Deutsche Bahn facts for kids

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Deutsche Bahn AG
Logo since 1994
Type	State-owned enterprise
Industry	Rail transport, Logistics, Bus
Predecessors	Deutsche Reichsbahn (1920–1949) Deutsche Bundesbahn (1949–1994) Deutsche Reichsbahn (1949–1994)
Founded	1 January 1994; 31 years ago (1994-01-01)
Headquarters	Bahntower, Berlin , Germany
Area served	Europe
Key people	Richard Lutz [de] (CEO)
Products	Rail transport, cargo transport, services
Revenue	€56.3 billion (2022)
Net income	€227 million (2022)
Owner	Government of Germany
Number of employees	Worldwide 338.000 Germany 211.000

Deutsche Bahn AG (often called DB) is Germany's national railway company. It is owned by the German government. Its main office is in the Bahntower building in Berlin.

DB was created in 1994. This happened when the railway companies of West and East Germany joined together after Germany became one country again. Deutsche Bahn is one of the biggest transport companies in Germany. It helps people travel long distances and short distances by train. In 2022, it carried about 132 million long-distance passengers and 1.6 billion regional passengers. It also moved 222 million tons of cargo.

How Deutsche Bahn Works

The Bahntower in Berlin is where DB has its main office.

Deutsche Bahn is made up of several different companies. These include:

DB Fernverkehr: This part handles long-distance passenger trains.
DB Regio: This part manages local passenger train services.
DB Cargo: This part deals with moving goods by train.

Another important part is DB InfraGO. This company manages most of Germany's railway tracks and stations. It is the largest rail network in Europe. About half of DB's money comes from running trains. The other half comes from other transport and logistics services.

Passenger Train Services

DB Personenverkehr is the part of Deutsche Bahn that manages passenger travel. This group is split into two main sections: DB Fernverkehr and DB Regio.

Long-Distance Trains: DB Fernverkehr

A Siemens ICE 3 high-speed train used by DB Fernverkehr.

DB Fernverkehr AG runs long-distance passenger trains in Germany. It started in 1999 and was renamed in 2003.

This part of DB operates all Intercity Express (ICE) and Intercity (IC) trains in Germany. Some of these trains also travel to nearby countries like the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, and Austria. DB Fernverkehr is the main company for long-distance train travel in Germany.

Local Trains: DB Regio

A Bombardier Twindexx regional train used by DB Regio.

A DBAG Class 423 train serving as an S-Bahn in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main area.

DB Regio AG runs passenger trains for short and medium distances in Germany. These services are ordered and paid for by the different German states (called Bundesländer).

DB Regio has several regional companies. These include:

DB Regio Nord for northern Germany.
DB Regio Nordost for Berlin and surrounding areas.
DB Regio NRW for North Rhine-Westphalia.
DB Regio Südost for Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia.
DB Regio Mitte for Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, and Hesse.
DB Regio Baden-Württemberg for parts of Baden-Württemberg.
DB Regio Bayern for Bavaria.
S-Bahn Hamburg and S-Bahn Berlin for city train networks.
RegioNetz for smaller, independent networks.

DB Regio also operates many bus services through its 25 bus companies.

Moving Goods: Logistics

A freight train from DB Cargo in Germany.

The logistics part of DB includes DB Schenker and DB Cargo. DB Cargo focuses on moving goods by rail. DB also works with a company called time:matters to transport smaller packages on its high-speed trains.

Railway Infrastructure

DB InfraGO

The infrastructure part of DB used to be split into three areas: tracks (DB Netz), stations (DB Station&Service), and energy (DB Energie). In December 2023, DB Netz and DB Station&Service joined together to form DB InfraGO AG. This new company aims to improve how the railway network is managed. The "GO" in InfraGO stands for "Gemeinwohlorientierte," which means "focused on the common good."

DB Engineering & Consulting

DB Engineering & Consulting helps with building, planning, and maintaining railways. This company also works on projects outside Germany. For example, it helped the California High-Speed Rail Authority in the USA with planning their high-speed rail program.

International Business

Arriva

Deutsche Bahn bought a company called Arriva in 2010. Arriva operates buses and trains in many European countries, especially in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In October 2023, Deutsche Bahn agreed to sell Arriva to another company, I Squared Capital. This sale was completed in June 2024.

DB Cargo UK

DB also owns DB Cargo UK, which is the largest rail freight operator in the United Kingdom. This company even operates the British Royal Train. DB also has business in Eastern Europe. You can find train times for journeys across Europe on Deutsche Bahn's website.

Trans-Eurasia Logistics

Trans-Eurasia Logistics is a company that DB runs with Russian Railways. It operates freight trains that carry containers between Germany and China, traveling through Russia.

