH) is also very good and reaches far into its neighboring states and Hamburg also has harbor ferries (HADAG) which is really cool bc u can use them along with Ubahn, Sbahn, AKN and Regio with the same ticket.

[@BR218fan]

Hey RM, I have lived in Hamburg for a couple of years and I really like this city. It has a lot of green spaces, interesting architecture and a lot of nice places by the water. What the town really needs (in my opinion) is a better east-west connection in the north via rail. There is a bus (line 24) that you can take from Volksdorf via Poppenbüttel to Langenhorn Markt, but these busses often get stuck in traffic and you may be faster by taking a bike. Otherwise the S-Bahn and U-Bahn services are really good and the frequency is excellent. As others have also noticed, the ferries in the harbour also are part of the HVV ticket system and there are some lines working like bus lines, but on the water. The ferrys are really quick and it is a lot of fun to take this unusual method of transportation. An annoying thing is that every transit line is routed via the Hauptbahnhof, making this station more than just overloaded during peak hour. There could be some more interchange stations to avoid the Hauptbahnhof, maybe in combination with another east-west connection in the north of the city as mentioned before. And although it is not part ot the transit, I highly recommend the Stadtrad Hamburg system. This is a bike sharing system with hundreds of stations and thousands of bikes. So you alsmost never have to walk for more than five minutes to find the next station within the city centre. The first 30 minutes are for free and even renting the bike for a full day is really affordable. So if you want to go somewhere and don't want to wait for the bus, just take a bike, but please be careful because there are still a lot of cars (too many) and some of the bike lanes are not that safe. Other than that there are a lot of nice places to bike along rivers and parks. So I would definitely recommend to visit Hamburg as it is one of my favourite cities. My favourite transit line is the U3 and I really like the DT3 and DT4 of the Hochbahn and the class 474 of the S-Bahn. Have a nice day everyone!

[@EnjoyFirefighting]

my very best experience with the Hamburg Hochbahn: arriving at the airport after a 10 days stay in NYC, where riding the subway felt like the train driving down a cobblestone street, and then feeling the smooth tracks in Hamburg was so much different. Never really appreciated that circumstance until I went to NYC ...

[@matt47110815]

The extra wide Platform you mentioned is a result of a Station redesign. Like at the U3 in Hauptbahnhof South, there were originally 4 Tracks. With the reduction of tracks those extra wide Platforms came to be. 😄 BTW it is amazing how the Hochbahn was able to keep Trains running, inspite of Hamburg being heavily Bombed. At one point one of the Viaducts near the Port fell, but the Line was back up and running within 10 Days! One U-Bahn Line towards Hammerbrook was so heavily damaged, it was not rebuilt, but the S-Bahn runs through there since 1984. Since December 2023 The S-Bahn Lines have been renumbered and changed from what is explained in this Video.

[@YourLocalUkrainianGerman]

Finally a video about a relevant city.

[@SilentEire]

These videos are a godsend for urban planning/transit nerds, love it 😂

[@Phantom-mg5cg]

The S-Bahn drives whenever it wants. The U-Bahn is way more reliable. I think it´s kind of a problem, that every line connects to the central station as this way you need very long to get to places that are physically not that far away, but you have to drive through half the town to reach them.

[@heikoschmelz1283]

I like the added Altona snippet 😂

[@wtell4436]

Another huge plus is the wayfinding. It's excellent, bi-/trilingual throughout, and very necessary especially because of the number of branches and splitting. I still managed to get lost at Barmbek but that's on me.

[@86501freightliner]

Having been to Hamburg twice, I can agree that the S and U-Bahn system is indeed very good. I do find it strange that they have no tram system though....

[@Iikkxx35567]

Agreed

[@caekilian1444]

Not sure I can agree with this assessment. Hamburg is fairly notable in Germany for not having a tram or similar; the consequence is that an awful lot of the city is only served by buses. The Hauptbahnhof is also massively overcrowded (probably due in no small part to the decision to send every U- and S-Bahn line there), and has far too few platforms/tracks particularly for all the regional or long-distance trains there (though the lines leading up to Hauptbahnhof are equally problematic in that regard).

[@johnnyerdoel]

Always wondered if you would one day make a video about my old home town. And here you are, delivering. Having now moved to a criminally under-served (more rural) region regarding public transportation, I find that I do miss the good old U-Bahn. Maybe you will also get to making a video about my "college town" of Cologne, which has a light rail network interconnected with neighboring Bonn, (West) Germany's former capital.

