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The M-Bahn or Magnetbahn was an elevated Maglev train line operating in Berlin, Germany from 1989 to 1991. The line was 1.6 km in length, and featured three stations, two of which were newly constructed. The line was built to fill a gap in the public transport network created by the construction of the Berlin Wall, and was rendered redundant by the reunification of Berlin. The M-Bahn was the second Maglev line to open to public traffic, after the Birmingham Maglev but before the Shanghai Maglev Train. Construction and running were undertaken by Magnetbahn GmbH. ==History== The first section of the Berlin U-Bahn to be built included an elevated section between Gleisdreieck and Potsdamer Platz stations. After the partition of Berlin, Gleisdreieck station was in West Berlin whilst Potsdamer Platz station was directly under the border to East Berlin. After the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961, the trains from both sides terminated at the last station before Potsdamer Platz (from the East: Mohrenstraße). Around 1972 also the two stations before Potsdamer Platz, on the western side, closed, because the area served by these stations was also served by another U-Bahn line. The area of West Berlin adjacent to Potsdamer Platz then required a connection to the U-Bahn, and this need was eventually met by the construction of the M-Bahn, which used the abandoned U-Bahn platforms at Gleisdreieck and the U-Bahn tracks northwards towards the border. It then diverged slightly to the west to terminate close to Potsdamer Platz but still in West Berlin.〔 Work on the line started in 1983, and the first test runs, without passengers, took place in June 1984 on the southern section of the line. Initial testing used a car previously used on Magnetbahn GmbH's test track near Braunschweig, and the first two cars specifically built for Berlin were delivered in late 1986. The original intention was for public service to start in May 1987, but a fire at Gleisdreieck station in April of that year destroyed one of the two cars and badly damaged the other.〔 Eventually four more cars, of the same design as the original two, were built. Several planned opening dates were not met, and in December 1988, a test train failed to stop at Kemperplatz and one of the cars crashed to the ground and was destroyed. A public service eventually started in August 1989, although service was intermittent and not guaranteed, and fares were not charged. Official regular passenger service, as part of Berlin's integrated public transport system, started in July 1991.〔 By this time the Berlin Wall had fallen, something that could not have been predicted when construction started. It became desirable to re-establish the U-Bahn line that had previously been severed, requiring the removal of the M-Bahn from its right of way. The principal need for the M-Bahn had also been removed, as the area served by it was again easily accessible from the Potsdamer Platz station. Dismantling of the M-Bahn started only two months after its official opening, and was completed during February 1992. The U-Bahn connection between Gleisdreieck and Potsdamer Platz stations was reinstated, becoming part of line U2.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「M-Bahn」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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