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114-886: On the railway networks operated by the Deutsche Bahn (DB), the Austrian Federal Railway (ÖBB) and the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) today, express trains are divided into categories such as Eurocity , Intercity , Interregio etc. The DB still occasionally runs D-Zug services in night trains ( D-Nacht ), especially those to its eastern European neighbours, and as relief trains. Museum services running on DB routes are also given D-Zug numbers. ÖBB runs D-Züge on main routes from/to Vienna on weekends and during rush hours. The first German express train ran on 1 May 1851 between Berlin and Deutz am Rhein (today part of Cologne ) and completed

228-642: A de facto monopoly in its segment of the market as it operates hundreds of trains per day, while all competitors' long-distance services combined amount to no more than 10–15 trains per day. Additionally DB Fernverkehr operated a few long-distance coach services throughout Germany, called IC Bus , which since have been terminated. DB Regio AG is the subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn that operates passenger trains on short and medium distances in Germany. Unlike its long-distance counterpart, DB Fernverkehr , it does not operate trains on its own account. Traffic

342-574: A 26-storey office tower designed by Helmut Jahn at the eastern end of the Sony Centre and named Bahntower . As the lease was to expire in 2010, DB had announced plans to relocate to Berlin Hauptbahnhof , and in 2007 a proposal for a new headquarters by 3XN Architects won an architectural competition which also included Foster + Partners , Dominique Perrault and Auer + Weber . However, these plans were put on hold due to

456-514: A 6 km (3.7 mi) route between Nuremberg and Fürth . The Deutsche Reichsbahn operated from 1920 through the Weimar and Nazi eras until 1949, when it was split between East and West Germany into two successor entities, Deutsche Reichsbahn and Deutsche Bundesbahn , respectively. They remained separate throughout the Cold War era division of Germany, and joined after the 1989 fall of

570-690: A binding agreement between the former GDR and the Federal Republic now recognising each another as separate sovereign states in international law. This treaty was then voted into effect by both the Volkskammer and the Bundestag by the constitutionally required two-thirds majorities; effecting on the one hand, the extinction of the GDR, and on the other, the agreed amendments to the Basic Law of

684-773: A claim to extended monarchical authority over non-Prussian German kingdoms. On 14 April 1871, the Reichstag parliament passed the Constitution of the German Empire ( Verfassung des Deutschen Reiches ), which was published two days later. However, originating from the North German Confederation , the Empire never comprised all "German" lands; as it excluded Luxembourg , and those Cisleithanian crown lands of Austria-Hungary which had been part of

798-490: A consulting contract with Islamic Republic of Iran Railways ; both projects were abandoned after the United States imposed new sanctions against Iran and said firms doing business with Iran would be barred from doing business with the United States. The California High-Speed Rail Authority 's (CHSRA) board approved on 15 November 2017 an early train operator contract with DB Engineering & Consulting USA. The firm

912-423: A continuing unitary German Volk ("national people"), with that authority and sovereignty being exercised at any one time over a unitary German "state territory" with variable boundaries and extent. Although commonly translated as "German Empire", the word Reich here better translates as "realm" or territorial "reach", in that the term does not in itself have monarchical connotations. The name "German Reich "

1026-533: A different label, for example "ABR" for trains operated by Abellio , though on platforms, trains and maps or timetables issued by the local transport authority overseeing regional train services, these abbreviations usually do not appear. DB offers two different pricing models for single or return tickets for routes that include long-distance trains: Ticket prices generally rise degressively over distance, particularly for Sparpreise and Supersparpreise. Therefore, putting connecting local trains or excursions planned for

1140-548: A federal republic in 1918. At the 1871 Unification of Germany (aside from Austria), the Reich was established constitutionally as a federation of monarchies, each having entered the federation with a defined territory; and consequently the unitary nationalism of the 'German Reich' was initially specified (at Article 1 of the 1871 constitution) in territorial terms, as the lands within the former boundaries of this particular subset of German monarchies. This geographical understanding of

1254-608: A high supplement. They were therefore only within the reach of a small group of customers. Within Germany, apart from the DB the Cologne-Bonn Railways ran Schnellzüge on its network until 1975. These trains achieved journey times between Cologne and Bonn that were comparable to those of the DB. A D-Zug supplement was payable on these trains. The DB still occasionally runs D-Züge in night services, especially to Germany's eastern European neighbours ( D-Nacht ). Some of

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1368-429: A higher fare for the first time in order to compensate for the higher crew costs of night-time through trains. Up to 1889 fast train services were given the letter S for Schnellzug (express train, plural: Schnellzüge ) or K for Kurierzug (courier train). From 1889 all such services in Germany were given the standard letter S . From 1892 a new train category with especially comfortable express coaches appeared:

1482-519: A large children's play area. The Allgäu between Dortmund and Oberstdorf and the Berchtesgadener Land between Dortmund and Berchtesgaden also incorporated such coaches later on. The demise of FD-Züge came in the early 1990s as more and more IR, IC and ICE trains served the holiday regions. FD-Züge in summer 1983: FD-Züge in summer 1988: The East German Deutsche Reichsbahn has had the train category Ex ( Expresszüge ) since

1596-589: A local transport authority or tariff associations might brand the trains in a different way than DB does. For example, in the Nuremberg region, RE and RB trains are not differentiated, but called R instead. In some regions, such as Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg , private operators do use the RE and RB labels, in others, such as Saxony , they do not. In online and print information systems of DB, private trains officially labelled RB and RE by their operators, might get

