S3 (Berlin)

S3 is a line on the Berlin S-Bahn.^[1] It operates from Erkner to Spandau. For most of its existence since becoming a numbered route in 1984, the S3's line colour is blue.^[2]

Overview
Locale	Berlin
Service
System	Berlin S-Bahn
Operator(s)	S-Bahn Berlin GmbH
Rolling stock	DBAG Class 481 DBAG Class 480
Technical
Electrification	750 V DC Third rail
Route map Legend Erkner Brandenburg–Berlin state border Wilhelmshagen Rahnsdorf Friedrichshagen Hirschgarten Köpenick Wuhlheide Karlshorst Rummelsburg Betriebsbahnhof Rummelsburg Ostkreuz to BER Airport Warschauer Straße Ostbahnhof Jannowitzbrücke Alexanderplatz Hackescher Markt Spree Kupfergraben Friedrichstraße Spree Berlin-Spandau Ship Canal Hauptbahnhof Spree Bellevue Tiergarten Landwehr Canal Zoologischer Garten Savignyplatz Charlottenburg Westkreuz to Potsdam Hbf Messe Süd Heerstraße Olympiastadion Pichelsberg Stresow Havel Spandau This diagram: view talk edit

S3 originally was shortened to Ostbahnhof from 2003 to 2009 while awaiting renovation works. To compensate for the diminished throughput on the Stadtbahn, the S3 (formerly Erkner ↔ Ostbahnhof) was extended westwards to Spandau. Then, it temporarily shortened to Ostkreuz.

Service history

The S3 was created along with the S1 and S2 on 9 January 1984, when the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) took over the S-Bahn network from the East German Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR) in West Berlin: the S3 initially ran between Friedrichstraße and Charlottenburg, before being extended south-westwards to Wannsee on 1 May 1984.^[3]

Due to the reunification of Germany, the S3 briefly became a four-coloured line on 1 July 1990, absorbing the DR S-Bahn services formerly terminating at Friedrichstraße to Strausberg Nord (orange), Erkner (yellow), Königs Wusterhausen (green), and Flughafen Berlin Schönefeld (sky blue, now BER Airport – Terminal 5).^[4] On 2 June 1991, the S3 was broken-up into the following lines:^[3]

Old route[4]		New route[5]
Line	Termini	Line	Termini
	Westkreuz–Strausberg Nord		Wannsee–Strausberg Nord
	Wannsee–Erkner		Unchanged
	Wannsee–Königs Wusterhausen		Charlottenburg–Königs Wusterhausen
	Charlottenburg–Berlin Schönefeld Airport		Westkreuz–Berlin Schönefeld Airport

References

1. "S-Bahn Network Map" (PDF). S-Bahn Berlin GmbH. 27 June 2008. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
2. Booth, Cameron (10 March 2012). "Historical Maps: West and East Berlin, 1984". Transit Maps. Portland: Cameron Booth. Archived from the original on 18 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
3. "How the S-Bahn got its numbers". S-Bahn Berlin (in German). Berlin: Deutsche Bahn. 9 June 2021. Archived from the original on 18 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
4. "Berliner Nahverkehrsnetz – Schnellbahnnetz". Berliner Linienchronik (in German). Berlin: Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe. November 1990. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
5. "Region Berlin – Schnellbahnnetz". S-Bahn-Galerie.de (in German). Berlin: Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe. June 1991. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.