To participate in the 150th anniversary of the Munich Tram, I decided to have a run out on the tram network. I initially selected route 14 from Pasing – a community to the west of the city centre – to Gondrellplatz, a residential zone to the south east of Pasing: a journey of 20 minutes.
Looking at the pocket timetable for tram 14, I realized how comprehensive this service actually is. Monday to Saturday, the tram operates from around 5.00am, with the last tram of the day just past midnight. The day time frequency is generally one tram every ten minutes, from 6.00am through to 10.00pm, after which the interval between trams is 20 minutes. On Sundays and Bank Holidays, the service pattern is similar to the weekday service, but with the ten minute frequency not starting until 9.00am.
Tram 14 at Gondrellplatz terminus, a single line loop. The terminus consists of platform, tram stop, shelter and WC facilities for the tram drivers.
Route 14 is interesting because it is relatively new (introduced in 2026) and it operates via a new stretch of track along the north-south Fürstenreider Strasse. The additional track here is one of three projects to extend the tram network. The terrain in and around Munich is relatively flat, which perhaps has allowed the planning authorities to permit relatively low density outward expansion of the city. Many of the main thoroughfares are quite wide, providing sufficient room to establish dedicated tracks for the trams, separate from motor vehicle traffic. This is certainly the case with the Fürstenreider Strasse extension.
Tram 14 – the new stretch of track along Fürstenreider Strasse, in west Munich, between Pasing and Gondrellplatz.
Along Fürstenreider Strasse, MVG has put up large banners advertising the new extension; and there is also a pop-in information point (open on Mondays) where the public can seek more information about this particular project, known as the “west tangent tram” (Tram-Westtangente).
Banner alongside Fürstenreider Strasse publicising the west tangent tram extension. The drop-in Information point is located nearby.
The west tangent tram extension will run from Romanplatz in north-west Munich (current terminus for trams 12 and 16) south to the U-Bahn station at Aidenbachstrasse. The new line includes two new tram halts at Laimer Platz (terminus of the U5 U-Bahn) and Aindorferstrasse.
The new tram halt at Aindorferstrasse, along Fürstenreider Strasse, with platform, flag and shelter.
At the tram 14 terminus at Gondrellplatz, the tram halt pole hosts plenty of information: all that you could want at a glance (without consulting your smart phone). This includes a digital screen showing the next three departures (tram 18 also shares this terminus), two paper timetables for each route providing a line diagram of each route (and average journey times), plus the departure times from this stop; a map of the MVV fare zones and a fare prices table for each combination of zones (helpful to know what fare to pay for longer distances into the outer districts and suburbs). Most tram stops on the network have a similar range of information on display.
Tram halt at Gondrellplatz with helpful information on the pole. The basic passenger shelter is in the background.
Ticket machines are on board the tram, rather than being located at the tram stops. From these machines, it is possible to buy a wide variety of tickets, whether for single trip journeys, multiple journeys, or for a specific time period (day or a week). These machines accept cash as well as credit and debit cards (including contactless). Helpfully, the ticket machines have multiple language options, including English, French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Turkish. For the less adventurous, it is, of course, possible to buy your ticket on your smart phone via the App MVGO.
Ticket machine on board a tram. This machine dispenses a variety of tickets. Don’t forget to stamp the ticket in the adjacent blue punch-machine, so that the ticket is timed and dated and valid for travel.
My second trip was on tram 21, which runs from Westfriedhof to the north-west of Munich city centre, to the terminus at St-Viet-Strasse to the east. Along with tram 19, route 21 passes through the historic parts of the city centre, passing close to Marienplatz, the heart of the centre of Munich, with its famous square, Old Town Hall and Glockenspiel. Shortly beyond, tram 21 passes by the Residenz Palace, National Theatre, Museum of Five Continents and the Maximilian II Monument. On board the tram, there are digital screens which show progress along the route, announcing each next stop well before arrival. This is a common customer-focused feature on all of the trams.
The pocket timetable for tram 21 shows a similar high frequency service as for route 14, with trams starting at 5.00am through to midnight (or just beyond) and a 10 minute frequency for most of the day. The end to end journey time on tram 21 is 40 minutes.
The MVG website (in German, with English option) outlines the three current network extension projects which will expand the network by 15 kilometres over the next few years; and three other extension projects at planning stage.
https://www.mvg.de/projekte/tram.html
The link to the English version of the MVV website, with its broad range of network maps, including a map showing the tram network alone, is here:
https://www.mvv-muenchen.de/en/maps-stations/maps/index.html
For me, no foreign trip is complete without returning with a collection of ephemera, including public transport tickets. Below is a sample of these.
A single ticket (left), with single person day tickets (top two), then two group day tickets (bottom) and a stripe card ticket (you clip the number of stripes required for each single journey).
Finally, I confirm that the photographs are all my own; I have simply cropped them for size.
Steven Ardron
6 April 2026