1710-431: A state, and Interrail are also available. These Länder-Tickets offer group tickets, where up to five people can travel on a single ticket. Regular travellers usually use weekly, monthly or annual passes for their connection or region; day or sometimes weekend passes exist in local transport primarily. The price system applies to some international destinations from Germany similarly, when bought at Deutsche Bahn, but it

1824-695: A whole" in the English version of the text. Instead the states of the Federal Republic of Germany ( West Germany , FRG) and the German Democratic Republic ( East Germany , GDR) agreed to be bound by certain conditions which they had to ratify, one of which was the recognising the reunification of East Germany, West Germany and Berlin as constituting the full achievement of a united Germany. On meeting these conditions under Article 7.2 "The United Germany [has] accordingly full sovereignty over its internal and external affairs." Under Article 1 of

1938-571: A whole", as applied to denote the state as a totality of the German national people; and the term "Germany as a whole", as applied to denote the state as a totality of German national territory. The 1918–1933 republic , which was also called the German Reich, was ignored and denounced by the Nazis as a historical aberration. The name "Weimar Republic" was first used in 1929 after Hitler referred to

2052-725: A whole"; and was divided into British , French , American and Soviet occupation zones; while the Allied Powers exercised the state authority assumed by the Berlin Declaration in transferring the former eastern territories of the German Reich east of the Oder–Neisse line to the Republic of Poland and the Soviet Union . In 1973, in a review of the previous year's Basic Treaty between East and West Germany ,

2166-533: Is CityNightLine . However, CityNightLine was shut down and all night trains ended with the December 2016 schedule change. In 2017, the German industrial metal band Eisbrecher , on the album Sturmfahrt , released a song called D-Zug . The train goes "always straight ahead, not left, not right" (" immer geradeaus, kein links, kein rechts "). Deutsche Bahn The Deutsche Bahn AG ( IPA: [ˈdɔʏtʃə ˈbaːn] ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG )

2280-609: Is a semi-independent division of Deutsche Bahn that operates long-distance passenger trains in Germany. It was founded in 1999 in the second stage of the privatisation of German Federal Railways under the name of DB Reise & Touristik and renamed in 2003. DB Fernverkehr operates all Intercity Express and Intercity trains in Germany as well as in some neighboring countries and several EuroCity and EuroCityExpress trains throughout Europe . Unlike its sister companies DB Regio and DB Cargo , DB Fernverkehr still holds

2394-429: Is divided into various organizational units that perform their tasks with subsidiaries. DB Personenverkehr is the unit that manages passenger travel within Germany. Originally called Reise & Touristik ( English : Travel and Tourism), this group is responsible for the managing, servicing and running of German passenger services. This group is divided into DB Fernverkehr and DB Regio . DB Fernverkehr AG

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2508-515: Is often advisable to compare prices of the respective train operators involved. [REDACTED] Media related to Deutsche Bahn at Wikimedia Commons Deutsche Reich German Reich ( lit.   ' German Empire, German Realm ' from German : Deutsches Reich , pronounced [ˌdɔʏtʃəs ˈʁaɪç] ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The Reich became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty entirely from

2622-677: Is ordered and paid for by the Bundesländer (states) or their respective regional train operation supervisors. Some states have awarded long-term contracts to DB Regio (usually 10 to 15 years), in others, DB Regio's operations are decreasing, in North Rhine-Westphalia, their market share is expected to be lower than 50%. DB Regio rail services are divided into several regional companies: The bus services consist of 25 bus companies, which have subsidiary companies themselves. The Transport and Logistics division acted in

2736-490: Is owned by the Federal Republic. By the Constitution , the Federal Republic is required to retain (directly or indirectly) a majority of the infrastructure (the present DB Netze ) stocks. In 2008, it was agreed to "float" a portion of the business, meaning an end to the 100% share the German Federal Republic had in it, with a plan that 25% of the overall share would be sold to the private sector. However

2850-617: Is reserved to denote the German state between 1871 and 1918. The history of the nation state known as the German Reich is commonly divided into three periods: However the term Deutsches Reich dates back earlier than all of this. It was occasionally applied in contemporary maps to the Holy Roman Empire (962–1806), also called the "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" from 1512. The Holy Roman Empire however

2964-679: Is the U.S. arm of Deutsche Bahn AG. As early train operator, DB Engineering & Consulting will assist CHSRA with planning, designing and implementing the state's high-speed rail program. Deutsche Bahn purchased Arriva in August 2010 off the London Stock Exchange . To satisfy the European Commission , Arriva's German operations were rebranded Netinera and sold. As of July 2022, Arriva operated 15,700 buses and 800 railway vehicles in 14 European countries, mainly in

3078-718: Is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin , it is a joint-stock company ( AG ) and the largest railway company in the world. DB was founded after the merger between the Deutsche Bundesbahn and the East German Deutsche Reichsbahn in 1994 after the unification of Germany and has been operating ever since. Deutsche Bahn

3192-567: Is the second-largest transport company in Germany, after the German postal and logistics company Deutsche Post / DHL . DB provides both long-distance and regional transport, serving around 132 million long distance passengers and 1.6 billion regional passengers in 2022. In 2022, DB transported 222 million tons of cargo. The group is divided into several companies, including DB Fernverkehr (long-distance passenger), DB Regio (local passenger services) and DB Cargo (rail freight). The Group subsidiary DB Netz also operates large parts of