[@mariushoffmann6274]

A comment on the S-Bahn naming: The S-Bahn lines are named for the way they cross the city center: Two-Digit Lines (S11, S21, S31) are crossing the center via the Verbindungsbahn (=northern route) while the one digit lines (S1, S2, S3) are crossing via the city tunnel (=southern route). The 1/2/3 then again refer to the outer parts of the city they will head to: S11 and S1 serve the same outside city routes, as do S2 and S21 and S31 and S3 (while some may terminate early). This makes sure you always know which way you will cross the city center.

[@mjh6941]

Great Research! Got allmost all Aspects of Hamburgs Transit.

[@meepthegreat]

Looking at the elevated U-bahn I am reminded so much of the L in Chicago.

[@RMTransit]

Yeah, but I think the Hochbahn has more charm haha

[@meepthegreat]

@@RMTransit gonna have to disagree, but I'm a Chicagoan so I'm probably pretty biased.

[@Homerisnude]

You are so right: The S1 in the North is quite short. I grew up there, direcetly inbetween U1 and S1 Endstation, needed 15mins with the bus to both of them. In the 70s they planed to prolong the S1 furhter north, allready bought the land and such, but they never executed, because i guess cars. Now, the district from where i come from has the highst car/person ratio in the whole of Hamburg with 2,5 or something. (A lot of single family homes + rather rich area). To go with the car into the city you need around 30 mins. From the last station of U1 and S1 35mins. But if u need to get to those last 2 station, that cost you another 15 mins. They at least have build in the recent years more and more Park and Ride systems. My parents started to use them as well. Bad public transport --> more cars --> bad public transport, cause everyone has a car.

[@jimhearsonwriter]

Schlump is a tremendous name for a station.

[@alexbaxatob8902]

Rhine-land next please❤❤❤

[@jimsapounas818]

Great work once again! One of the next cities to explain should be Athens, Greece. Athens Metro serves both the city center and its historical sites, with archeological findings being exhibited in some of the stations, along with the main port Pireaus.

[@jan-lukas]

Crazy good transit? It WOULD be crazy good if they hadn't torn down the entire tram system, but like this it's only a normal good system.

[@mrm7058]

That was indeed a shame. The sin was committed in the car centric 1970s

[@canardeur8390]

It is not even good. But good that you mentioned tram. They have been needed on the Grindelallee since ages, and still in 2023, people are being packed like sardines in those Metrobuses line 5!

[@tspander]

@@canardeur8390 I would say the service itself is good, but the coverage isn't. Especially the U-Bahn is very reliable and frequent enough that you don't have to plan around it, but there are simply too many routes in the city that the network doesn't cover, either because the network would force you to make a detour through the center or because of one of the huge train deserts like Steilshoop or Osdorf. Also I agree that the removal of the tram is a shame, though I am a bit annoyed that it's being presented as an alternative to the U5 now, in my opinion the city really needs both. Plus, I have a feeling Hamburg would probably find a way to get the trams stuck in car traffic all day even with dedicated lanes...

[@canardeur8390]

​@@tspander Reliable? When I lived there, metro trains being canceled were not that uncommon. I lived in Wandsbek, then later in Niendorf. And I had to go to the University on the Grindelallee. In Wandsbek, I had to first take Metrobus line 9, then U1 until Hauptbahnhof, then U2 until Schlump. On both lines, trains run every 10 minutes only; if one train was canceled, which used to happen quite a few time, then that was another 10 minutes wasted. Alternative was Metrobus line 9, then U1 for only one station, then S1 until Dammtor, then Metrobus line 5. In Niendorf, where I was located, Metrobus line 5 did not pass by. So I had to take metro line U2, which also quite often failed, so had to wait sometines 20 minutes until the next one. So far for a city, where rail lines all commute towards the main station, but where the crazy network nevertheless forces to make 36 changes just to go from point A to point B!

[@tspander]

@@canardeur8390 I don't know when you lived in Hamburg but I cannot remember a time when the U-Bahn was not running every 5 minutes, with the U1 and U3 having additional rush-hour service with 3 trains per 10 minutes. (The S1 also doesn't go to Dammtor, but that's nitpicking.)

