The extension of the Frankfurt tramway to Neu-Isenburg, Dreieich and Langen has great potential – economically, technically and in terms of urban development. This is the result of the in-depth feasibility study that was presented in November 2024. The commissioned consultancy firm Ramboll makes a very clear recommendation to press ahead with further planning for the tram.
The result is also pleasing because the last tram line in Offenbach at the time was closed in 1996. Since then, tram line 16 of the Verkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt am Main (VGF) has ended at the city boundary between Frankfurt and Offenbach – see below.
Outstanding cost-benefit value of 2.20
The mayors of the three cities, Martin Burlon (Dreieich), Dirk Gene Hagelstein (Neu-Isenburg), Prof Dr Jan Werner (Langen) and Frankfurt’s head of mobility, Wolfgang Siefert, welcome the results of the study.
Hartwig Meier, chief planner at Frankfurt’s public transport company traffiQ, explains that the cost-benefit factor is decisive for the economic assessment: if the calculated value is above 1.0, the construction of the line makes economic sense. This is also a prerequisite for financial support from the federal and state governments, which can amount to over 90 per cent of the costs. The experts calculated an outstanding value of 2.20 for the extension of the tramway to Langen station. If the tramway only ran to Weibelfeld in Dreieich, the cost-benefit value would still be 1.74.
According to the experts, the tram extension is also technically feasible. It also offers great potential for enhancing the urban design of the city centres of Neu-Isenburg, Dreieich and Langen. The quality of stay can be significantly improved, the traffic area can be attractively designed and divided up in a more contemporary way – by improving the quality of stay, for example through outdoor catering, more space for cycling and walking or logistics services, accessibility and greenery, and by reducing through traffic. Last but not least, there is an opportunity to make cities more climate-resilient.
Sustainable management of traffic
For the four partners, the sustainable management of traffic in the Rhine-Main conurbation plays an important role in their considerations: ‘A tram connection from Frankfurt via Neu-Isenburg to Dreieich and Langen could be a forward-looking service for the many commuters who currently travel daily in the western district of Offenbach or from there to Frankfurt. It also offers the cities involved great urban design opportunities and Frankfurt will be relieved of commuter traffic,’ explain the mayors and the head of the mobility department together. They will campaign in their municipalities for the planning to be continued quickly. This is because the entire process is very extensive and the next step is to enter the preliminary planning phase. In addition to the traffic system planning, operating, funding and financing concepts are also required before the approval planning and construction phase can begin. From around 2034, the first tram could start its journey in the direction of Langen via the Frankfurt ‘Neu-Isenburg tram’ stop.
The costs for the study, totalling 470,000 euros, were borne in equal parts by the towns of Dreieich, Langen and Neu-Isenburg and the Frankfurt public transport company traffiQ.
About the Neu-Isenburg – Dreieich – Langen tram extension project
In spring 2020, the cities of Dreieich, Frankfurt am Main and Neu-Isenburg agreed to jointly investigate the potential of a tram from Frankfurt via Neu-Isenburg to Dreieich. A year later, the city of Langen also joined the project. The study is a milestone in inter-municipal development in the Rhine-Main region.
Today, Frankfurt’s tram line 17 ends a few hundred metres before the neighbouring town to the south. Starting at the current terminus ‘Neu-Isenburg Stadtgrenze’, the tram could run for around 9.4 kilometres through Neu-Isenburg beyond Dreieich-Sprendlingen to Langen station. It would follow the former main road, which is called Frankfurter Straße until Dreieich-Sprendlingen, then Darmstädter Straße and Frankfurter Straße again from Langen. After the subway under the B486 federal road, it would turn into Nördliche Ringstraße and follow it to Langen railway station.