3306-675: Is what the GO in Infra GO stands for in German: ' G emeinwohl o rientierte.' DB Engineering & Consulting , which is responsible for construction supervision, construction planning and maintenance , is also assigned to this department without being part of a business area. Via its subsidiary DB Engineering & Consulting, DB signed a memorandum of understanding with Iranian rail operator Bonyad Eastern Railways (BonRail) in May 2017 and shortly after

3420-642: The Anschluss annexation of Austria in 1938, Nazi Germany informally named itself the Greater German Reich ( German : Großdeutsches Reich ). This name was made the official state name only during the last two years (1943–1945) of Nazi rule under Adolf Hitler , although the change was never proclaimed. After World War II , the denotation "German Reich " quickly fell into disuse in Allied-occupied Germany , however, and

3534-607: The BahnCard discount cards, which are available as BahnCard 25 (25% discount on Flexpreis and Sparpreis), BahnCard 50 (50% discount on Flexpreis and 25% discount on Sparpreis), and BahnCard 100 (unlimited travel on all Deutsche Bahn trains, a few private train companies and also in many local transport associations). Other special tickets, such as the Länder-Tickets ("state tickets"), which give unlimited journeys on local trains and in many transport associations within

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3648-478: The Durchgangszug or D-Zug (plural: D-Züge ). Originally these were trains in which one could walk right through from end to end by means of bellows-type corridor connectors between coaches and side corridors or centre aisles within coaches, unlike the hitherto usual compartment coaches with doors on each side of the compartment, but no access to the next coach. The first D-Züge ran on 1 May 1892 on

3762-644: The Rheinpfeil ( Dortmund to Munich ) were both initially classed as F-Zug services between 1962 and 1965, before they were upgraded to the TEE category. The City-D-Zug ( DC ) was introduced by the Deutsche Bundesbahn in its 1973 summer timetable. These trains were supposed to connect three times a day to the economic centres linked by the IC network, as feeder trains to that railway system. However

3876-571: The Berlin Wall , and German reunification in 1990. On 1 January 1994 Deutsche Reichsbahn and Deutsche Bundesbahn were merged to form one company, Deutsche Bahn , the successor organisation to the Reichsbahn. At the same time, Deutsche Bahn adopted its current logo and DB abbreviation. Kurt Weidemann modernised the logo and typographer Erik Spiekermann designed a new corporate font known as DB Type . When Deutsche Bahn

3990-603: The British Royal Train and also has interests in Eastern Europe . It is possible to obtain train times for any journey in Europe from Deutsche Bahn 's website. Trans-Eurasia Logistics is a joint venture with Russian Railways (RŽD) that operates container freight trains between Germany and China via Russia . The railway network in Germany dates back to 1835 when the first tracks were laid on

4104-472: The Deutsche Bundesbahn procured D-Zug coaches of the later UIC type X . Coaches of similar design were ordered by the ÖBB in 1957 and the SBB in 1969. On 1 January 1968 the Deutsche Bundesbahn abolished the supplementary fare for D-Zug services for journeys over 80 kilometres and, from 1979, for journeys over 50 kilometres. The demand for D-Zug links steadily reduced from 1979. In the 1982 summer timetable

4218-629: The Eurofima project with its standard, high-comfort coaches ( Eurofima-Wagen ) for six European countries. In 1978 the DB axed this train category. Many trains continued to run on as normal D-Züge , several of them being integrated into the Interregio network 10–15 years later (e.g. the Emden–Münster–Hagen–Gießen–Frankfurt/Main service). The FernExpress was a train type with 1st and 2nd class passenger classes and

4332-691: The German Federal Constitutional Court ( Bundesverfassungsgericht ) ruled that according to the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany the German Reich had outlasted the collapse in 1945, and hence had continued to exist as an “overall state”, albeit one not itself capable of action. The court ruled that since 1949 the Federal Republic (FRG) had been partially identical with the German Reich and not merely its successor . The court further elaborated that

4446-595: The Hohenzollern dynasty . On 18 January 1871, Wilhelm I was proclaimed "German Emperor" at the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles , the German Reich was officially declared Deutsches Reich , or "German Empire", explicitly harking back to the extinct Holy Roman Empire . The title "German Emperor" was a compromise; Wilhelm I had wanted the title of "Emperor of Germany", but Bismarck refused this, so as to avoid implying

4560-783: The ICE , the Intercity and the Interregio trains (whose original designation during the planning phase was XD ), the latter having been replaced meanwhile in Germany by Intercity services. The first luxury express train was the Orient Express which ran for the first time on 5 June 1883 from Paris to Vienna. It was followed on 9 May 1896 by the Nord Express from Paris to Saint Petersburg . These expresses only had first class accommodation, and could only be used on payment of

4674-615: The Kellogg–Briand Pact and the Geneva Conventions . Apart from official documents, post-World War I Germany was referred to as the "German Reich"—never as the "German Empire"—for example, by British politicians —and in the aftermath of World War II the word "Reich" was used untranslated by Allied prosecutors throughout the Nuremberg Trials , with "German Empire" only used to describe Germany before it became

