U-Bahnlinie 55 – English
The Berlin underground line 55 has been opened in August 2009. Consisting of three stations, you can change trains at the Berlin Hauptbahnhof only as it is not connected with any other underground line yet. We went there in October 2009 on a Sunday afternoon.
We went on this line at Hauptbahnhof. Other than the rest of it, the underground station was rather quiet, only few people were waiting with us for the next train. On the walls of the station you will find pictures from old Berlin stations which look totally different nowadays – if they still exist at all.
The next station, Bundestag, is the one I like most from the architectural point of view. On both sides, there are galleries over the railtracks. On one side, the gallery consists only of plain concrete, whereas the gallery on the other side is covered with pictures from Berlin – past and present. The numerous columns on the platform end up in lightwells with incident daylight.
Finally we got to the last station, Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate). The walls of the station are covered with images relating to the division of Berlin between 1961 and 1989. The illumination of the station through top panels looks impressive.
A single train is running this little line. A second railtrack already exists though it is still closed. A sign-board is informing you that this track is “out of service”.
The construction works on the stations have not yet been finished. As an example, the escalators at the Bundestag station are still missing.
This rather short line will surely become much more important when being extended to underground line 6 at Friedrichstraße. I have heard this should be finished in 2017.
Konniebritzs Berlin Blog 
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