(rshsdepot) Fw: Berlin S-Bahn-Ring to restart operations.

["Paul S. Luchter" <luckyshow_@_mindspring.com>]

- -----Original Message-----
From: PinardR_@_rferl.org <PinardR@rferl.org>
To: Paul S. Luchter <luckyshow_@_mindspring.com>
Date: Monday, June 10, 2002 4:55 AM
Subject: Berlin S-Bahn-Ring to restart operations.



Hi Paul,

Well, coming next Sunday, Berlin's S-Bahn (commuter trains) system is 
going to close the gap in the Ringline. Travel on that line was 
interrupted when the Wall went up in 1961.

Berlin's S-Bahn was one of the cheapest and most efficient systems in 
Europe before WWII. It was good for a while after the war, too, but the 
company's HQ were in East Berlin, and the people of West Berlin started 
boycotting the trains and usings busses/subways instead. After the Wall 
went up, some West Berliners started a campaign: "Every West Berliner 
who rides the S-Bahn pays for the barbed wire at the Brandenburg Gate." 
Riding those trains even became dangerous, as stones were frequently 
thrown through their windows. After a Rolling Stones concert, a mob 
attacked some parked S-Bahn cars and demolished 17.

Shame, they were great old cars with wooden benches. I knew them from 
East Berlin. The wooden benches were shaped in such a way that they were 
actually comfortable. It was cool, too, that one could open the door 
already before completely reaching the end of the platform and jump out 
while the car was still moving slightly. The new ones are all 
electronic.

For pix check it out:
http://www.s-bahn-berlin.de/extras/bildergalerie/index.htm

=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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