Last Sunday was a day that I had been looking forward to for a long time.  I first discovered the “Zentralwerkstatt” – the central maintenance depot – in Frankfurt some years ago by chance.

I was curious as to where the lines went past the end of the last U-Bahn station, as they followed the road and suddenly disappeared behind a set of iron gates. Google Maps provided the answer – behind those gates lies the depot where the trams and the U-Bahn trains go in Frankfurt when they need servicing or repairing.  There is even a 800m long running track to test them on.

So when I read about an open day I grabbed the chance to visit the site and take a look around.

The end of the U5-50 train over a maintenance pit

On what was one of the hottest days of the summer so far, the grounds had been turned into a mixture of trains and their components to see and a childrens’ playground with refreshments. [Read more…]