Munich's Two Quintessentially German Urban Railways | Munich U-Bahn & S-Bahn

Munich has excellent urban rail transportation, from the high-capacity cross-city S-Bahn tunnel, to the particularly unique U-Bahn system, there's something in here for everyone to learn from.

Special thanks to Jakob Essler, Julian Ostarek, and Thomas Panzer for helping with this video!

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Ever wondered why your city's transit just doesn't seem quite up to snuff? RMTransit is here to answer that, and help you open your eyes to all of the different public transportation systems around the world!

Reece (the RM in RMTransit) is an urbanist and public transport critic residing in Toronto, Canada, with the goal of helping the world become more connected through metros, trams, buses, high-speed trains, and all other transport modes.

[fritz]

You forgot to mention that Munich also has a tram network. It was cut back a lot when new U-Bahn lines were built, but it is still being extended in other areas.

[ashishkulkarni]

The fact that the Marienplatz station is right beneath the central plaza of the church and city centre is so cool. Climbing the stairs as you emerge outside and seeing the grand structure for the first time as a tourist is a sight to behold.

[purepout]

Fun fact about the Munich U-Bahn: despite the fact that all tracks are connected to each other (also via some "hidden" service connections through depots and service stations), it's impossible to rotate a vehicle on the network without removing it from the rails.

[michaelschlicker]

Awesome video about my home town railway systems.
Here are a few (turns out a lot more) points I want to share:
- The S-Bahn class 420 trains were decommissioned already for decades and just recently came back into service primarily from other cities because we didn't have enough 423 trains which are also no longer In production.
- The city center corridor got a new station in 2009 with Hirschgarten between Laim and Donnersberger Brücke. As a result the travel time increased by about 2 minutes. In order to not break the endless connections with busses on the outskirts they just shuffled the line designations and reconnected different branches to keep the same departure times. 
- There used to be an S5 but the line designations change from time to time and get reconnected. There was also a time when there was no S3. Basically they try to accommodate the S8 to always go to the airport to not confuse visitors.
- The S2 branch to Altomünster got only recently electrified. Before that it was served by the A train which was basically a weird diesel regional train but still part of the S-Bahn system.
- The S7 is probably the most under-developed S-Bahn line on the outskirts and leaves the core the earliest together with the BOB private regional trains which stop at a common platform at Donnersberger Brücke. This line is also very known for more delays than another.
- While the S8 technically runs 24/7 there are just a few trains at night (from central station: 0:15, 0:55, 1:35, 2:35, 3:15)
- About the number of trains per hour both S-Bahn and U-Bahn cores are at the upper limit with 30 an hour considering that those trains have to merge and delays have huge knock on effects resulting often to very irregular service at the end of peak hours. That's a main reason why the new tunnels through the center are so important to give more capacity through the chokepoints and reduce interlining.
- The S-Bahn corridor has a major chokepoint problem. Pretty often there are problems and then the whole network collapses (we call it Stammstreckenstörung). Oftentimes then S-Bahns terminate early at Pasing or end at the central station proper (above ground) like normal regional trains.
- The second S-Bahn corridor can be a huge relief as an alternative route but it just got delayed until 2037 (instead of 2028).
- A Ring S-Bahn is discussed a lot but has major problems. The Nordring are narrow industrial tracks that are far away from other U-Bahn stations and therefore discourage interchanges. The South ring is already very heavily trafficked by trains going eastwards and will see even more cargo trains once the Brenner tunnel to Italy is finished.
- The U9 project also includes a connection to the U2 before Hauptbahnhof. This would allow a line split similar to the U3/U9 through a new tunnel via Goetheplatz & Baldeplatz to Kolumbusplatz. They even have 4 platforms at the new additional Hauptbahnhof station for that reason but it's not likely to happen until the 2050s.
- Fun fact: You can open the double doors individually on A-trains but not B-trains U-Bahns. You can also differentiate them by their seat color (blue vs. brown)
- While many homes at Am Moosfeld are single-family homes many are also semi-detached houses or contain multiple units although looking like one house. Also this area is known for the many brothels on the other side of the park next to the station.
- During major conventions (especially bauma) the U7 is operating the whole day but goes to Messestadt Ost instead of Neuperlach Zentrum)
- The Olympiapark is at wrong location (1:36). The location you show is Nymphenburger Park that belongs to the city castle.
- Besides the Messe, Olympic Park & Allianz Arena there's a fourth major event destination: Theresienwiese where every year the Oktoberfest and smaller festivals take place. During Oktoberfest peak the stations have to be closed sometimes because of overcrowding. This U4/U5 station is planned to get extended to four platforms to better handle peak traffic (similar to Olympiazentrum and Fröttmaning). However it's also reachable via U3/U6 Goetheplatz or with a longer walk directly from the S-Bahn station Hackerbrücke. The new U9 will also get a new station at Theresienwiese to ease the overcrowding.
I hope you enjoy Munich and our railway infrastructure when you visit which is great when it works!

[mrfacques]

Munich has one of the most efficient systems of any major city that I’ve ever traveled. I went there a few years ago for work and had to travel all throughout the city, and I felt like I never waited more than 10 minutes for a train or had to travel more than 20 minutes to get to any of my destinations. It literally made Munich feel really small.

[gingermany]

The tiered transport system in Germany (DB just works so well, especially in Munich.