History of Deutsche Bahn

Early German Railways

The first railway tracks in Germany were laid in 1835. They connected Nuremberg and Fürth. The Deutsche Reichsbahn was the national railway company from 1920 until 1949. After World War II, Germany was divided. So, the railway split into two companies: Deutsche Reichsbahn in East Germany and Deutsche Bundesbahn in West Germany.

When Germany became one country again in 1990, these two companies merged. On January 1, 1994, they formed the new company, Deutsche Bahn. At this time, DB also got its current logo and the "DB" abbreviation. The company was set up to be a single, private company running railways across all of Germany.

DB's main office was first in Frankfurt am Main. In 1996, it moved to the Bahntower in Berlin.

Changes Since 1999

In 1999, Deutsche Bahn made more changes. It divided its different services into separate companies. This helped other train companies use the railway lines too.

In December 2007, DB changed its structure again. All passenger services became part of DB Bahn. Logistics became part of DB Schenker. And infrastructure (tracks and stations) became part of DB Netze.

The German government still owns Deutsche Bahn. The government must keep control of the railway infrastructure.

In 2008, there were plans to sell a part of DB to private investors. But this plan was stopped because of a big financial crisis.

In June 2018, there were problems with train services in the United Kingdom operated by DB's company, Arriva. Many trains were cancelled or delayed.

In 2024, Deutsche Bahn faced challenges during the Euro 2024 football tournament. There were train delays and cancellations. The company also announced plans to reduce some administrative jobs. In September 2024, DB agreed to sell its logistics company, Schenker, to DSV of Denmark.

DB Logos Over Time

Logo from 1920 to 1945, for Deutsche Reichsbahn
Logo from 1924 to 1993, for Deutsche Reichsbahn (East Germany)
Logo from 1946 to 1993, for Deutsche Bundesbahn (West Germany)
Current logo, used since 1994 for Deutsche Bahn

Types of Trains

Trains in Germany are grouped by how often they stop, how fast they go, and how comfortable they are.

Long-Distance Train Types

ICE (Intercity-Express): These are high-speed trains that connect major cities. Some ICE routes also go to other European countries.
EC (EuroCity): These are intercity trains that cross borders, connecting Germany with other countries.
IC (InterCity): These are long-distance trains that connect regions and cities. They are a bit slower than ICE trains and make more stops.

Other train companies also operate international high-speed trains into Germany:

ECE from Switzerland.
TGV from France.
Railjet from Austria and the Czech Republic.

Regional Train Types

IRE (Interregio-Express): These are longer-distance regional trains that connect regions and cities.
RE (Regional-Express): These trains serve regions and connect cities. They do not stop at every station.
RB (Regionalbahn): These trains stop at all stations on their route. They are often the most basic train service.
S (S-Bahn): This is a type of city train system for larger cities. S-Bahn trains stop at all stations and run very often.

Other train companies in Germany might use different names for their regional trains.

Old Train Types

Some train categories are no longer used:

D (D-Zug or Schnellzug): This was the express train category, replaced by IC and ICE.
E (Eilzug): A semi-fast service, faster than local trains but not as fast as D trains.
IR (InterRegio): Meant to connect cities and regions at a lower price. Replaced by IC, RE, and IRE.
MET (Metropolitan): A luxury train service. These trains are now used for regular IC and ICE services.
N (Nahverkehrszug): The most basic local train service, replaced by RB.
SE (Stadt-Express): A mix of RE and RB, skipping stops in cities but stopping everywhere else. Replaced by RE and RB.

Train Tickets

DB offers different ways to buy tickets for long-distance trains:

The Flexpreis: This ticket gives you full flexibility. You can use any train on your chosen route on the day you picked. The price does not change based on when you buy it.
The Sparpreis and Super-Sparpreis: These tickets are usually cheaper. You must buy them in advance, and they are only valid for a specific train connection.

Ticket prices generally get cheaper per kilometer the further you travel. Seat reservations are usually only included with first-class tickets.

For local trains (S, RB, RE, IRE), you can also use tickets from local transport groups. These tickets can often be used on buses, trams, and U-Bahn trains too.

DB also has discount cards called BahnCard.

BahnCard 25: Gives you 25% off most tickets.
BahnCard 50: Gives you 50% off flexible tickets and 25% off cheaper advance tickets.
BahnCard 100: Lets you travel unlimited on all Deutsche Bahn trains and many local transport systems.

Other special tickets include Länder-Tickets ("state tickets"). These allow unlimited travel on local trains within a specific German state. They also offer group tickets for up to five people.

Sponsorships

Deutsche Bahn sponsored the German football club Hertha BSC from 2006 to 2015.

Train Incidents

2025 Riedlingen disaster
2025 Hamburg train accident
Bad Aibling rail accident
Brühl train derailment
Eschede train disaster
Garmisch-Partenkirchen train derailment
Hordorf train collision
2012 Stuttgart derailments