16 °C
The history of local public passenger transport in Frankfurt
- 1840 Opening of the Taunus Railway with a short route from the Höchst district of Frankfurt am Main to Wiesbaden
- 1 November 1840 Approval for regular horse-drawn omnibus operations through the city represents at the same time the first regular local passenger transport service in Frankfurt am Main
- 19 May 1872 Approval to operate and open the first horse-drawn railway line from Schönhof to Bockenheimer Warte and Hauptwache). Establishment of the Frankfurter Trambahn-Gesellschaft by the firm of F. de la Hault & Cie. of Brussels
- 1884 Construction of the first electric tram route between Frankfurt and Offenbach by the Frankfurt-Offenbacher Trambahn-Gesellschaft (FOTG)
- 12 May 1888 Operational start of the Frankfurter Lokalbahn AG with steam engines, which continue to operate until 1929
- 1 January 1898 Transfer of the Frankfurter Trambahn-Gesellschaft to the City
- 1 January 1899 Transfer of Waldbahn AG to the City
- 1 January 1901 Transfer of the Eschersheim Steam Railway of Frankfurter Lokalbahn AG to the City
- 1904 Transfer of the electric tram system of the Frankfurt-Offenbacher Trambahn-Gesellschaft (FOTG) to the City of Frankfurt. All routes are now amalgamated under the administration of the City under the name of “Städtische Strassenbahn” (“City trams”).
- 1904 Termination of the last horse-drawn tram operation. All lines are now electrified except for a few steam trams.
- 1925 The first omnibuses come into service.
- 1 April 1955 The operations of Frankfurter Lokalbahn AG in Bad Homburg v.d.H. are taken over into the City’s administration. The two routes operated from Heddernheim to Bad Homburg v.d.H. and from Heddernheim to Hohemark are described as the “Taunusbahn”
- 4 July 1961 The City Council passes a resolution approving the development of a new transport system, the Underground.
- 1967 The two City undertakings, the Stadtwerke (transport) and Strassenbahn (trams) are amalgamated into one operation
- 4 October 1968 The first Underground route comes into operation from Hauptwache to Nordweststadt.
- 1973 The Frankfurter Transport and Tariff Grouping is established (one of its shareholders is SWF)
- 4 November 1973 The Underground route is opened from Hauptwache to Theaterplatz.
- 26 May 1974 The tunnel stretch is opened between Theaterplatz and Konstablerwache; tram route B1 from Theaterplatz to Giessener Strasse comes into operation.
- 29 September 1974 Extension of Line A1: Nordweststadt to Römerstadt
- 9 March 1977 Extension of U5: Giessener Strasse to Preungesheim
- 28 May 1978 Opening of the city tram routes: Theaterplatz to Hauptwache; Römerstadt to Ginnheim; Heddernheim to Oberursel and Hohemark; mainline railway station to Theaterplatz; Giessener Strasse to Preungesheim
- 1978 Operational start of central tram workshop
- 31 May 1980 Opening of the route from Konstablerwache to Seckbacher Landstrasse; introduction of the new underground train Type U3
- 1981 Operational start of the control room
- 30 September 1984 Opening of the underground route from Theaterplatz to Südbahnhof; extension of Routes U1, U2 and U3 to Südbahnhof
- 11 October 1986 Opening of underground Route C: Industriehof to Zoo
- 30 May 1992 Operational start of underground Route CI: Zoo to Enkheim; rearrangement of Route U7: Hausen to Enkheim
- 28 May 1995 Operational start of Rhine-Main transport grouping
- 12 June 1995 Motorised unit Type U4 (U3-2000) comes into use
- 15 December 1995 Formal establishment of the Stadtwerke Verkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt am Main mbH (VGF)
- 1 August 1996 VGF starts business operations
- 7 July 1997 125 years of trams in Frankfurt
- 9 September 1997 Opening of the “Traffic Island” at Hauptwache
- 10 October 1997 Introduction of the new logo for “VGF”, Verkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt
- 4 October 1998 30 years of underground railways in Frankfurt