[@wsmoulding1]

I lived in the Hamburg metropolitan area in the late 70s for two years, and I go visit any time I am in the area. If I have a rental car I leave it at the hotel or at a park & ride lot on the outskirts of and take the train into the city. An off-peak day pass is a tourist bargain, as buses, the S-Bahn, Hochbahn, and Ferries are all included in the price. Public transit will really take you anywhere you want to go in Hamburg. Back in the 70s all stations and many bus stops had single-line data terminals and thermal printers (like cash register receipts). You'd enter the address of your desired destination (e.g. Volksdorfer Str 104) and you'd get a printout of the next bus and train connections within the the HVV that would take you there.

[@TTVEaGMXde]

Hello from Hamburg Niendorf (7 minutes walk north of U2 Niendorf Markt), the Hochbahn AG (elevated railway Stock company) got its name because they originally wanted to build a suspension railway like in Wuppertal. The S-Bahn runs at MINUS 1200VDC to minimize decomposition processes.

[@tomfu430]

Something that I find underrepresented is the flipping 24hour service on weekends. Major Cities like Paris or Madrid simply don't run trains between ~02:00 to ~05:00 o'clock while this system on its ring has a train coming every 10 minutes. This makes going out at night so much more easy and convenient.

[@MarioFanGamer659]

Great video. Hamburg is a city I should visit again since I only did that at the return of a school trip in northern Germany. The really interesting fact is the regional connection of the U-Bahn as the one of Berlin never left the city borders (outside of its creation when Berlin was not a single unified city) while the S-Bahn serves regional connections mostly when in Hamburg, the S-Bahn and both had a similar range before the S3 expansion. Interestingly, the U-Bahns of Bavaria also leave the city border and all of the premetros throughout Germany do the same, making Berlin the only outlier (though the Ruhr valley is an ambiguous case, being essentially a pre-unified Berlin with only few actual examples). That being said, from a public transportation side, there is a clear bias towards the northern side as the southern side only has the S-Bahn as a rail service. I've always thought that Harburg would be a pretty viable region to build a tramway (also the only German city with a metro with no tram) akin to Croydon in London which too had its tram created as some kind of response for the lack of Underground services there (also south of the river). This is why the coverage point should be taken with a grain of salt here. One thing I really was missing is the fact that the predecessor of the Hamburg S-Bahn used to run on overhead wires before switching to third rail when it was upgraded to the S-Bahn. The current decision to use overhead wires again also meant the Hamburg S-Bahn went full circles on where the power came from.

[@lamegaming9835]

i went here when i was 5 on an overnight train to see miniature wunderland. such an amazing experience! i took the u-bahn to get some damn good pizza

[@RMTransit]

Haha, sounds like good memories!

[@LightsiderTT]

Something which you might find interesting, and it explains in part why the parts of Hamburg south of the Elbe are so badly connected to the rest of the city: unlike river cities like Paris or London, there is only one (!) rail crossing of the Elbe in Hamburg, and that's the Elbbrücken in Veddel (where the S3 crosses the river). There are no more rail crossings for a hundred kilometers downriver (all the way to the sea), and the closest rail crossing further upstream is another fifty kilometers away (at Lauenburg). The Elbbrücken are massively overloaded, as not only do they carry the S3, but also all long-distance trains between Schlewig-Holstein (and the Scandianavian countries) and points further south. The Hamburg S-Bahn simply can't run any more trains across these bridges, which is why they're so crowded at rush hour. This is why the proposed Elbe crossing for the U4 is a big deal, as it will reduce the load on the Elbbrücken, and improve the connections between both banks of the river.

[@olivermeineke9707]

The 2nd Hamburg U-Bahn line was not the U1 but was a branch line of the "Hamburger Hochbahn", which opened in 1915 and had four stations: Spaldingstraße, Hammerbrook, Süderstraße and the terminus "Rothenburgsort". The route was about 3.5 km long and ran mostly on a viaduct through the then densely populated district of "Hammerbrook". The Elevated Line was part of a larger rapid transit project that also included a Freihafen Elevated Line, an easterly connection to Barmbek and a Billbrook Line. But these never came into construction status after WWI due to the budget restraints in the interwar period, where Germany was obligued to pay heavy reparations to the winners of WWI. The line to Rothenburgsort was badly damaged 1943 in World War II when Hammerbrook was almost completely destroyed during the Allied air raids on Hamburg (Operation "Gomorrah") in June 1943. The last train went through this line on October 7th, 1943. After the war the line was dismantled. Once home to 40,000 residents, the Hammerbrook remained a largely undeveloped wasteland for decades after it was destroyed and the rubble cleared. Today hardly anything reminds of the former elevated railway line, apart from a few bridge piers and a triangle at the main station.