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4788-519: The Oder–Neisse line was reinforced. Insofar as the German Reich may be claimed to continue in existence as 'Germany as a whole', the former eastern territories of Germany in Poland or Russia, and the western territories, such as the East Cantons or Alsace-Lorraine , are now definitively and permanently excluded from ever again being united within this Reich under the Basic Law. Hence, although

4902-706: The SBB RABDe 500 class. Until its demise on 9 June 2007 the Diretto in Italy was one of the most important categories, filling the gap between local and long-distance traffic. The Diretto had the role of travelling directly from A to B, but served medium-sized stations (unlike the InterCity ). The Diretto can be compared to the Austrian Regionalexpress (REX) services. In former years there

5016-650: The Second World War a new train type, the so-called Schnellzug für Fronturlauber ("military express train", literally the "express train for those on leave from the front") or SF-Zug was created. These expresses took the shortest route between the Wehrmacht 's operational theatres (including France, Greece and the Soviet Union) and the Deutsche Reich . Some SF-Zug services were open to

5130-587: The United Kingdom over widespread cancellations of railway services and numerous delayed services operated by Deutsche Bahn in Britain, under its Northern brand. This resulted in Britain's Minister of Transport, Chris Grayling, setting up an enquiry into whether the Deutsche Bahn subsidiary had breached its contractual agreement to provide railway services in the north of England. He warned that if

5244-401: The Wehrmacht reserved several coaches for its own use. On 23 January 1945 all express train services in Germany were suspended. Only international trains from Berlin to Copenhagen and Prague continued to run until April 1945. On 22 September 1945 the first express trains to run after the end of the war worked in the US zone between Frankfurt am Main and Munich . As early as 1952

5358-432: The Wehrmacht was handed over to the Allies . The Allies refused to recognise Karl Dönitz as Reichspräsident or to recognise the legitimacy of his Flensburg Government (so-called because it was based at Flensburg and controlled only a small area around the town) and, on 5 June 1945, the four powers signed the Berlin Declaration and assumed de jure supreme authority with respect to Germany. The declaration confirmed

5472-481: The financial crisis of 2008 , and the Bahntower lease was extended. Construction of the new headquarters building was started in 2017 under the title " Cube Berlin " according to the designs by 3XN. Finished in February 2020, the Cube will house the legal offices of Deutsche Bahn, but not become the main headquarters. The second step of the Bahnreform (railway reform) was carried out in 1999. All rolling stock, track, personnel, and real assets were divided between

5586-420: The 'partial identity' of the FRG was limited to apply only within its current de facto territory; and hence the Federal Republic could not claim an exclusive mandate for the territory of the Reich then under the de facto government of the German Democratic Republic; "identity does not require exclusivity". This was explained as being because the German Democratic Republic was beyond FRG authority and because

5700-488: The (new) 1st class. The trains always included a dining car or coach with a buffet section that was managed by the DSG . To begin with, on the Rhine railway, some trains were combined in up to four sets and operated using pre-war VT 04 and VT 06 and the new post-war VT 08 diesel multiple units . As well as DMUs, locomotive-hauled trains of 3 to 5 pre-war coaches were also used. These were steel-bodied, standard coaches ( Einheitswagen ) of various types. The interiors of

5814-448: The 1950s. These were express trains with few stops, similar to the DB's F-Zug services, but offering both 1st and 2nd class. An Expresszug supplement was payable in addition to the Schnellzug fare. After it had disappeared during the 1960s in domestic services, it was re-introduced in the 1969/70 timetable with the arrival of the DR Class VT 18.16 express DMUs. Ex-Züge in the DR in 1972: The international trains were converted in

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5928-409: The Allied powers still had jurisdiction where "Germany as a whole" was concerned. Nevertheless, the Court insisted that within the territory of the Federal Republic, the GDR could only be considered as one de jure German state amongst others, on the analogy of the pre-existing de jure German states that in 1949 had come together as the Federal Republic; and hence, like them, could never be accorded by

6042-452: The Constitutional Court maintained that the Basic Treaty was consistent with the GDR declaring its accession at some time in the future in accordance with its own constitution; and hence the Court determined that in recognising the GDR as a de jure German State, the Basic Treaty could be interpreted as facilitating the reunification of the German Reich (as indeed it eventually did). So long as any de jure German state remained separated from

6156-445: The English term "empire" or the Dutch term "rijk" in the context of German colonial expansion during the New Imperialism period. Following in the example of other European colonial empires , Imperial Germany (against Bismarck's intentions) started to rapidly acquire overseas colonies, including possessions in Africa, Oceania and China; the Imperial German Navy underwent a rapid expansion concurrently to protect these new colonies. At

6270-443: The English word "empire"; it also translates to such words as "realm" or "domain." However, this translation was not used throughout the full existence of the German Reich. Historically, only Germany from 1871 to 1918—when Germany was under the rule of an emperor ( Kaiser )—is known in English as the "German Empire" ( Deutsches Kaiserreich in German historiography), while the term "German Reich" describes Germany from 1871 to 1945. As

6384-405: The Federal Republic. Hence, although the GDR had nominally declared its accession to the Federal Republic under Article 23 of the Basic Law, this did not imply its acceptance of the Basic Law as it then stood; but rather of the Basic Law as subsequently amended in line with the Unification Treaty and the Treaty of Final Settlement. These amendments had the effect of removing all those clauses by which

