Braunschweig

Braunschweig (Brunswick, in English) is the second biggest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, with approximately 245,000 inhabitants. The city is an important place for science and research. The city of Braunschweig offers a bus and tram system which is operated by the “Braunschweiger Verkehrs-AG” (BSVAG).

The first parts of the system were built in 1879, when horse trams carried people through the city. The first electric tram ran in 1897, to the nearby city of Wolfenbüttel. Today 8 lines are in service:

• 1: Stöckheim – Radeklint
• 2: Helmstedter Straße – Siegfriedviertel
• 3: Weststadt – Volkmarode
• 4: Heidberg – Wenden
• 5: Broitzem – Hauptbahnhof
• 6: Broitzem – Radeklint
• 7: Weststadt – Wenden
• 8: Heidberg – Volkmarode

Lines 6, 7 and 8 operate only Monday-Saturday daytime. During rush hours, trams run every 20 minutes, evening and weekends every 30 minutes. Evening services start at 4.30 pm! Night services is only run on a few lines and at an interval of every 60 minutes. There are serveral different types of trams in services, which were acquired from 1973 to 2008. The trams have a gauge of 1100mm.

There are plans to create a regional-tram-system, to connect the border cities with Braunschweig, the same as the city of Karlsruhe did. The trams will use the existing tracks in the city, and share the tracks with the regional trains of the Deutsche Bahn outside the city. The inner-city regional rail lines will be upgraded with additional tracks.