''Bahnpolizei'' is the term in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and the German-speaking parts of

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

for the

Railway police Railroad police or railway police are people responsible for the protection of railroad (or railway) properties, facilities, revenue, equipment (train cars and locomotives), and personnel, as well as carried passengers and cargo. Railroad police ...

Germany

''Bahnpolizei'' was the name of the former

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

and fell under the jurisdiction of the ''

Deutsche Bundesbahn The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB (German Federal Railway) was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remained ...

'' federal railway company. ''Bahnpolizei'' officers investigated trespassing on rail property, assaults against passengers, terrorism threats targeting the railway, arson, tagging of graffiti on railroad rolling stock or buildings, signal vandalism, pickpocketing, ticket fraud, robbery and theft of personal belongings, baggage or freight. They also investigated train/vehicle collisions and hazardous materials releases. In 1992 the railway security mission was transferred to the ''

Bundesgrenzschutz Bundesgrenzschutz (BGS; en, Federal Border Guard) is the former name of the German ''Bundespolizei'' (Federal Police). Established on 16 March 1951 as a subordinate agency of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the BGS originally was primari ...

'' which resulted in the merger of the ''Bahnpolizei'' into the Federal Border Guard Force. The BGS had already taken on these duties in 1990 for the territory of the former

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, replacing the former East German ''

Transportpolizei The ''Transportpolizei'' (German for "Transport Police") was the transit police of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), whose officers were commonly nicknamed TraPos. It was part of the '' Volkspolizei'' and dealt with all modes of tra ...

''. The ''Bundesgrenzschutz'' was then renamed the '' Bundespolizei'' (

Federal Police A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...

) on July 1, 2005, and this force is currently responsible for security and passenger checks on the German railway system.

Switzerland

Switzerland never had a separate transport police because all rail employees had limited police authority. However, due to the introduction of trains with no conductors in the late 1990s, crime in trains increased and the

Swiss Federal Railways Swiss Federal Railways (german: link=no, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, ''SBB''; french: link=no, Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, ''CFF''; it, Ferrovie federali svizzere, ''FFS'') is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usuall ...

rail company trained ''Bahnpolizei'' officers for its driver-only commuter trains. In 2002 the SBB-CFF-FFS merged its ''Bahnpolizei'' force with the private security company

Securitas AG Securitas AG is a Switzerland, Swiss family company providing security services with head office in Zollikofen, regional offices in Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne, Lugano, Lucerne, Neuchâtel, Olten, St. Gallen, Thun and Zürich as well as 25 ot ...

and the resulting Securitrans is now the force that protects Switzerland's trains, passengers, rail property and rail workers. Since 2011, the rail police has been reorganised, and the Transport Police of Switzerland (Transportpolizei) are state employees, with all officers attending two years of police academy training with final certification. Transportpolizei officers are sworn as officers to the Swiss Confederation, and thus have the same power to arrest as any other cantonal police officers. As their state counterparts, they usually carry a

SIG Sauer Several brother companies that design and manufacture firearms use the brand name SIG Sauer . The original company, ''Schweizerische Waggon-Fabrik'' (SWF), later ''Schweizerische Industrie-Gesellschaft'' (SIG), went through several selloffs, ...

P225 The SIG Sauer P220 is a semi-automatic pistol. Designed in 1975 by the SIG Arms AG division of Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (now SIG Holding AG), and produced by J. P. Sauer & Sohn, in Eckernförde; it is currently manufactured by both ...

and pepper sprays as weapons, along with handcuffs for restrain options.

External links

Bundespolizei home page (in German)Information brochure about the ''Bundespolizei'' (in German and English)

Swiss rail police homepage in English
Specialist law enforcement agencies of Switzerland Defunct law enforcement agencies of Germany Police units of Germany Railroad police agencies {{Law enforcement in Germany, state=collapsed de:Bahnpolizei pt:Bahnpolizei pl:Straż Ochrony Kolei

Germany

Switzerland

See also

External links