6498-402: The GDR had by the Volkskammer 's declaration of accession to the Federal Republic, initiated the process of reunification; the act of reunification itself (with its many specific terms and conditions; including the fundamental amendments to the Basic Law required by the Treaty of Final Settlement) was achieved constitutionally by the subsequent Unification Treaty of 31 August 1990; that is through

6612-468: The German railway infrastructure , making it the largest rail network in Europe. The company generates about half of its total revenue from operating rail transport , with the other half of the business comprising further transport and logistics businesses, as well as various service providers. The company generates further revenue through public transport contracts and support services for infrastructure maintenance and expansion. The Deutsche Bahn Group

6726-407: The German Reich. Subsequently the term "German Reich" continued to be applied both as identifying with the national people, and also with the state territory; but increasingly, the application of the term to the German national people came to be seen as primary. Following the Second World War, the term "German Reich" fell out of use in constitutional formulations, being replaced by the term "nation as

6840-418: The Reich as the lands which, at the time of the constitution's adoption, were within the authority of the German state. The identity of Reich and people ran both ways—not only did the institutions of the German state derive their legitimacy from the German people, so, too, the German people derived their inherent identity and patriotic duties from their being collectively constituted as an organ and institution of

6954-432: The Reich became steadily superseded in the period up to the first World War by an understanding of the German Reich as a unitary nation state identified with the German national people according to the principle of jus sanguinis , and drawing on the rhetoric of "the sovereignty of the nation" in the Frankfurt Constitution —albeit that many ethnic " Germans " (as with the German-speaking peoples of Austria) remained outside

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7068-463: The SBB network until the timetable change on 12 December 2004, when it was replaced by the terms RegioExpress and InterRegio which can be used in all its official languages. One year later the Rhaetian Railway ( RhB ) followed suit. This process had started a long time before, when the Schnellzug category began to be replaced initially by the InterCity type, some of which have become InterCity-Neigezug ( ICN ) or Intercity tilting trains of

7182-460: The Treaty on Final Settlement, the new united Germany committed itself to renouncing any further territorial claims beyond the boundaries of East Germany, West Germany and Berlin; "The united Germany has no territorial claims whatsoever against other states and shall not assert any in the future." Furthermore the Basic Law of the Federal Republic was required to be amended to state explicitly that full German unification had now been achieved, such that

7296-438: The United Kingdom and Ireland. In 2019, Deutsche Bahn unsuccessfully tried to sell the business. In October 2023, Deutsche Bahn agreed on terms to sell Arriva to I Squared Capital , with the transaction scheduled to be completed in 2024. The sale was completed on 4 June 2024 at a reported price of £1.4bn. DB also has interests abroad, owning the United Kingdom's largest rail freight operator, DB Cargo UK , which also operates

7410-455: The War and the abolition of the monarchy during the German Revolution of 1918–1919 , however, when Wilhelm was forced to abdicate, the official English name for Germany was the "German Reich": Reich was left untranslated and no longer referred to an "empire" but, instead, took on the connotation of "Realm" or "State", its original (1871) definition. "German Reich" was used in legal documents and English-language international treaties—for example,

7524-422: The assumption of supreme authority over Germany, by which they established the Allied Control Council and assumed supreme authority over German territory. The Federal Republic of Germany asserted, following its establishment on 23 May 1949, that within its boundaries it was the sole legal continuation of the German Reich, and consequently not a successor state. Nevertheless, the Federal Republic did not maintain

7638-531: The coaches from the Henschel-Wegmann train . With the delivery of new coaches of the later UIC Type X, the pre-war coaches were superseded in Fernzug service. The blue F-Zug livery was adopted later as the paint scheme for the new 1st class coaches. For these very fast trains which stopped at just a few stations – as in FD times – a special Fernschnellzug supplement was payable. The Fernzüge were replaced in 1971 by Intercity trains. The famous TEE Rheingold which ran from Amsterdam to Geneva and

7752-526: The company came to an agreement with DSV of Denmark, a logistics company; in the agreement, DSV will acquire Schenker from Deutsche Bahn for $ 15.84 billion. Trains in Germany are classified by their stopping pattern, average speed and level of comfort provided: Just as ICE, EC and (few) IC cross European borders, train categories of other operators cross into Germany and are operated in cooperation with Deutsche Bahn: There are several other operators in Germany which sometimes offer other categories, also,

7866-443: The company was found to be in breach of its contractual agreements it could be banned from running railway services in the United Kingdom. The rail carrier reported a €1 billion half year net loss stemming from investments to repair its rail network, strikes and bad weather in July of 2024. As a result, Deutsche Bahn announced that they would shed 30,000 administrative jobs, roughly equal to 9% of their workforce. In September 2024,

7980-410: The compartments and corridors of these coaches were refurbished and given new carpets. The external livery was changed from the standard bottle green to steel blue ( RAL 5011). In addition the words Deutsche Bundesbahn or, if the coaches were only used on domestic routes, the initials DB were mounted on the sides in silver letters. In all at least 76 coaches were converted for this role. They included

8094-421: The complete legal extinction of the Third Reich with the death of Adolf Hitler on 30 April 1945, but asserted the continued subsequent existence of a German people and a German national territory; although subject to the four signatory powers also asserting their authority to determine the future boundaries of Germany. At the Potsdam Conference , Allied-occupied Germany was defined as comprising "Germany as

