Railway Nationalization - Germany

Germany

The earliest railways in the German states were often run by private entrepreneurs. Starting in the late 19th century, the railways were recognised as important to the military, and operation often was taken over by the state, especially in Prussia and Bavaria. After World War I, the German Reich took over control of the state railways of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Württemberg, Baden, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Hesse and Oldenburg. The individual railways were merged into the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft in February 1924. Due to impending war reparations, the DRG was a private company, but shares were bought by the Reich in 1937, effectively nationalising the corporation. In World War II the DR assimilated a great number of railway companies in the German-occupied territories as well as several smaller, previously privately owned lines in Germany. Post-World War II, after being under Allied administration between 1945 and 1949, the DR was split up into the Deutsche Bundesbahn and Deutsche Reichsbahn of the GDR, both state-owned. Private railways continued to exist in the West German realm of the DB, but DB and DR accounted for most of the rail traffic in post-war Germany. After German reunification, DB and DR became Deutsche Bahn AG in 1994. Whilst DB AG is a public limited company, all its shares are presently owned by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany. DB AG is now facing stiff competition in the freight and short-distance passenger sector, although they still hold a quasi-monopoly in the long-distance passenger sector. The IPO, originally planned for 2008, has been postponed.