Munich plans doors on subway platforms

02.08.2019

Munich will become the first German city to install doors on platforms for underground trains. The barriers, meant to keep passengers away from tracks before trains are boarding, will be tested in 2023.

On Friday, municipal officials said Munich would become the first German city to install doors on the platforms for underground trains, used for up to 413 million trips per year in the city. The doors would keep passengers away from tracks and only open when trains have come to a complete stop.

The doors are to be tested at the Olympiazentrum station in 2023, said Michael Friess, who is in charge of Munich's U-Bahn system.

Should the trial prove successful, the MVV public transit agency would then install the doors in all of the system's 100 stations, beginning with the busiest, as part of the plans to digitize the network by 2028.

Read more: A German village goes it alone on climate protection

Germany's geometric underground Munich: Marienplatz station The play between light, form and color can transform a subterranean space into a work of art. The architecture and design of subway stations fascinates renowned photo artist Micha Pawlitzki. His photographs show how geometric aesthetics can distract from the functional character of a tram stop. Germany's geometric underground Cologne: Äussere Kanalstrasse station Micha Pawlitzki, born in 1972, has made landscape and architecture photography his specialty. He has worked for National Geographic and GEO magazines, among others, and has published more than 130 books and calendars. Pawlitzki's subway project shows everyday locations from an entirely new and surprising perspective. Germany's geometric underground Munich: Hasenbergl station Over the course of two years, Micha Pawlitzki traveled across Germany in search of impressive motifs. The photographer only worked at night when the stations were largely abandoned. "I can photograph in peace and quiet after the rush hour," he said. The resulting pictures show no trace of everyday hectic. Germany's geometric underground Stuttgart: Kirchtalstrasse station The composition of Micha Pawlitzki's photos is geometric, with a focus on the architecture of the sometimes quite futuristic subway stations. People are nowhere to be found. "I think they distract from the essence. The motif has to work as it is," said Pawlitzki. Germany's geometric underground Hamburg: Überseequartier station In May 2011, Micha Pawlitzki was added to the list, "Who's Who in Visual Art. 100 Photographers." Two years later he won the gold medal at the Gregor International Calendar Award for his orchid calendar. Clarity and intensity characterize his work. Germany's geometric underground Gelsenkirchen: Bergwerk Consolidation station When he's not underground, Pawlitzki spends several months a year traveling the world in search of unusual locations and the perfect light conditions. It's very rare that the sun breaks through the clouds at just the right moment. "It doesn't happen very often that all the atmospheric conditions come together," he said. Germany's geometric underground Frankfurt: Westend station The photos in the subway series don't touch on the negative side of underground transportation. There are no crowds, no delays and no muggings. When Micha Pawlitzki selects his motifs, he looks for calm and order, emphasizing formal beauty. Germany's geometric underground Munich: Westfriedhof station Munich's diverse underground stations particularly inspired the photographer. German industrial designer Ingo Maurer was specially commissioned to create this light installation in the Westfriedhof station in the southern German metropolis. Germany's geometric underground Munich: Candidplatz station Pawlitzki calls subway stations "jewels under the earth," and that phrase couldn't be better suited to describe Munich's Candidplatz subway stop. Other cities in Germany have also started accenting traditionally mundane stations with extraordinary designs. Germany's geometric underground Nuremberg: Maxfeld station Micha Pawlitzki's impressions have been collected in the 2013 photo book "Unter Grund" (Under Ground), published by Panorama. His journey, however, is not over. The photographer is continuing his series and is constantly on the lookout for dramatic new motifs - underground.

1 | 10 Show Caption

Though discussion of heightened security at public transit points has increased since a child was pushed onto the tracks and killed by an incoming train at Frankfurt's main station on Monday, the MVV plans were first drawn up in 2016.

On Friday, officials from the agency told reporters that there had been a series of incidents of people jumping onto the tracks or falling onto them drunkenly; in 2018 alone, 215 people fell to the tracks, with 21 of them killed or injured by incoming trains.

Read more: Is socialism the future for Germany's ailing SPD?

The doors would also facilitate quicker entry to and exit from the trains, officials say, and keep the tracks free from trash and loose papers, which pose a fire risk.

mkg/amp (AFP, dpa)

DW sends out a selection of the day's news and features. Sign up here.