History of the Berlin U-Bahn began on 1 March 1985; the first section to open was between Biesdorf-Süd and Elsterwerdaer Platz. The section to Hönow was to open on 1 July 1989, just a few months before the fall of the Berlin Wall. On 9 November 1989, following months of unrest, the travel restrictions placed upon East Germans were lifted. Tens of thousands of East Berliners heard the statement live on television and flooded the border checkpoints, demanding entry into West Berlin. Jannowitzbrücke, a former ghost station, was reopened two days later as an additional crossing point. Rosenthaler Platz and Bernauer Straße on the U8
Berlin-Spandau station was expected to lead to the reopening of the line to Staaken via a new S-Bahn station called "Rathaus Spandau" (rather than Spandau West). However, this was postponed, as U-Bahn line U7 was completed to Rathaus Spandau (located next to Spandau West station) on 1 October 1984. The initial plans for the Hanover–Berlin high-speed railway were developed during the same decade. Negotiations with East Germany for what was initially intended as a transit route between West Germany and West Berlin began in autumn 1988. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the completion of negotiations with an agreement on the