History and stories about Rüdersdorf -
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Rüdersdorf tram history
Today, the Schöneiche-Rüdersdorf tram - Tram 88 - connects the Friedrichshagen S-Bahn station in Berlin with the suburban communities of Schöneiche and Rüdersdorf.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, when the wooded and water-rich eastern outskirts of Berlin were discovered as an attractive residential area, there was also a call for good transport connections. The connection between Friedrichshagen station and Schöneiche was put into operation on 28 August 1910 with the approval of the Prussian Small Railway Act. Two years later, the benzene railway was extended to Kalkberge (now Rüdersdorf) and electrified in 1914. In the following decades, the Schöneiche-Rüdersdorf tramway was extended several times. In 1977, the line was extended to the Alt-Rüdersdorf district.
From 1970 to 1990, the Schöneicher-Rüdersdorfer tramway was under the control of the "Verkehrskombinat Frankfurt/Oder", a centrally managed state enterprise. Trams played a subordinate role in this, so that they were increasingly neglected.
Immediately after 1990, the SRS benefited from generous funding for local public transport from the federal and state governments. However, in view of the demand for the municipalisation of transport companies for a "rural tramway" such as the SRS, a viable solution for financing ongoing operations could only be found with a great deal of political effort. In the end, the municipalities still very much interested in maintaining the railway and the responsible districts agreed to subsidise the railway. However, the inclusion of Berlin was not successful, although the Schöneich-Rüdersdorf tram runs 4 kilometres on Berlin territory, is an indispensable means of local transport for many Berliners and saves many car journeys to the metropolis every day.
In 2000, the 90th year of its existence, the SRS was once again on the brink of closure. However, the people of Schöneich and Rüdersdorf refused to let their railway be taken away from them. With the successful privatisation and a ten-year transport contract, a new perspective was finally found.
The 100th birthday of the tram was celebrated on 28 August 2010.
Question 22: Tram 88 has a route length of 14 kilometres and runs through the Berlin city forest, the "forest garden town" of Schöneiche to Rüdersdorf, which is characterised by lime mining and the cement industry. How many stops does it serve along the way?
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