Berlin Südkreuz station is a railway station in the German capital Berlin. The station was originally opened in 1898 and is an interchange station. The Berlin Ringbahn line of the Berlin S-Bahn metro railway is situated on the upper level and connects to the east and west, whilst the Anhalter Bahn and Dresdner Bahn intercity railway routes reach the station on the lower, north-south level. The station was extensively rebuilt between the late 1990s and 2006, and was renamed Berlin Südkreuz on 28 May 2006.
Berlin Südkreuz looking north
Construction works in 2005
The Ringbahn is a 37.5 km (23.3 mi) long circle route around Berlin's inner city area, on the Berlin S-Bahn network. Its course is made up of a pair of tracks used by S-Bahn trains and another parallel pair of tracks used by various regional, long distance and freight trains. The S-Bahn lines S41 and S42 provide a closed-loop continuous service without termini. Lines S45, S46 and S47 use a section of the southern and western ring, while lines S8 and S85 use sections of the eastern ring. The combined number of passengers is about 400,000 passengers a day. Due to its distinctive shape, the line is often referred to as the Hundekopf.
Ringbahn, Messe Nord ICC station
Ringbahn platform at Westkreuz
Ring Railway in 1877
Ringbahn, as seen from Funkturm Berlin