DB Netz AG is a major subsidiary of
Deutsche Bahn
The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder.
describes itself as the se ...
that owns and operates a majority of the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
system (2019: 33,291 km). It is one of the largest
railway infrastructure manager A railway infrastructure manager is "any body or undertaking that is responsible in particular for establishing and maintaining railway infrastructure. This may also include the management of infrastructure control and safety systems. The functions ...
by length and transport volume of its network.
The company was established in the course of the second stage of the German rail reform as a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG. DB Netz is headquartered in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
and it has seven regional divisions ("Regionalbereiche", RB) and a central division. The locations of its regional headquarters are
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
(RB east), Frankfurt (RB central),
Duisburg
Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in Nor ...
(RB west),
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
(RB north),
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
(RB southwest),
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
(RB southeast) and
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
(RB south). DB Netz AG is profitable from route fees but receives extensive public funding for maintaining, developing and extending the network of European and federal transportation routes.
It was included in the brand
DB Netze when Deutsche Bahn was reorganised into three major divisions covering passengers, logistics, and infrastructure. However its legal entity remained.
Despite being an integral part of Deutsche Bahn AG and one of its major subsidiaries, DB Netz AG has to grant non-discriminatory access to other rail service providers that are in competition to Deutsche Bahn's other major business units. Therefore DB Netz AG is overseen by the
Federal Network Agency
The Federal Network Agency (german: Bundesnetzagentur or ) is the German regulatory office for electricity, gas, telecommunications, post and railway markets. It is a federal agency of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Acti ...
.
Deutsche Bahn
Railway companies of Germany
Railway infrastructure managers
Defunct companies of Germany
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