- 5 February 1999 Introduction of “Dynamic passenger information” at VGF stops and stations
- 26 February 1999 Cashless payment has become established at VGF
- 15 June 1999 VGF goes online
- 4 November 1999 VGF deploys passenger attendants for the first time to improve its customer service
- 27 February 2000 Start of the new bus strategy “Frankfurt North”
- 1 April 2000 VGF starts cooperation with local CarSharing providers
- 18 May 2000 Modernisation of the bus fleet: acquisition of 22 new low-floor articulated buses
- 7 October 2000 75 years of bus transport in Frankfurt
- 10 February 2001 Opening of the underground route from the mainline railway station to Bockenheimer Warte in the new Festhalle/Messe station
- 14 June 2001 Start of VGF’s new night bus strategy
- August to October 2001 Modernisation of the bus fleet; acquisition of 50 new buses
- November 2001 VGF orders 60 new low-floor trams
- 17 December 2001 Opening of the newly extended terminus at the border to the city of Offenbach
- 5 May 2002 25 years of Ebbelwei Express
- 11 to 13 June 2002 Annual conference of the German National Transport Association (VDV) in Frankfurt am Main
- 4 October 2002 Start of the “Everyone travels with us” image campaign
- 6 December 2002 VGF becomes the strategic partner of the tram company in neighbouring Hanau, the Hanauer Strassenbahn AG (HSB)
- 20 December 2002 Start of the VGF online ticket shop
- 12 July 2003 Opening of the East Depot
- September 2003 Modernisation of the bus fleet; acquisition of 25 new buses
- December 2003 Opening of the new Route 17
- 1 January 2004 Incorporation into VGF of the City of Frankfurt am Main tram construction office
- 13 March 2004 Opening of the redesigned ticket office on the B- Level at Hauptwache
- 19 April 2004 VGF becomes a rail transport company
- 4 to 6 June 2004 First Frankfurt dragon boat festival
- 31 May 2005 25 years of B-route (subway line 4 Seckbacher Landstraße-Konstablerwache)
- June 2005 VGF gets equipped for the 2006 World Cup: Start of the new operating concept of the stadium line to the Confederations CUP
- 12 December 2005 Start of the Odenwaldbahn by VIAS (50% held by Rurtal-Bahn, 50% by VGF)
- December 2005 Start of the Odenwaldbahn by VIAS (50% participation of Rurtal-Bahn, 50% VGF)
- May 2006 Opening of the new Safety and Service Centre (SuS-Zentrale) of VGF
- July 2006 VGF profits from the World Cup: the operating and service concept has more than proven itself
- 1 August 2006 VGF celebrates its 10-year anniversary
- 7 September 2006 First handcar trip through a subway tunnel in Germany
- September 2006 VGF restored a 50-year old tram; the "L" car shines once more
- November 2006 VGF improves the interior of the new "U5"-subways; subway is even more customer friendly
- December 2006 The security service of VGF turns 25
- 5 February 2007 The Ebbelwei-Expreß celebrates its 30th birthday
- March 2007 One year successful cooperation between VGF and OVB
- 26 April 2007 Opening of the extension of the subway station "Ostbahnhof"; the new 70-meter portion is put into operation
- 31 May 2007 15 years of the subway section "Zoo" in the direction of "Enkheim"
- August 2007 VGF procures 37 new busses equipped with the most modern environmental standards
- March 2008 45 years of articulated busses in Frankfurt
- 29 May 2008 Presentation of the new U5-car. A total of 146 "Flexity Swift" type vehicles will modernize the vehicle fleet of VGF in the coming years
- 15 June 2008 Opening of the "U4"-extension, "Schäfflestraße" stop
- Summer 2008 Beginning of construction on the new subway lines U8/U9 to the Frankfurt district of "Riedberg"
- October 2008 40 years of city railway
- 18 February 2009 125-years of electric tram in Frankfurt
- 23 March 2009 Beginning of construction on the "Frankfurter Bogen"
- May 2009 50 years of the Rebstock depot
- August 2009 25 years of the Frankfurt am Main Transport Museum
You can find informations for barriere-free traveling by stations
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