Flag of Germany

Railways in

Germany

The first railway in Germany opened between Nürnberg and Fürth, in Bavaria, on 7th December, 1835. Germany at that time was a loose federation of states, each of which had their own individual railway policy. This continued even under the days of the German Empire, so development tended to be piecemeal and unevenly spread. However, this did not in the end prevent the construction of and extensive and efficient network by the early decades of the 20th century.

The First World War impoverished the railways and runaway inflation made matters worse. The entire railway system was nationalized, as the Deutsche Reichsbahn, in 1924.

Partition of Germany in the 1950s lead to the railways being split again. East Germany retained the Reichsbahn name, while the West German railways became the Deutsche Bundesbahn. The Bundesbahn also operated the stations in West Berlin and provided the through trains that ran heavily guarded through East German territory to reach the rest of the Federal Republic.

On reunification, the DB abbreviation and logo of the Bundesbahn were retained, but were now to represent simply “Die Bahn” - “The Railways”. Reintegration necessitated considerable investment in the run-down stock and infrastructure of the East, but posed few other major problems as the Reichsbahn had perpetuated normal German operating practices from the time of the partition.

Today, the national operator Die Bahn still owns the bulk of the infrastructure of the German railway network and operates most of the long distance trains. In recent years, many local and regional passenger and freight services have been taken over by other operators.

As with many countries, there are a number of minor railways and tourist operations. The distinction is sometimes blurred: for example, the extensive narrow gauge network in the Harz mountains provides a valuable local service in addition to its tourist role. As well as organizations with their own lines, there are a number of museum train operations over freight lines and otherwise lightly used passenger lines.

The trams and metro services of various cities have their own operating companies. In some localities - notably Karlsruhe and the Saar - trams venture onto the national network to provide what is essentially a regional service.

The National Network

Regional Operators

Infrastructure Company

Tourist and Museum Railways

Island Railways

Of particular interest to historians and enthusiasts alike are the isolated railway systems that sprang up on the North Sea islands of Ostfriesland. Several of these lines survive as tourist operations.

The islands of Amrum, Baltrum, Juist and Norderney also formerly had railways. Several other islands in the North and Baltic Seas have or had railway systems connected to the mainland by bridges or causeways.

Miniature Railways

Metros, Trams and Urban Funiculars

Historic Trams

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