8208-460: The concept was not a success because they were timetabled to meet the two-hourly IC trains that only had 1st class services, leaving 2nd class passengers hanging around for their connexions. In addition, the coaching stock of DC-Züge was no better than the general standard for normal express trains. An initiative to develop special luxury coaches specifically for the DC-Zug was dropped in favour of

8322-674: The delivery of centre-door ( Mitteleinstieg ) and Halberstädter express coaches were the, by now obsolete, Rekowagen cascaded to less important duties. For the 1951 summer timetable the DB introduced a new class of train: the Fernzug ("long-distance train"). These trains linked the economic centres of the German Federal Republic with one another. The trains were initially given the "old" FD designation and, on 22 May 1955, F for Fernzug and operated until 1956 with 1st and 2nd class coaches; and thereafter exclusively with

8436-487: The following routes: They comprised 1st and 2nd class coaches, dining and sleeping cars (on night trains). They were meant to be not only very comfortable but also particularly punctual. A supplement of 2 marks was payable on D-Zug services. In 1894, the first D-Zug with third class coaches ran between Berlin and East Prussia . By 1917 almost all Schnellzüge in Germany had been gradually reclassified as D-Züge or converted to supplement-free fast-stopping trains,

8550-579: The former German Confederation until 1865. Moreover, it included the whole of the Kingdom of Prussia , the eastern parts of which had never been included in historic German lands. The unification under Prussian leadership manifested Bismarck's "Lesser German" solution of the German question after the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, realised with the support of his national liberal allies. On

8664-408: The former German Reich outside its boundaries as having a valid claim to be a part of Germany as a whole. In referring to the entire period between 1871 and 1945, the partially translated English phrase " German Reich " ( /- ˈ r aɪ k / ) is applied by historians in formal contexts; although in common English usage this state was and is known simply as Germany , the English term "German Empire"

8778-509: The general public. This category was the SFR-Zug ( Schnellzug für Fronturlauber mit Reisezugteil or "military express with passenger section"). Because there were not enough SF-Zug services to meet the Wehrmacht's transportation requirements, numerous express trains were modified into DmW-Züge or Schnellzüge mit Wehrmachtsteil (express trains with military sections), in which

8892-613: The historic abbreviation FD , which was introduced by the DB for its 1983 summer timetable. These trains, which had individual names, mainly linked the Hamburg area or the Ruhrgebiet with holiday resorts in southern Germany. Some also travelled abroad. The 2nd class coaches in these trains all comprised former non-airconditioned IC compartment coaches of the Bm type , that became available when they were replaced in Intercity services by

9006-425: The independence and autonomy of each of the two States in domestic and foreign affairs. This agreement too is compatible with the Basic Law only if interpreted to the effect that for the Federal Republic of Germany the basis of this Treaty is the continued existence of Germany, which has according to the Basic Law to be recognized as a State (albeit not organized and therefore not capable of action), and that accordingly

9120-456: The journey in 16 hours. Three months later, on 1 August 1851, the first night train ran from Berlin to Bromberg . The Prussian state demanded a country-wide network of night trains; consequently the various railway companies started up fast courier trains in the years that followed (1852 to 1854), from Berlin to Breslau , Frankfurt am Main , Hamburg and Cologne. Passengers on the night-time courier trains between Berlin and Frankfurt had to pay

9234-469: The literal translation "German Empire" denotes a monarchy, the term is used only in reference to Germany before the fall of the monarchy at the end of World War I in 1918. After the unification of Germany , under the reign of the Prussian king Wilhelm I and his Chancellor Otto von Bismarck , the historic German states ( e.g. Bavaria and Saxony ) were united with Prussia under imperial rule, by

9348-498: The majority of D-Züge at that time ran with 1st, 2nd and 3rd class coaches. FD services were withdrawn on 22 August 1939. From 1933, FD trains were joined by express railcars of the Flying Hamburger type. These trains were classed as FDt or Fernschnellzug mit Triebwagen ("long-distance express train with railcar") and usually offered 2nd class accommodation only. These services ceased on 22 August 1939. During

9462-538: The market with the business units DB Schenker and DB Cargo , which were combined under the umbrella of DB Schenker, and the Intermodal division, which operates in combined transport. In 2016, rail freight transport was separated from logistics and DB Schenker Rail was renamed DB Cargo . In cooperation with the logistics provider time:matters , DB also offers the transport of shipments weighing up to 20 kg on its EC/IC/ICE trains. The infrastructure division

9576-456: The mutual restriction of sovereign power to the territory of the State and respect for the independence and autonomy of each of the two States in domestic and foreign affairs has its reference to the special situation in which both States find themselves vis-à-vis each other as sub-States of Germany as a whole." After 1973, however, the claimed identity of the Federal Republic with the German Reich

9690-725: The name "Greater German Reich " became mandatory in official documents. The German Reich collapsed de facto with the death of Adolf Hitler on 30 April 1945, when the Allies decided not to recognise Karl Dönitz as the Reich President and to grant no legitimacy to the Flensburg Government he had formed. On 5 June 1945, the Allies signed the Berlin Declaration concerning the defeat of Germany and

9804-478: The national people constituting the German Empire of 1871 and also that the Empire of 1871 included extensive territories (such as Posen ) with predominantly non-German populations. This transition became formalised in the constitution of the Weimar Republic , where Article 1 identifies the Reich as deriving its authority from the German national people, while Article 2 identifies the state territory under