[JohnDoe-efys]

An excellent transit system, but very difficult for the first time user. Upon arriving at Munich airport in November 2024 I wanted a 7-day pass but was frustrated by the machine which demanded a start and end station before selling me a ticket. I tried to ask the DB Information booth person how to navigate it, but she rudely denied knowledge. After fumbling around for 35 minutes I finally figure out the machine and purchased the ticket.
Having conquered the first day, every day after that was incredibly easy. Everything makes sense the 3rd time you use the system.

[baumfisch]

A fun fact about the S-Bahn trains, especially about the old ones is, that originally they had already been taken out of service in Munich, but due to a massive shortage of trains (and no new trains coming in the near future) the old S-Bahn train sets had to be brought back to Munich (from the Rhein-Rhur area, because they had better planning and therefore now have new trains) to help alleviate the problem with having too few trains.

[lucabaehr]

Apart from my all time favorite Berlin (mostly because of the S-Bahn Ring, two central city corridors and large U-Bahn network), Munich has definitely the second best transit system in Germany. I always loved the star-like designs with branches diverging from the city center in all directions.

[Fanw]

I, Roger Sexton, first visited Munich in 1976. It was the first time I had visited a city of more than a million population outside Britain! I was totally overwhelmed by the high quality of the public transport, S-Bahn, U-Bahn, Trams and Buses. And all of it integrated by the wonderful 'Verkehrsverbund'. One ticket system for all four modes. I thought then, 'Comparable British metropolitan areas such as Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow need a system like this.' Nearly fifty years later i am still waiting!

[marcelwannieck]

My hometown! Thank you for making this video :)

The cross platform transfer between U2 and U5 at Innsbrucker Ring is great, I used it every day on my commute to school back in the day.
And one thing I also want to note is the unique architectural design of most of the U-Bahn stations. The oldest stations in the network still have a standardised design but later on, different architects would create entirely unique designs for every station. If you use the system long enough you won't even have to look at any signs to know where you are.
I would link a list of all stations with pictures but Youtube seems to auto-delete comments with links. But I encourage everyone to look it up themselves, some of these stations are really beautiful in my opinion.

[coolerfish]

as a native of munich, i must say great explanation. however, you forgot the munich-pasing station in the west of the city. the third largest station in munich, after the main station and munich east. furthermore, munich-pasing is one of the 20 busiest stations in the german rail network and one of the largest stations in bavaria.

[olivermeineke]

Accessibility is a strong point in Munich Public Transport: You need only one ticket for alle busses, trams, S-Bahns and U-Bahns, there are no barriers at the entrance or the exit and the underground stations are all accessable for people with mobility shortcomings or strollers by lifts and escalators.

[ChrisCooper]

Back in 2016 i managed to catch one of the old 420s when they were in their last year of service in Stuttgart. Then in 2018 I visited Munich and saw one operating the Dachau to Altomunster shuttle of the S2, but disappointing didn't get time for a ride. Fast forward to 2022 and i was pleasantly surprised to see quite a few in service, and managed a get a few rides in, even all the way from Altomunster to Ostbahnhof.

[OnkelJajusBahn]

The things I love most about the Munich Metro are the great cross platform transfers, and the very beautiful stations.

[Brackcycle]

The first experience I had with European public transit came in my Grade 12 year on a school trip in the late 80s. As a kid who grew up east of Toronto and was used to the Go Train slowly pulling into Union, I was completely blown away with Munich. We took a train to Dachau and then went into Munich on what I guess was S2. My jaw dropped when we the train I was on entered the core and seamlessly moved through downtown stations. It seemed so simple but so effective to treat the train as a metro while in the core. I feel like the Deux Montagnes line of the REM will finally bring the same seamless movement through canadian city's downtown. Why isn't this pursued in North America as much?

[bananenmusli]

I live in the north of Bavaria and went to Munich this summer. I really liked the old model of the U-Bahn. It is like time-travelling back to the 70s

[JohnJFebreeze]

visited Munich when I was 17 and was floored by how intermodal Germany was while still being a very car centric society.

[MM-snix]

As always: great video!
Living in the suburbs, there are two major issues with the s-Bahn:
Reliability: if something goes wrong in the central tunnel, every single s-Bahn branch stalls. As the tunnel is operated at 3× the planned capacity, this is a frequent problem.
Missing Ring Line: if you want to get to an nearby town on the neighboring branch, you need to ride to the city first.
So a < 15 minutes car drive takes sometimes 1¼ hours via S-Bahn/public transport.

[michaelstaengl]

A Munich citizen here:

On 1:51
The taller building on the left of this moment in the video, the BMW-headquarter ironically is called "Vierzylinder" (Four-cylinder like in most car engines).
The smaller on the right, the BMW-Musum ironically is called the "Salatschüssel" (Salad bowl).

I as a Munich citizen loves when my home city is mentioned in videos like yours.

I live there since 1981 and I never needed a car in my whole life thanks to the Munich public transportation network which, consist of:
- The U-Bahnen. Mentioned in depth in your video.
- The S-Bahnen. Mentioned in depth in your video.
- The Tram, a surface short train system, slower as the U-Bahn but with more stops, mostly reliable but it may have some delays in the winter.
- the Busses. The most flexible one and the one withthe most lines.
- And the Taxi. the fully flexible system.

As a Munich I often joke that I don't need a car since I have these large mostly blue vehicles with my personal cauffeur ready. 😁