Berlin has Europe’s fourth-largest tram network. But not all of Berlin’s trams are accounted for in this figure. After I visited every single S-Bahn and U-Bahn stop, I went to every single tram stop in Berlin. Part of that included the extended overland tramway.

Three lines, the 87 Woltersdorf Tramway and 88 Schöneiche bei Berlin Tramway both stretch from an S-Bahn station within city limits to reach villages in Brandenburg state. The 89 Strausberg Railway is entirely outside of Berlin but still within the city’s fare network. Of those, only 87 and 88 still use heritage trams on a daily basis.

The Schöneiche bei Berlin Tramway is run by the same company as the Woltersdorf Tramway on the metre gauge, different from the rest of the city. Both connect to the S3 and each is just a station apart, but the two tramways don’t intersect despite shared ownership. You can ride on it with a Berlin Zone C ticket. You can also buy a ticket on board, but it will only be valid for the tram trip and not transfers to the wider Berlin transportation network due to its independent ownership.

When I was there in the mid-2010s, I got to ride on the early 1960s Düwag articulated trams. This line is more than twice as long as the Woltersdorf Tramway and has higher ridership, warranting articulated pairs. Soviet Tatra trams also run on the line. Since 2018, newer trams that look visually similar to Berlin Flexity were added to the line, which leads me to suspect that the older trams will be retired soon.

Categories: GermanyTrains