On 02/01/2012 19:46, Wolfgang Schwanke wrote:
wrote in
:

Where were the people who worked on the Berlin S-Bahn in West Berlin
from during the city's partition?

Yes they were West Berlin locals. They had a reputation of being all
communists, but that was not true. The communist party membership was
somewhat higher among them though. (Where "communist party" stands for
the "Sozialistische Einheitspartei Westberlin" or SEW, the West Berlin
section of East Germany's SED. The West German communist party DKP did
not exist on West Berlin soil.)

What were fares like on the S-Bahn in West Berlin during the city's
division? I wonder how that compares with fares for the same service in
East Berlin?

Where, BTW, was border control carried out on the S-Bahn? Did
Grenztruppen der DDR board the train at any point or did one have to
exit at Friedrichstrasse to go through border control?

I also know that at least one line on the West Berlin U-Bahn went via a
part of East German territory. Was there not a transfer point between
two West Berlin lines in East German territory, however? IIRC it was
Alexanderplatz. You could transfer to another line there, but you could
not leave the station.

I thought that certain luxury goods were sold duty-free at
Alexanderplatz at kiosk that belonged to a East German trading company
(state-owned, of course). This really annoyed West German authorities,
and they would sometimes place Federal customs officers at stations with
the sole purpose of catching anybody carrying such goods purchased in
East Germany.

Do correct me if I am mistaken.


I understand that actual train drivers were East German,

That is true for long distance trains connecting West Berlin to West
German, but not local S-Bahn within West Berlin trains.

I would have though that DR train drivers would only be able to go as
far as the Inner German border, indeed.