9918-422: The new German state comprised the entirety of Germany, and that all constitutional mechanisms should be removed by which any territories outside those boundaries could otherwise subsequently be admitted; these amendments being bound by treaty not to be revoked. Article 23 of the Basic Law was repealed, closing off the possibility for any further states to apply for membership of the Federal Republic; while Article 146

10032-439: The new air-conditioned open coaches . The all 1st class coaches were also taken from the IC fleet, the restaurant cars comprised QuickPick buffet cars, later also the half-buffet cars, type ARmz. They were joined in most cases by second class through coaches to other holiday destinations. The FD train, Königssee , between Hamburg and Berchtesgaden also included a so-called Kinderland-Wagen ("children's world coach") that had

10146-414: The next morning on the same ticket is usually of advantage. Seat reservations are included only for first class tickets and seating capacity is not always assured, even for tickets valid on one particular connection only. Local trains (S, RB, RE, IRE) also accept tickets issued by local transport associations , which can also be used on buses, trams, and U-Bahn trains. DB offers concessionary fares with

10260-582: The onset of the financial crisis of 2007–08 saw this cancelled. In 2014, the Jewish community of Thessaloniki demanded that the Deutsche Bahn , which is the successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn , should reimburse the heirs of Greek Holocaust victims of Thessaloniki for train fares that they were forced to pay for their deportation from Thessaloniki to Auschwitz and Treblinka between March and August 1943. In June 2018 controversy grew in

10374-551: The organs of the Federal Republic full recognition as a state in international law; even though the Federal Constitutional Court recognised that, within international law, the GDR was indeed an independent sovereign state. The constitutional status of the GDR under the Basic Law still differed from that of the Länder of the Federal Republic, in that the GDR had not declared its accession to the Basic Law; but

10488-422: The other hand, the German Reich of 1871 comprised extended Prussian territories with large non-German sections of the population, like Posen , West Prussia or Schleswig , and also territories with predominantly German populations which had never been constitutionally "German" (Holy Roman), such as East Prussia . Bismarck was otherwise unable, however, to avoid the term German Reich acquiring connotations from

10602-505: The period as the " Republik von Weimar " (Republic of Weimar, after the city ( Weimar ) which held its constitutional assembly) at a rally in Munich with the term later becoming mainstream during the 1930s both within and outside Germany. The Nazis also contemptuously referred to it as " the System ". On 8 May 1945, with the capitulation of the German armed forces, the supreme command of

10716-603: The railway companies shied away from their higher running costs. In 1861 the first express train ran from Vienna to Budapest , in 1862 express services began on the Vienna to Dresden line via Prague and in 1868 the first express ran from Vienna via Krakau and Lemberg to Bucharest . In 1887 3rd class coaches appeared in express trains for the first time, whilst the Hungarian expresses were made up exclusively of 1st and 2nd class accommodation until 1912. Later, in addition to

10830-537: The rest, the German Reich could continue to exist only in suspension; but should the GDR be reunited with the Federal Republic, the Reich would once more be fully capable of action as a sovereign state. "In Article 6 the Contracting Parties agree that they shall base themselves on the principle that the sovereign power of each of the two States be confined to its State territory and that they will respect

10944-488: The same time strong Pan-Germanic political forces emerged, pressing for the borders of the Reich to be extended into a multiethnic German-led Central European empire, emulating and rivalling Imperial Russia to the east. Before and during the events of World War I , the German state was called an "empire" in English and Wilhelm II was titled "His Imperial and Royal Majesty the German Emperor." After

11058-658: The so-called Eilzüge . The only standard fare trains which did not stop at all stations were the beschleunigte Personenzüge ( BP ) or "fast passenger trains". A few Schnellzüge remained in Bavaria where they attracted supplementary fares on the Munich - Mittenwald - Innsbruck line; these did not become D-Züge until 1929. From 1923 very fast trains were grouped into a new Fernschnellzug ( FD-Zug ) or "long-distance express train" category and only offered 1st and 2nd class accommodation (e. g. FD Rheingold ), whilst

11172-559: The specific title German Reich , and so consistently replaced the prefix Reichs- in all official titles and designations with Bundes- ("Federal"). Hence, for instance, the office of the Reichskanzler became the Bundeskanzler . Following German reunification on 3 October 1990, the expanded Federal Republic describes itself as "United Germany ", emphasizing that it does not now recognize any territories once included in

11286-466: The state's continued existence remained a matter of debate; the post-war Bonn Republic maintained the continued existence of the German Reich as an 'overall state", but dormant while East and West Germany continued to be divided. Nevertheless, when Germany was reunited in 1990 the term "German Reich " was not revived as a title for the Berlin Republic . The German word Reich translates to

11400-589: The subsidiaries of DBAG: DB Reise & Touristik AG (long-distance passenger service, later renamed DB Station & Service AG (operating the stations)). This new organisational scheme was introduced not least to implement European Community directive 91/440/EEC that requires open access operations on railway lines by companies other than those that own the rail infrastructure. In December 2007, DB reorganised again, bringing all passenger services into its DB Bahn arm, logistics under DB Schenker and infrastructure and operations under DB Netze . The DB

