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The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB (German Federal Railway) was formed as the state railway of the newly established
Federal Republic of 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 between ...
(FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the
Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'', also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the German national railway system created after the end of World War I from the regiona ...
(DRG). The DB remained the state railway of West Germany until after
German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
, when it was merged with the former
East German 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 ...
Deutsche Reichsbahn The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'', also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the German national railway system created after the end of World War I from the regiona ...
(DR) to form Deutsche Bahn, which came into existence on 1 January 1994.


Background

After World War II, each of the military governments of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany were ''de facto'' in charge of the German railways in their respective territories. On 10 October 1946, the railways in the British and American occupation zones formed the ''Deutsche Reichsbahn im Vereinigten Wirtschaftsgebiet'' (German Imperial Railway in the united economic area), while on 25 June 1947, the provinces under French occupation formed the Südwestdeutsche Eisenbahn. With the formation of the FRG these successor organisations of the DRG were reunited, a situation codified by the Federal Railways Law ''(Bundesbahngesetz)'' that was ratified on 13 December 1951. The railways in the
Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...
joined on 1 January 1957.


Organisation

The DB was a state-owned company that, with few local exceptions, exercised a monopoly concerning rail transport throughout West Germany. The DB was placed under the control of the ''Bundesverkehrsministerium'' (Federal Transport Ministry). With its headquarters 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 ...
, in 1985 the DB was the third-largest employer in the FRG, with a strength of 322,383 employees. A special transit police ''(
Bahnpolizei ''Bahnpolizei'' is the term in Germany, Austria and the German-speaking parts of Switzerland for the Railway police. Germany ''Bahnpolizei'' was the name of the former Railway police of West Germany and fell under the jurisdiction of the ''Deutsche ...
)'' provided security. The catering needs of the DB were supplied by the “Deutsche Schlafwagen- und Speisewagengesellschaft” (DSG), later “Deutsche Service-Gesellschaft der Bahn”, as the former DRG caterer
Mitropa Mitropa was a catering company best known for having managed sleeping and dining cars of different German railways for most of the 20th century. Founded in 1916, the name "Mitropa" is an abbreviation of ''Mitteleuropa'' (German for Central Europ ...
was situated in East Germany and serviced the Deutsche Reichsbahn in the GDR. As
West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...
lay surrounded by the GDR, local and long-distance railway services in the divided city were provided exclusively by the DR, although the DB operated a ticket office in the Hardenbergstraße near the main West Berlin passenger station
Zoologischer Garten A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...
.


1949–1970

The immediate tasks in the early years after the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
involved the reconstruction of the heavily damaged infrastructure and the replenishment of locomotives and rolling stock. Contrary to the
Deutsche Reichsbahn The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'', also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the German national railway system created after the end of World War I from the regiona ...
in the GDR, the DB was not subject to reparations and benefited from the influx of capital through the
Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...
. During the early years, new steam engines were constructed and placed into service. The last new steam locomotive type was the Class 10, which entered service in 1957. Only two units of class 10 were built. In 1959 DB took the last steam locomotive delivery when the last of the class 23 locomotives was delivered. Soon, with increase in mass motorization, the railway started to lose passenger volume. As a result, rail buses were introduced on some lines, while other smaller volume lines were closed. Main lines became increasingly electrified. The later years of this epoch saw a decrease and eventual phasing out of steam engines, with the last one to cease regular service in 1977. Traction was provided increasingly by diesel and electric engines. With increased use of diesel and electric locomotives, progress was made in decreasing travel time for passengers. New types of passenger trains were introduced such as the
Trans Europ Express The Trans Europ Express, or Trans-Europe Express (TEE), was an international first-class railway service in western and central Europe that was founded in 1957 and ceased in 1995. At the height of its operations, in 1974, the TEE network compri ...
and the
InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
. Transport of goods also had to compete with the ever-increasing competition from trucks. Furthermore, traditional services such as coal and iron ore shipments declined with the changes in the overall economy.


1970–1993

After the introduction of the
TGV The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...
in France, the
ICE Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaqu ...
system of high speed passenger trains was developed. Significant stretches of new high speed track, like the Hanover-Würzburg high-speed rail line, had to be laid or upgraded. Other characteristics of this epoch are the introduction of computer systems and the steps taken towards an integrated system of European railways. Externally, rolling stock displayed more colourful and varied livery schemes. The two German states were reunified in October 1990 with both DB and DR now being special funds of the German Federal government. Article 26 of the Unification Treaty (Einigungsvertrag) stipulated the DR to be merged with DB at the earliest opportunity. The DB, in the interim, initiated new coordinations in businesses with the DR, started IC and ICE services into Berlin, and extended IC and ICE services to major cities in eastern Germany. Administratively, on 1 June 1992 the DB and DR formed a joint board of directors which governed both entities. However, the merger was delayed over the structure of merged railway due to concerns by German politicians on the ever-increasing annual operating deficits incurred by the DB and DR. After several years of delays, the Bundesverkehrsministerium proposed a comprehensive reform of the German railway system ''(Bahnreform)'', which was approved by the
Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...
in 1993 and went into effect on 1 January 1994. At the heart of the reform package was a) the merger of the DB and the DR and b) the change of the form of the enterprise into a stock corporation. Nevertheless, the Deutsche Bahn was still publicly owned.


Presidents of the DB

*
Heinz Maria Oeftering The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six conti ...
, 13 May 1957 – 12 May 1972 * Wolfgang Vaerst, 13 May 1972 – 12 May 1982 * Reiner Gohlke, 13 May 1982 – 18 June 1990 * Heinz Dürr, 1 January 1991 – 1 January 1994 (thereafter the head of newly formed Deutsche Bahn AG).


See also

*
Locomotive classification of the Deutsche Bundesbahn Originally, both Deutsche Bundesbahn and Deutsche Reichsbahn of the GDR, Deutsche Reichsbahn continued the classification system of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft, Deutsche Reichsbahn (DRG) – see also a short overview of the Numbering s ...
*
List of DB locomotives and railbuses This list provides an overview of the motive power operated by Deutsche Bahn. It only includes those vehicles that have been in service with the Deutsche Bahn AG since its formation on 1 January 1994. The classes are numbered according to the ...
* Deutsche Bahn * Dompfeil


External links


Pictures

DB:1968-1990 (in German)


{{Authority control Railway companies established in 1949 Railway companies disestablished in 1994 1949 establishments in West Germany Government-owned companies of Germany German companies disestablished in 1994 German companies established in 1949