History of HOCHBAHN

1906	Hamburg’s regional parliament (the “Bürgerschaft”) authorises the construction of both an elevated and underground railway system.
1912	The elevated and underground railway in Hamburg begins operation on 1 May. Ten years after Berlin, Hamburg thereby became the second German city to embark on the “adventure of the future“ by building a metro line.
1921	Omnibus operation starts.
1933	The Boards of the Hamburger Hochbahn AG (HOCHBAHN) are fired or put on indefinite leave along with several hundred of their employees for “political” or “racial” reasons.
1934	The underground station Jungfernstieg is opened on 28 April, featuring escalators for the first time.
1947	HOCHBAHN first reaches the milestone of 200 million passengers transported each year.
1957	HOCHBAHN hosts the UITP World Congress, led by CEO Dr.-Ing. Friedrich Lademann.
1965	The Hamburg Public Transport Association (“Hamburger Verkehrsverbund” – HVV) is founded.
1978	Tram services are discontinued in Hamburg on 1 October.
1989	The first underground rolling stock of the new DT4 generation enters into service.
1997	Introduction of the “train infoscreen” in metro trains to keep passengers informed during their journey.
2002	HOCHBAHN fleet is now made up of 100 percent low-floor buses.
2006	HOCHBAHN has the largest fleet of fuel cell buses worldwide.
2007	Germany’s largest underground rail project, the construction of the U4 metro line, gets underway in the HafenCity.
2011	The zero-emission “CleanBus” with hybrid propulsion technology commences regular services. This brings HOCHBAHN one step closer to a zero-emission future.
2012	The major Hamburg “Lift Programme” is launched with the aim of making all metro and urban rail stations disabled-friendly by fitting them with elevators and other facilities.
2013	Mobility – newly facilitated by HOCHBAHN: the “switchh” pilot project combines the car and bike sharing options offered by its partner providers and connects them with public transport services.
2014	Trials begin to test a range of innovative drives in regular bus services on the “Innovation Line 109”.
2016	HOCHBAHN begins a comprehensive digitalisation process.
2017	Real-time data is displayed for passengers on bus and rail services via screens, websites and an app.