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Köln
With almost 1 million inhabitants, Cologne (Köln) is Germany's fourth largest city. In the 1960s, Köln decided to build an underground tram system (like Stuttgart or Hanover) instead of a full metro (like Nuremberg or Munich). The first underground stretch opened in 1968. Most subways in the city centre were built until 1974, and in the 1980s and 90s the tunnel networks was gradually expanded. Currently the network includes 44.5 km of metro-like routes, either underground, elevated (L13) or at grade. This is complemented by 48 km of conventional railway lines (Lines 16 and 18 to Bonn) and 94 km of tram routes. The total length of the network is 186 km. Only 12 % of the network are on routes shared with car traffic.
The system is a true network with many lines sharing certain stretches. In 1994 it was decided that the east-west lines shown in red on the map will not be converted to Stadtbahn operation with high-floor vehicles. Instead new low-floor trams were acquired which offer the same accessibility (35 cm). From Dec. 2003, also the "ring lines" (shown in green) were added to the low-floor network, whereas all other lines will eventually be converted to Stadtbahn lines similar to the networks in Stuttgart or Frankfurt with high platforms (90 cm) and mainly separate right-of-way when running at grade. Most underground stations have been rebuilt with high platforms in recent years, but some still have low platforms only
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