Französische Straße (Berlin U-Bahn)

Französische Straße
Platform view of Französische Straße
General information
Location	Mitte
Owned by	Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe
Operated by	Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Train operators	Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe
Connections
Other information
Fare zone	VBB: Berlin A/5555
History
Opened	30 January 1923 (1923-01-30)
Closed	3 December 2020 (2020-12-03)
Services
Preceding station Berlin U-Bahn Following station Former service Friedrichstraße towards Alt-Tegel U6 Stadtmitte towards Alt-Mariendorf
Location
Französische Straße Location within Berlin

Französische Straße was a Berlin U-Bahn underground station on the U6 line located under the street Friedrichstraße in central Berlin.

This station was built by Grenander/Fehse/Jennen and opened in 1923. In 1945 it closed for a few months; it was closed in 1961. During the Cold War (1961–1990), the station became a ghost station. The station was closed to passenger traffic, and the underground trains of the West Berlin BVG passed the island platform in East Berlin slowly without stopping. In 1990, after the Berlin Wall fell, the station became accessible again. In 1995, the platform had to be lengthened by 25 m (82 ft) so that the longer, six-car trains could stop there. It is the only former partition-related ghost station in Berlin to have since been closed a second time, albeit for different reasons.

Entrance to Französische Straße station in the middle of Friedrichstraße

2020 closure

With the opening of the expanded U5 line connecting Alexanderplatz with Berlin Hauptbahnhof, Französische Straße station was closed and replaced by the newly built Unter den Linden station directly to the north, allowing transfers between the U6 and U5 lines. The last trains called at Französische Straße on 3 December 2020, with Unter den Linden station opening the following day.