[@beneficialtechnology5551]

If you´re living South from the Elbe in Hamburg - it can be quite horrendous. There are reports in "Die Zeit" that the "20 minute travel time" according to the timetables is not reliable in any capacity. There are a lot of failures regularly. So people regret having moved there and are regularly very frustrated. When I had to travel to work in rush hour, just 2 stations away from central station, a lot of times I couldn't get in cause it was commonly overcrowded. Or it was not that crowded but people don't leave the door area so I couldn't get in. The lines that are often used by tourists and right in the center are the best, of course. The rest has a lot to catch up. E. g. there is no possibility to cross the Elbe in the South of Hamburg, the same city, so the Elbbrücken is the only way - for everyone, except for cars they have more possibilities. Everybody has to walk or cycle directly along the city highway crossing drivers, that don´t expect cyclists and do not even look at the crosswalks, cause it looks like it is build just for cars. Hamburg seems great where it is polished, but the rest can be quite awful, compared to German city standards. - Here just 2 headlines from articles in "Die Zeit": "Die geteilte Stadt: Warum Hamburgs Süden schlecht angebunden ist" Engl. "The Divided City - Why Hamburgs South is badly connected" _ "Es ist nur noch zum Kotzen! Weichenstörungen, gesperrte Gleise, Verspätungen, Zugausfälle - wer in Hamburg auf die S-Bahn angewiesen ist, braucht gute Nerven. Unsere Leserinnen und Leser berichten." "It Is Nothing but Sucking!" "Technical failures, closed tracks, delays, down times - who has to rely on the S-Bahn needs strong nerves. Our readers share their experiences." - there's a lot more to find, if you search for "Pendler, Hamburg, S-Bahn"

[@Iikkxx35567]

Well that will change in December

[@j.4941]

You should have added a shot that captures how the S-Bahn or ICEs go over the bridge over the Alster. It’s a Beautiful sight!

[@yellowsnow7530]

As a German myself it's great to see more videos about german transit. You should check out the light rail systems in the Rhine Ruhr metropolitan area and make a video about it. It's very interesting how a car centric policy can ruin public transit for everyone and how they struggle with recovering from the decisions even decades later. Or maybe the very extensive tram networks of Leipzig and Dresden, both relatively small cities with about 600k residents each plus a competitive S Bahn network as positive examples.

[@futurerails8421]

The whole Western World was car centric at the time and the german speaking western countries were the least extremist in this at all. Cities like Bochum would have nothing but busses in almost every western country and cities like Dortmund and Essen may have gotten 1 or 2 rubber tire metro line in France and Busses almost everywhere else. Western Germany at least tried to build tunnels instead of ripping the whole system out and many cities ran out of money. Some Systems like Bochum, Dortmund and Düsseldorf are not bad for cities of their size and others like Essen where damaged by bus centric experiments with guides busses not by car centricism. Even bad systems like Duisburg or a Mülheim an der Ruhr are far easier to fix than Leeds in Northern England or Groningen in the Northern Netherlands where no trams at all remained. Leipzig and Dresden where spared from the complete car centricism era by constant car shortages in the Warsaw Pact States.

[@micha0585]

i would love a video about the athens metro and their current plans for a new line!

[@RMTransit]

Perhaps in the future!

[@codingshades]

Finally, a video about my home city!

[@acmenipponair]

And perhabs you as a Canadian should remember, that in Germany "line" don't mean the tracks where a train is running on, but the service number! when we talk about the tracks, we call it Kurs or Route.

[@demiankeinam4667]

Thank you for this contribution. You gave a very comprehensive overview of the Hamburg S- and U-Bahn. I only wished you would have included the AKN as well, which serves the northern suburbs in a metrolike style. Even though Diesel driven and sometimes single rail, it serves the the city of Norderstedt (70000 inhabitants) on the A2 and several towns and cities with 6-20000 inhabitants on the A1 south of Kaltenkirchen with an impressive 20 minute (10 minute peak) service and with same platform connections to the S- and U-Bahn. As you mention correctly the latter (A1);will become an SBahn extension until the end of the decade.

