Photo Gallery Painting the Trains of Berlin
Even as the city center of Berlin is becoming sanitized and expensive, graffiti is alive and well in the German capital. A new film called "Unlike U" documents the sub-species known as "trainwriters."
Subway trains sprayed with graffiti like this one are a common sight in Berlin where there are over 100 trainwriters active in the scene.
While most graffiti artists tend to be young men, the trainwriting scene has become diversified in recent years. "Some live on social benefits, come have a university education and many have day jobs," film co-director Henrik Regel told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "A few even put the kids to bed before heading out to go writing."
Cleaning the trains costs Berlin transport authorities around 670,000 euros ($907,000) per year. The authorities try to take trains out of circulation as soon as they are sprayed but this is not always possible.
"Berlin has so many faces," says veteran trainwriter The City Famous, "but you can clearly distinguish Berlin's graffiti art from the rest. The characters are alive ... as if they are dancing."
