- This article is part of the history of rail transport by country series
Epoch 0 (1835-1870)
German Railway history began December 7, 1835 with the Adler (Eagle) locomotive driving between Nürnberg and Fürth. The locomotive was built by Stephenson and Co. in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Epoch I (1871-1924)
In 1871 the German Empire was founded and consisted of 25 sovereign states. Some of these territories and kingdoms operated their own railways, collectively called the Staats- und Länderbahnen (State and Territorial Railways). These were:
- Königlich Preußische und Großherzoglich Hessische Staatseisenbahn (K.P.u.G.H.St.E.)
- which later became the Königlich Preußische Eisenbahn-Verwaltung (K.P.E.V.)
- Königlich Bayerische Staatseisenbahn (K.Bay.Sts.B.)
- Königlich Sächische Staatseisenbahnen (K.Sächs.Sts.E.B.)
- Königlich Württembergische Staatseisenbahn (K.W.St.E.)
- Großherzoglich Badische Staatseisenbahn (Baden)
- Großherzoglich Mecklenburgische Friedrich-Franz-Eisenbahn (Meckl. or M.F.F.E)
- Großherzoglich Oldenburgische Staatseisenbahn (Oldenburg)
- Pfalzbahn der Königlich Bayerische Staatseisenbahn (PfalzB)
- Reichseisenbahn Elsaß-Lothringen (ReichsEb.)
- Ludwigsbahn
Epoch II (1924-1945)
In 1924, during the Weimar Republic the Länderbahnen were united to form the Deutsche Reichsbahn Gesellschaft (DRG, German Imperial Railway Company Limited). The DRG was a private company. The different rail vehicle types (more than 200) were standardised into Einheitsbauarten, using similar mechanical parts to lower costs. New construction standards resulted in Einheitsloks (DRG Standard design) which allowed fast and reliable manufacturing, repair and operating. DRG Standard design locomotives were large passenger and freight locomotives, like the BR 01 or BR 41 . In 1928 the Rheingold Express started riding between Hoek van Holland and Basel. On May 11, 1936 the streamlined steam locomotive 05 002 established the first railway speed world record above 200 km/h: 200.4 km/h, between Hamburg and Berlin. The record was finalised by Mallard in 1938 at 203 km/h. As a result of national-socialist economic reforms, the Deutsche Reichsbahn Gesellschaft became an imperial institution, the Deutsche Reichsbahn, in 1937.
Epoch III (1945-1970)
After World War II, Germany (and the DRG) was divided into 4 zones: American, British, French and Soviet. The first three eventually combined to form the Federal Republic of Germany (the West) and the Russian zone became the German Democratic Republic (the East).
From 1949, the new governments assumed authority for railway operations. The DRG's (or DR's) successors were named Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB, German Federal Railways) in West Germany, and Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR, German Imperial Railways) in East Germany — even though the empire had ceased to exist.
Unlike the DRG, which was a corporation, both the DB and the DR were federal institutions, directly controlled by their respective transportation ministries. Railway service between East and West was restricted; there were around five well-controlled and secure checkpoints between West and East Germany, and about the same number between East Germany and West Berlin. Four transit routes existed between West Germany and West Berlin; citizens of West Berlin and West Germany were able to use these without too much harassment by the East German authorities.
Epoch IV (1970-1993)
The DB started in 1968 with changing the locomotive and passenger car serial numbers to the UIC norm. In 1970 the DR followed. The DB started experimenting with the Intercity-trains in a new livery (bright orange).
In 1988 the prototype Intercity Experimental (ICE) sets a new German railway speed record of 406.9 km/h (254.3 miles/h) on the new high speed line between Fulda and Würzburg.
Epoch V (1994-present)
In 1989, the Wall fell. Train frequency rapidly increased on the existing East/West corridors; closed links which had formerly crossed the border were re-opened in order to help Germans explore their newly found freedom. On October 3, 1990, Germany was reunified; however, this was not the case with the railways. Administrative and organisational problems led to the decision to completely re-organise and reconnect Germany's railways. The so-called Bahnreform (Railway Reform) came into effect on January 1, 1994, when the State railways Deutsche Bundesbahn and Deutsche Reichsbahn were formally reunited to form the current German Railway Corporation (Deutsche Bahn AG).
See also