[@aleyx]

I grew up in a city south of Hamburg and have been living in Berlin for over ten years. While Berlin-Hauptbahnhof feels rather empty, Hamburg-Hauptbahnhof is obviously overcrowded. It has the highest number of passengers per day in Germany and the second highest in Europe. For local and long-distance trains, the capacity of Hamburg-Hauptbahnhof is exhausted. At some platforms, there are regularly two trains at the same time. There are plans to increase the capacity of the station, for example by building another S-Bahn tunnel to the station so that two platforms previously used by the S-Bahn can be used by other trains. From the perspective of someone living in Berlin, the decision that all U- and S-Bahn lines have to go via the overcrowded Hamburg-Hauptbahnhof does not seem right.

[@widget787]

Great to see you covered my home city! What you can see is a unfinished rail network. When they decided to ditch the tram they planned to build a 200 kilometer Metro Network including numerous additional lines. While the tram got ditched and replaced by buses that are overcrowded now least of the planned metro kilometers were built. Also for the S-Bahn there were lots of plans for expansion which never happened. By the way the S31 runs all day, only in the very early morning and late evening on a shorter section.

[@lysaallman-baldwin7171]

This is an EXCELLENT VIDEO!!! So glad I found you. Thanks!

[@derhamburger9289]

It would be cool to see a video about the largest tram network in Germany (rnv) that consists of several networks and connects the cities of Heidelberg, Mannheim and Ludwigshafen together. Or a video about the S-Bahn and tram network in Stuttgart. The S-Bahn network isn’t that unique, you can compare it to Munich but the Tram network is with a cogwheel railway and the steepest normal tram line in Germany. Great video btw covering the both gorgeous transit networks of my birthplace.

[@EliasLarsson-ck6qn]

Loved that you put in minatur wunderland, i have just been to hamburg and i was there, its the worlds largest model railway, 15km of track and more than 1000 trains

[@zlango555]

It’s so good to finally watch a video about the Hamburg Metro System. I spent a lot of times there especially in my child hood, when we took the U1, switched at Hauptbahnhof to U3 and left at Rödingsmarkt to visit the Miniaturwunderland. Must’ve been 15 times or so, only in my childhood 😅 Also I’m super hyped to watch the video about the Vogelfluglinie. In a few weeks I’m able to live on the island of Fehmarn for a few weeks and I can’t wait to see the construction site by my self. Hopefully the German site is now a bit further in progress, because there were a lot of stops because of demonstrations and complaints from the German Citizens. Not so and the danish site of the project, because they’re really excited about the project, as they’re truly engineers when it comes to cross waterways. Just look on the amount of islands and they’re mostly all connected by bridges or dams. Anyway, the project should finish in 2029 and be opened to the public in that year.

[@ThomasNing]

4:04 I appreciate the shadows on this drawing 👍 Makes it a lot easier to understand

[@drdewott9154]

Fun fact. Hamburg is also home to the busiest bus line in all of Europe, which its the Line 5 bus. It runs mostly in median bus lanes inherrited from when the line was a tram, and some consider it to be continental Europe's first BRT. The only lines to even come close in passenger numbers in Europe iirc are Copenhagens line 5C and Stockholms line 4.

[@michaelb4047]

Hey, Greetings from Hamburg and a very nice video you made. Unfortunately, as a Hamburg resident, I have to say that our system is not good, precisely because we don't have direct east/west connections and Harburg and the south are not connected at all. You have to know that until the 1960s there was a large-scale tram system where the metro buses are today. As Hamburgers, many of us have been fighting for a long time for a new light rail system that simply connects the S and U-Bahn in a sensible way. Hamburg's biggest advantage, its centralised lines, is its biggest disadvantage when things go wrong. Personally, I don't think the U5 in Hamburg makes sense and I'm still hoping for a light rail system that would take the pressure off Metrobus 5, Metrobus 26 and Metrobus 3. But I probably won't live to see it. Oh yes, the best chance to take a city tour through Hamburg is the U3 ^^

[@Matsine]

Love to see it covered as I'm from Hamburg and really waited for this. Also nice that you mentioned all the plans for the future as there are a lot of them.

