- Fare and where to buy tickets
- Metro lines
- Working hours
- History
- Peculiarities
Almost all major cities in the world have their own subways. Sometimes it is a classic "subway" (like the Moscow one). Sometimes this transport system has a number of “non-classical” features (the metro in many large cities can be cited as examples). Sometimes this transport is so far from the "classic" that it can hardly even be called a metro: such is the Dusseldorf metro.
Metro tram (or pre-metro) is what the Düsseldorf underground really is. This transport system, very comfortable for passengers, is a high-speed tram, only a few stations of which are located underground. Its paths cover not only the entire city from edge to edge, but also connect it with several nearby cities. In other words, it is ideal transport not only for locals, but also for tourists: with its help you can see all the city sights, get to the most popular tourist spots of the city and even visit other cities located nearby.
Fare and where to buy tickets
Speaking about the cost of tickets, first of all, it should be noted that all the tracks of the metro tram system are located in two transport zones. They are named by the first two letters of the Latin alphabet. The first of these zones includes all districts of the city, and the second is located outside the city limits. There are several types of travel documents that can be useful for tourists and are valid in both transport zones:
- regular ticket;
- short trip ticket;
- travel card for a day;
- travel card for a day for several people.
An adult ticket for zone A costs about two and a half euros, for zone B - a little less than five euros. For children (that is, for those passengers under the age of fifteen), the prices will be lower: tickets for both zones will cost about one and a half euros. By the way, an adult ticket costs the same if it is purchased for a very short trip - that is, for one that is limited to two passes between stations.
A travel document for one day will cost about seven euros if it is used only in zone A. Its cost will be about eleven euros if it is intended for the second zone.
A ticket valid for a day can be purchased for two people at once. If it is to be used in zone A, then its cost will be approximately eleven euros. If this pass is purchased for zone B, then its cost, respectively, will be slightly higher. You can buy such travel documents for three, four, five people. Accordingly, the cost of the ticket in each subsequent case will increase.
You can buy any travel card of your choice in one of the machines that are installed right on the platforms or at the station entrances. You can also buy a ticket on the train (at the head end). Do not forget to punch it: the time and date must be stamped on it. This can be done on the train or at the station entrance.
It only remains to add that if you forgot to validate your travel card or just for some reason decide to travel without it, you will have to pay a fine, which is equal to sixty euros. There are no turnstiles in the metro tram system, but trains are regularly and often checked by large teams of controllers.
Metro lines
The metro tram system consists of eleven lines with a total length of sixty-eight and a half kilometers. One hundred and sixty-one stations are located at this distance.
Metro tram trains run on twelve routes. This transport system currently uses four different types of trains. Several obsolete models were transferred to the Firefighting Institute in Münster in the 2000s, where these trains are used for training purposes. Some of the cars currently operating in the metro system have been converted from restaurant cars.
The annual passenger traffic is more than two hundred million people.
Working hours
The metro tram system accepts the first passengers at five o'clock in the morning, and stops working at about midnight. On Friday and Saturday, this transport system operates until half past three in the morning.
The interval of movement on both urban and intercity routes is ten minutes. An exception is the route leading towards Krefeld: here the time interval separating the trams is twenty minutes.
After eight o'clock in the evening, the interval of traffic on all routes increases.
History
The beginning of the implementation of the Düsseldorf Metro Tram project was laid in the 60s of the XX century. In the 80s, the first section of this transport system was opened. Only a few stations on it were underground.
Today, when the metro tram system has more than one and a half hundred stations, still only a few of them are underground. Therefore, the definition of "underground tram" (as it is sometimes customary to call the metrotram) is applicable to this transport system only with a stretch.
Currently metrotram continues to develop. The construction of eight new sites is planned.
Peculiarities
The underground part of the metro trail, located in the city center, will seem very unusual to those passengers who are accustomed, for example, to the peculiarities of the Moscow metro. At underground metro stations, trains on the right and left move in the same direction, but they follow different routes. Therefore, you need to know exactly the number of the route that you need. It is also important to know in which direction the train you want to move should go. If the trains are going in the wrong direction, which means that you need to switch to another platform. Usually on another level (located above or below) there are tracks along which trams move in the opposite direction. Platforms of different levels are connected by stairs and escalators, elevators go between them.
Thus, if you accidentally left in the wrong direction, you need not just get off the train and go to the other side of the platform (as it would be, say, in the Moscow metro), but move to another level.
The decoration of the stations is rather modest and laconic: here you will not find luxury or bold, bright design solutions. However, this design is modern and pleasing to the eye. Stainless steel, glass, ceramics and rubber are the materials used in the finishing of the stations.
Trams running between cities are equipped with real restaurant cars (or, more precisely, cafe cars - this definition suits them better).
To save energy, the doors open only on demand, that is, after the passenger presses the white button located on the doors. By the way, escalators - also in order to save energy - start moving only when people approach, as they are equipped with special sensors.
One of the stations of the Düsseldorf metro is named after the Russian capital. The design of this station corresponds to its name: it is decorated with a mosaic panel depicting one of the famous Moscow churches. Perhaps this is the brightest and most elegant metro tram station.
Dusseldorf metro
