Garching celebrates opening of new U-Bahn line

On Saturday 14th October 2006, Munich's U-Bahn network expands further with the opening of the extension of the U6 line to the new stations "Garching" and "Garching Forschungszentrum".

The townsfolk of Garching are organising a three-day programme of festivities to celebrate this important event, starting on Friday 13th and continuing until Sunday evening. There will be - among other things - a "Festzelt", various live music events, a disco on Friday night, a Weisswurst breakfast on Sunday morning, a medieval music spectacle in the Buergerhaus, a procession with a historical transport theme, and much merriment and rejoicing. The official inauguration ceremony will take place at the new station in downtown Garching on Saturday 14th, from 11:00 to 12:30.

Full programme of events here

On Sunday 15th October there will also be an "Open Door Day" on the Garching research campus from 10:00 to 17:00.
Open Door Day on Garching research campus

There will be some changes to local bus routes once the new U-Bahn stretch is in operation.
Details on the MVV web site

Rough translation:

Bus 290: This route will still operate, with an additional stop at the new U-Bahn station in the centre of Garching. It will also continue to Dirnismaning once per hour.

Buses 219A, 292, 294: These will continue to serve Hochbrueck. No changes.

Buses 291, 293: These routes will cease to operate.

Bus 230: Will still be running between Ismaning and Garching Forschungszentrum.

Wow, I remember when they first diverted the road and started to dig the tunnel for this. Wish I was there to see the end result. I hope they put a bakery/coffee stand in the station!

That would be fabulous wouldn't it, but I don't see it happening...

Goodbye route 291, I won't miss you a bit.

Well, I have mixed feelings about this. There's a bus stop close to my institute on the campus, but it's a 5-10 minute walk to the new U-Bahn. That's fine in good weather, but not so nice in torrential rain, hail, sleet, snow, gale-force winds, sub-zero temperatures, icy footpaths that haven't been cleared, if you're carrying a lot of stuff, if you've got a sprained ankle, etc, etc. Still, I suppose the 230 bus from Ismaning will still serve al the bus stops on the campus. And the 690/691/694 - I suppose those will still operate? At least, I hope there will still be several bus stops on the campus, and not just one "central" stop at the U-Bahn.

Re bakery/coffee shop in the U-Bahn - I don't see why not. I'd think it would be profitable, with the thousands of people who will be using that station every day. Let's hope!

Well, the new U-Bahn stretch is now officially open. A few first impressions:

Garching central station - has a pleasant, friendly atmosphere, walls covered with coloured panels - I seem to remember red, green and beige being predominant, but not garish - giving a kind of patchwork effect. Mirrors on the wall across the track, placed at just the right height for the fine and handsome citizens of Garching to admire themselves while waiting for the train. If you prefer your mirrors on the ceiling, no problem - you got that too, all the way up the stairs at both exits. The signposting in the station breaks with the format that seems to be standard for all other U-Bahn stations, which is a bit confusing for U-Bahn zombies like me, until you realise you just have to open your eyes and look. The name of the station - "Garching" - is also not displayed in the standard format, but using Garching's "logo", with the letter A drawn to look like the egg-shaped dome of the (now retired) nuclear reactor on the research campus.

Garching Forschungszentrum station - mirrors again, but this time as a backdrop to 26 brightly-coloured plaques (turquoise and orange) honouring German scientists. Among them are indeed the two plaques commemorating Dornier and Messerschmitt, about which there was some controversy due to the employment of forced labor and concentration camp prisoners to build their aircraft during WWII. The commemoration plaques make note of this historical fact.
Related thread: Plans for memorial plaques at Garching on hold

No coffee shop in this station, because it simply isn't built that way. At each end of the platform, and also in the middle, are stairs leading directly to ground level, so no place to install a kiosk. Interesting design of the area around the station at ground level. Looks a bit like a crazy-golf course, the area landscaped with fragmented ramps sloping gently up and down, and all covered in turf, including the sloping canopy above the station. It will be interesting to see how they tackle the challenge of mowing the grass.

It looks like they didn't quite manage to finish everything on schedule, as parts of the town centre, and more so the research campus, are still looking like a construction site, but still, a great day for Garching.

Great review Greentea. Will try to make some pictures on monday morning and post them during the day. Well, at least of the ForschungsZentrum station.

This morning, at the Forschungszentrum station I kneeled down and kissed the ground.

No shop, [insert obscenities here]!

But apart from that, a very nice ride to work this morning, the absence of feeling like a sardine was wonderful.

No shop in the station, but I discovered at yesterday's Open House Day that there is a bakery and coffee shop in the Maschinenwesen faculty building, which is close to the U-Bahn. Opening hours are 07:00 till sometime early evening, IIRC. You have to walk some distance into the building, and it's on the left side of the central hall. At the south end of the campus, there's also a cafeteria in the central hall of the Mathematics faculty building.


Beautiful! I wish I'd witnessed that!