Cycling reporter Lara on the road in Hamburg A train becomes a bicycle
Bike reporter Lara is on the road in Hamburg on her bike and tells you about the most exciting stories, projects and people who are committed to cycling in our city. Go on a discovery tour with Lara and find out why Hamburg is twice as much fun from a bike.
Hamburg is and was probably shaped by no other underground line as much as by the U3. The line was built over 100 years ago in the heart of Hamburg and, with its 23 stops, was the Hanseatic city's first underground ring. For almost 50 years, the iconic silver-red DT3 trains were on the rails of the U3, taking millions of Hamburg residents and visitors to their destinations. In 2017, the trains were retired and replaced by the DT5 trains we know today.
However, an old DT3 train was given a new lease of life by metalworker Till Kiefer in his Altona workshop. Here, he took special individual parts from the decommissioned wagon to use them for Tattoo-Fiete's brother: U3-Fiete. The seat upholstery became a saddle, the emergency brake became a handlebar brake handle, the rubbish bin became a handlebar bag and the grab rails became part of Fiete's frame. Because, statistically speaking, the old wagon has transported every Hamburger:in its 50 years, U3 Fiete was already the most ridden bicycle in the world right after its completion.
After a visit to Till's workshop, bike reporter and bike fan Lara absolutely has to go for a little spin with Fiete. Instead of going by rail, she rides on the cycle path from Altona along the U3 into the city and all the way to Mundsburg. After Lara, many other Hamburg residents also had the pleasure, as Fiete was loaned out to former drivers for a week at a time in 2019 as part of the "Drive a More Beautiful Hamburg" programme. With Fiete, they were able to get a feeling for how quickly you can get from A to B by bike - without traffic jams and the search for a parking space.
But the U3 is not only the talk of the town because of Fiete. From 2021 to 2022, extensive construction measures were carried out on the line to guarantee safe and smooth underground operations in the future. The centrepiece of the modernisations was the complete renewal of the tunnel exit at Mönkedamm. The rotten wooden piles under the track bed were replaced by steel piles, which of course required the removal and rebuilding of the floor, walls and tracks. Considering this effort, the 16-month construction period doesn't seem so long to us.
But that was not all! Modernisation measures were also carried out at the Mönckebergstraße, Rathaus and Rödingsmarkt stops and lifts were installed. This means that the last stops in Hamburg's city centre are now barrier-free and finally allow all Hamburg residents short and reliable routes through the city. Care was taken to preserve the historic charm of Hamburg's oldest underground ring. Since 28 March 2022, the U3 has once again been running between the main station and Baumwall and is ready for the next 100 years of underground service and millions more passengers.
