Rhine-Ruhr Stadtbahn

It does not include the Cologne and Bonn Stadtbahn systems, which are integrated in the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg (VRS).

The cities of Bochum, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Duisburg, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Oberhausen, Recklinghausen and Wattenscheid founded the Stadtbahngesellschaft Ruhr in 1969 for coordinating the plans to transform tram routes into Stadtbahn routes.

Due to financial constraints and the downturn of the economy in the region, many sections of the originally planned system have not been built.

All Stadtbahn lines have been electrified with overhead catenary and are powered with direct current like former trams.

The very ambitious original plans have not paid enough attention to financial restrictions and increased tunneling costs in the mining areas.

Some stations even contain both low-floor and high-floor platforms in case of mixed tram and Stadtbahn operation.