11514-924: The supplement was abolished on most of the DB's D-Zug routes. Within the Deutsche Reichsbahn in East Germany , the Schnellzug remained the primary long-distance service. A two-tier supplementary fare (Zone I up to 300 kilometres - 3 marks, Zone II over 300 - 5 marks) was retained until the inception of the 1991 summer timetable. Until the 1980s, the majority of express trains on domestic routes in East Germany comprised eight-wheeled Rekowagen ("reconstructed coaches"), reinforced by 1st class Modernisierungswagen ("modernised coaches"). Modernisierungswagen and Y coaches were mainly employed in high-grade and international services. Not until

11628-562: The supposed D-Nacht-Züge comprise only a few through coaches, which are coupled to other night trains . This train category does however have the advantage that they are not bound by the fare regulations of night trains, but are treated as normal long-distance services. As a result, they are used inter alia in southern Germany as a substitute for late IC connexions that are operated by DB Autozug rather than DB Fernverkehr . Many night trains run as D-Nacht services into Germany's eastern European neighbours. One provider of night express trains

11742-577: The unity and freedom of Germany in free self-determination . This Basic Law thus applies to the entire German people." In place of the former Article 23 under which the former GDR had declared its accession to the Federal Republic, a new Article 23 embedded the accession of the Federal Republic to the European Union within the Basic Law; hence with the subsequent accession of Poland to the EU, the constitutional bar on pursuing any claim to territories beyond

11856-458: The usual Schnellzug , the Expresszug ( Ex ) category was introduced along with ÖBB Class 4010 express multiple units ( Triebwagenschnellzug or TS ). These have been replaced in recent years by the new Eurocity and Intercity train types. In night services, most Schnellzüge have become EuroNight trains. In Switzerland the Schnellzug train category was not entirely dropped from

11970-497: The years that followed to normal D-Züge again. The most famous representatives of the Expresszug category were the Städteexpress trains introduced in 1976. In 1987 the new category Interexpress ( IEx ) emerged for international service, to which normal D-Zug fares applied. The first Austrian express train ( Schnellzug ) ran in 1857 from Vienna to Trieste . In Austria they emerged later than in Germany, because

12084-503: Was also the Rapido long-distance, supplementary fare service, which only stopped at important stations. This type of train was later replaced by the Intercity . Occasionally the D-Zug category is still used today for day trips with special trains. In the bulk of railway services in Germany, Austria and Switzerland it only exists as a successor to the Schnellzug in the form of trains like

12198-432: Was amended to state explicitly that the territory of the newly unified republic comprised the entirety of the German people; "This Basic Law, which since the achievement of the unity and freedom of Germany applies to the entire German people, shall cease to apply on the day on which a constitution freely adopted by the German people takes effect". This was confirmed in the 1990 rewording of the preamble; "Germans..have achieved

12312-528: Was associated with the idea of popular sovereignty . A 1923 book entitled Das Dritte Reich by Arthur Moeller van den Bruck counted the medieval Holy Roman Empire as the first, and the 1871–1918 monarchy as the second, which was then to be followed by a "reinvigorated" third one. Subsequently the Nazi regime was (unofficially) called the " Third Reich "; this usage was sometimes contemporaneous, but mostly retrospective and applied by non-Germans. Following

12426-477: Was divided into the DB Netz (rail infrastructure), DB Station&Service (stations and services) and DB Energie (Energy) business units. At the end of December 2023, DB Netz merged with DB Station&Service to create DB InfraGO AG. The new company is intended to reduce poor communication between the two previously separate infrastructure firms and to be more 'oriented towards the common good.' In fact, that

12540-691: Was formed in January 1994, it became a joint stock-company, and was designed to operate the railways of both the former East and West Germany after unification in October 1990 as a single, uniform, and private company. There are three main periods of development in this unified German railway: its formation, its early years (1994–1999), and the period from 1999 to the present. Originally, DBAG had its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main but moved to Potsdamer Platz in central Berlin in 1996, where it occupies

12654-664: Was not exclusively German-speaking but constituted a supranational entity extending beyond the frontiers of the German language area ( Sprachraum ). The first attempt to re-establish a "German Empire" during the 1848 March Revolution by the Frankfurt Constitution ultimately failed: it was aborted by the monarchs of the German Confederation , especially by the Prussian aristocracy and the King of Prussia himself, which opposed German nationalism , as then

12768-567: Was not recognised by most other countries of the world. The Soviet Union, the three Western allies, and most other Western countries regarded the German Reich as still being one nation—not synonymous with either the West or East German state but rather the two states in collective. Other countries tended to regard the German Reich as having been divided into two distinct states in international law, and accordingly accorded both states full diplomatic recognition. As of 1974, East Germany's official stance

12882-621: Was officially proclaimed on 18 January 1871 at the Palace of Versailles by Otto von Bismarck and Wilhelm I of Prussia . After the annexation of Austria to Germany on 12–13 March 1938, the name "Greater German Reich " ( German : Großdeutsches Reich ) began to be used alongside with the he official name "German Reich ". According to the decree of the Chief of the Reich Chancellery Hans Lammers of 26 June 1943,

12996-571: Was that the GDR was a new state that is German in nature, a successor of the German Reich, and that there were then two German states that were different nations. When the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany between Germany and the wartime Allies was signed on 12 September 1990, there was no mention of the term Deutsches Reich , however the Allies paraphrased the international legal personality of Germany as "Germany as

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