[@SomeRPGFan]

I can confirm that Miniatur Wunderland is incredible, especially if you are a train lover.

[@minecrafter0505]

I'd really like to see a video about the transit in Bielefeld or smaller cities in general. The small city has just 4 Tram-Lines and serves the rest of the city with buses. The Nightbus lines (on weekends to bridge the pause of regular services between 0 am and 4 am) have a synchronized schedule and every hour 14 bus lines depart in different directions from the central station, Jahnplatz. They all return an hour later after a looped route allowing transfers between the busses.

[@tesseraktae]

Really nice video, I always enjoy these in-depth presentations of a single city’s transport systems. However, since you’ve now already made it to Hamburg, it is the perfect opportunity to go down south 200km and finally cover the Hannover region. It’s public transport was just deemed the best within Germany (it shares 1st place with Karlsruhe) thanks to its great coverage and short travel times. The central station is one of Germanys major train hubs due to its central location and numerous interchanges from north-south to west-east connections. It’s under construction for at least 6 more years with full escalator and roof replacements, platform renovations and possibly another platform added in the north, all while under operation. After destruction in the war, they decided to raise all tracks inside the city center by a couple meters and rebuild the station elevated. That allowed it to keep its central position without the tracks interfering with the city development. (If I recall correctly, this served as a staple for more stations that have been built in that era and is known as the Hannover system). The station was also voted as the second best looking central station in Germany behind Leipzig. Hannover features a S-Bahn that has just recently been taken over by a new operator, and it is unique in its extensive length and rather infrequent service. Some branches only run hourly, some extend as long as North Rhine-Westphalia. All of the S-Bahn lines stop at the central station, some loop around while others back out of stations like the one in Hamburg does. The most interesting thing is the Stadtbahn. It’s a combination metro and tram network, with trains running underground in most of the city center and above grounds in the outskirts. It has 3 main routes and through extensive branching, operates on 12 lines, with another one expected to open this fall. Through a combination of 3 city center stations you can cross-platform interchange within all underground lines in a continuous direction. Also due to this, all except 4 lines stop directly at the central station, with the excluded 4 needing just a single interchange 1 stop before. Hannover has unique custom designed trains, a lot of unusual track layouts, with some tracks intertwining to a pseudo-single track, narrow streets where cars and trams share lanes, other areas where the trains runs on grass tracks with fences on the side. There are stations with cross-platform interchanges, stations that have their platforms stacked, awesome individual decorations for all underground and some overground stations, mixed platform heights and so much more. And then there are dozens of bus lines for last mile traffic, automated busses for testing, clever same level bus-train interchanges and so much more. The entire bus fleet in the city center is currently to be replaced by electric busses, with the loop line (100/200) already finished. I highly suggest you check it out and look forward to a video about it!

[@Iikkxx35567]

I am living in Hamburg. And i still don't know why they got rid of their trams. It really makes Hamburg more beautiful. Anyways i still like Hamburg tho.

[@mrnoname2353]

I live around 40 Kilometers north of Hamburg

[@the_neutral_container]

I frequently use the Hamburg metro system and actually learned something new just now. 😊

[@d3x7r0]

Have you considered making a video about Lisbon's rail network? It's not amazing but there are a bunch of peculiarities like a line at 1500V DC and a bunch of new and planned subway and tramway projects either being built or in late stage planning.

[@christian_maibaum]

A small add on to your explanation of the S-Bahn lines: The S11 changes direction at Altona as the S1 does at Blankenese. The S3 trains physically splitting at Neugraben, when running as 9 car “Langzüge”, leaving 3 cars behind when continuing to Stade. These 3 cars will be added to the next train coming from Stade. Currently S-Bahn trains are using the overhead network only in S3 running between Neugraben and Stade, but the S4 which will branch off from S1 at Hasselbrook will be built with overhead wires. Therefore there are more S-Bahn trains needed that are able to use power from the overhead wires and not only from the power rail.

[@u1zha]

The elevated lines indeed give a very futuristic (or "Big Apple") feel to Hamburg. Remember seeing the lit trains snake along in dusk... While chilling at the waterfront... one of my first trips abroad with a school group.

[@Phoni1RBX]

Fun fact: In like pre 2019, the 3 and fourth tracks at Sengelmannstraße were disused and overgrown with grass. I thought they were originally for regional services, lol.