Nuremberg U-Bahn

The Nuremberg U-Bahn is a rapid transit system in Nuremberg and Fürth, Bavaria. It is operated by Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft Nürnberg (VAG; Nuremberg Transport Corporation), which itself is a member of the Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg (VGN; Greater Nuremberg Transport Network). The Nuremberg U-Bahn is Germany's newest metro system, having begun operation in 1972, although the Nuremberg-Fürth route (U1) uses part of the right of way of the Bavarian Ludwig Railway, which was Germany's first passenger railway opened in 1835. The current network of the U-Bahn is composed of three lines, serving 49 stations, and comprising 38.2 kilometres (23.7 mi) of operational route, making it the shortest of the four heavy-rail metro systems in Germany, behind Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. In 2008, driverless and fully automated trains were introduced on the new U3 line, making it Germany's first automatic U-Bahn line. U2 was converted to driverless operation by 2010, the first such conversion anywhere in the world.