| System: | Berlin S-Bahn |
| Locale: | Berlin |
| Operator: | S-Bahn Berlin GmbH |
| Stock: | DBAG Class 481 DBAG Class 480 |
| Electrification: | 750 V DC Third rail |
| Map State: | uncollapsed |
S3 is a line on the Berlin S-Bahn.[1] It operates from Erkner to Spandau. For most of its existence since becoming a numbered route in 1984, the S3's line colour is blue.[2]
S3 originally was shortened to Ostbahnhof from 2003 to 2009 while awaiting renovation works. To compensate for the diminished throughput on the Stadtbahn, the (formerly Erkner ↔ Ostbahnhof) was extended westwards to Spandau. Then, it temporarily shortened to Ostkreuz.
The S3 was created along with the S1 and S2 on 9 January 1984, when the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) took over the S-Bahn network from the East German Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR) in West Berlin: the S3 initially ran between Friedrichstraße and Charlottenburg, before being extended south-westwards to Wannsee on 1 May 1984.[3]
Due to the reunification of Germany, the S3 briefly became a four-coloured line on 1 July 1990, absorbing the DR S-Bahn services formerly terminating at Friedrichstraße to (orange), (yellow), (green), and Flughafen Berlin Schönefeld (sky blue, now BER Airport – Terminal 5).[4] On 2 June 1991, the S3 was broken-up into the following lines:[3]
| Old route | New route[5] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line | Termini | Line | Termini | |
| Westkreuz– | Wannsee– | |||
| Wannsee– | Unchanged | |||
| Wannsee– | Charlottenburg– | |||
| Charlottenburg–Berlin Schönefeld Airport | Westkreuz–Berlin Schönefeld Airport | |||