A good 130,000 residents and around 90,000 jobs in the three municipalities would benefit from the tram connection being analysed. The daily passenger demand on the existing route, which currently ends at the Frankfurt city boundary with Neu-Isenburg, would triple compared to today as a result of the extension. As far as Neu-Isenburg Neuhöfer Straße, the planned service of the extended tram line 17 would even have to be increased, at least during rush hour, in order to meet this demand. The experts expect around 5,400 new customers per day. Well over 11.3 million car kilometres could be saved per year. A further 3,000 passengers will switch from the suburban railway running to the western districts to the tram, which will help to relieve the highly demanded suburban railway connection to Darmstadt.
A look back: the Offenbach tramway
Offenbach am Main was one of the first cities in Germany to have a tramway in 1884. The initially metre-gauge tram was converted to standard gauge when it was taken over by the Frankfurt-Offenbacher Trambahn-Gesellschaft (FOTG). After the Second World War, individual lines were closed, but the joint line with the Frankfurt am Main tramway remained, while the tram lines in Offenbach were gradually shut down. In 1949, the Offenbach tramway had a length of 9.7 kilometres.
In 1951, it was decided to replace the tram service in Offenbach with trolleybuses. As a result, the tram lines between Frankfurter/Kaiserstraße and Goethestraße and between Mathildenplatz and Bürgel were closed in June 1951. The remaining sections were now served by a shortened line 27, while the joint line 16 remained unchanged. On 3 November 1963, line 27 was also shut down and replaced by buses, meaning that there was no longer a tram line operated exclusively by the city of Offenbach.
The following video provides a historical insight into the city and transport history:
Over time, Offenbach further reduced its contribution to the tramway by decommissioning or selling vehicles. In May 1967, the last three large-capacity cars were sold to the Bremerhaven tramway, where they were used until 1982. From 1967, line 16 was only served by Frankfurt vehicles.
In 1969, the section between the market square and the cemetery was shut down. For this reason, eight ‘O’ type bidirectional vehicles were purchased in 1969 with support from the state of Hesse. Later, vehicles of the ‘P’ and ‘R’ types were also used, as the Frankfurt tramway only procured bidirectional vehicles.
In 1972, the Offenbach trolleybuses were finally replaced by diesel buses.
Closure of line 16 in Offenbach
In 1995, the underground S-Bahn line was opened in Offenbach, providing access to the city centre with three closely spaced stations along the lines of an underground railway. This development jeopardised the future of the tramway in Frankfurter Strasse. Retailers from the eastern Frankfurter Strasse and the Offenbach am Main Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) had been calling for the tram to be removed from the pedestrian zone since 1989, as they saw it as an obstacle to sales and traffic.
After a year of parallel tram and S-Bahn services, the Offenbach section of Line 16 was closed on 1 June 1996. Since then, the line has ended at August-Bebel-Ring, initially at an existing triangle of tracks, later at a newly constructed terminus in the centre of Frankfurter Straße. This terminus is located just inside Offenbach territory, which means that several metres of tram track are still in operation there today.
The tracks in the pedestrian zone were removed promptly, while the remaining tracks in Frankfurter Strasse were not dismantled until ten years later, in 2006, due to an official requirement by the regional council.
Is the tram coming back to Offenbach city centre?
After the closure of the tram, there were always voices in favour of reintroducing it in Offenbach. Offenbach retailers in particular, some of whom suffered a loss of sales after the closure in 1996, were among those in favour. In the years that followed, the issue was repeatedly discussed but remained inconclusive – most recently in 2017 during the election campaign for the office of Lord Mayor of Offenbach.
In 2019, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Frankfurt’s Head of Transport Klaus Oesterling and some politicians in Offenbach spoke out in favour of a return of the tram. However, the question of funding remained open.
On 8 March 2021, the cities of Offenbach and Frankfurt decided to conduct a joint feasibility study. This is to examine how Offenbach city centre, the main railway station and Bürgel can be better connected. Both an extension of the existing line 16 and a new connection to Fechenheim are under discussion. Corresponding studies are already underway.
18.12.2024
