607:(State Railways of the GDR) along the lines of other East German institutions, the Western Allies would probably have refused to recognise it as the same or a successor organization and removed its right to operate in West Berlin. The legal necessity of keeping the term 'Deutsche Reichsbahn' explains the unique use of the word 'Reich' (with its Imperial and Nazi connotations) in the name of an official organisation of the communist GDR. This quasi-official presence in West Berlin was apparently of an utmost importance to the GDR regime, otherwise it is hard to explain why the anti-imperialist and cash-strapped GDR government was willing to both continue using the word 'Reich' and incur large
32:
446:
104:
692:, the DR and DB continued to operate as separate entities in their respective service areas, albeit under a coordination agreement concerning operations. On 1 June 1992, the DB and DR formed a joint board of directors which governed both entities. The merger between the DR and DB was delayed by several years over the structure of the merged railway due to concerns by German politicians on the ever-increasing annual operating deficits incurred by the DB and DR. The
1024:
974:
646:
620:
529:(DB) maintained a ticket office in West Berlin for many years on Hardenbergstraße near the main Zoological Garden railway station that was run by the Eastern Reichsbahn. One reason for this was due to the generally poor customer service offered at the DR's ticket counters . Another reason may have been psychological – to promote a visible West German government presence in West Berlin.
661:. The BVG gradually restored much of the S-Bahn service that had been previously reduced. Following the reunification in October 1990, the arrangements were kept until the creation of Deutsche Bahn AG on 1 January 1994 when the new company took over all S-Bahn operations in the Greater Berlin region.
602:
as it was mentioned as such in transit treaties. After the foundation of East
Germany on 7 October 1949 the East German government continued to run all the railways in its territory under the official name Deutsche Reichsbahn, by so doing it maintained responsibility for almost all railway transport
470:
When the GDR's energy costs began to rise dramatically in the early 1980s (in part because the Soviet Union ceased to subsidize the price of fuel sold to the GDR), the DR embarked on a large rail electrification campaign as the GDR's electrical power grid could be supplied with electricity generated
483:
Due to the Four-Power
Occupation Agreements for Berlin, in which the long-term division of Germany and Berlin (the partition of Germany into two German states; and Berlin partitioned into two principal zones of occupation, West Berlin and East Berlin) was not foreseen, the DR operated the long-haul
453:
Steam engines were the workhorses after the war and remained important for a long time into the period of German partition. The DR's last steam engine (on normal-gauge tracks) was taken out of service on 28 May 1988. Much of the electrified rail network that existed in (present-day) eastern
Germany
635:
on 13 August 1961, many West
Berliners boycotted the S-Bahn in West Berlin. After a strike by West Berlin-based DR employees in September 1980, the S-Bahn service in West Berlin was greatly reduced. Almost half of the West Berlin S-Bahn railway network was closed following this action, including
462:
in the early years of Soviet occupation. By the early 1970s, only a small portion of the tracks in the GDR had been electrified in comparison with those in
Western Europe; the GDR leadership chose to reduce the pace of electrification and instead relied on mostly Russian-made
496:(and also after the reunification of Germany) until the merger of the DR and DB in January 1994. This led to unique situations due to the occupied status of West Berlin and the presence of the DR there. For example, there were
413:. Fares were fairly cheap, but trains tended to be overcrowded and slow, owing in part to the poor condition of most railway lines in the GDR. The DR did offer a limited number of express trains such as the "Neptun" (
591:. DR conductors and engine crews managed these trains while military transport officers and soldiers dealt with their passengers and the Soviet military checkpoint officials at Marienborn.
668:
was not restored until after reunification (in phases, from 1993 to 2002). Capital projects continue to address the backlog of construction needs that developed during the DR-GDR era.
799:
594:
The presence of the DR in West Berlin was costly to the GDR – the annual operating deficit for the DR in West Berlin in the early 1980s was estimated to be around 120-140 million
693:
789:
Dürr was also concurrently chairman of the board of the DB. He later served as the chairman of the joint board of directors of the DB and DR from June 1992 – January 1994.
557:
until 1994 when the
Russian military finally withdrew from Germany. Each of the Western Allies also maintained its stations and ticket offices in its respective zone:
516:) never officially recognized the authority of the GDR government in the Soviet (Eastern) sector of Berlin, let alone in West Berlin. For this reason, the West Berlin
757:
1119:
1012:
1180:
1170:
1200:
751:
727:
1175:
990:
664:
It took several years to fully restore all of S-Bahn services throughout the
Greater Berlin region. Service on the West Berlin portion of the
500:(railway police) employed by the DR in their West Berlin railway stations who were controlled by the GDR Interior Ministry, although the three
61:
1185:
1165:
19:
This article is about the state railway of the former post-war East
Germany. For its pan-Germany predecessor during the inter-war years, see
657:
entered into force and turned over the responsibility for the operation of the S-Bahn in West Berlin to the West Berlin transport authority
1195:
1081:
553:) military to facilitate transport of their personnel to and from Russia. A special military train regularly operated between Berlin and
978:
707:
in 1993 and went into effect on 1 January 1994, that included the planned merger between the DR and DB on 1 January 1994 to form the
324:. From November 1954 until November 1989, the GDR Minister of Transport also occupied the position of the Director General of the DR
1045:
1190:
1124:
1005:
1099:
1040:
405:. By 1989, 17.2% of the passenger transport volume in the GDR was handled by the DR – three times the market share of the
1114:
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998:
956:
933:
910:
887:
864:
804:
649:
Patchwork conditions on the West Berlin S-Bahn were illustrated in 1969 by this station on the
Lichterfelde-Süd Line.
83:
449:
In March 1971, the DR's
Interzone express departs Hamburg for Berlin with class 01.5 steam power, a 4-6-2 "Pacific".
54:
1020:
841:
305:
Both the Reichsbahn and the Bundesbahn continued as separate entities until 1994, when they merged to form the
623:
In 1969 a third-rail S-Bahn train eases past West Berlin firemen fighting a trackside fire in untrimmed brush.
1109:
569:
401:
The DR was centrally directed according to socialist principles within the context of a centrally planned
685:
1139:
631:
local train service in West Berlin during much of the Cold War period. Following the erection of the
522:
had separate patrols who were empowered to maintain law and order in the West Berlin railway stations.
317:
The DR was the largest employer in the GDR and as a state-owned firm was directly subordinated to the
658:
44:
264:
48:
40:
1134:
583:
The Western Allies operated military trains over DR lines converging on the route between Berlin-
271:
771:() Was also GDR Minister of Transport during his term of service as Director General of the DR.
283:
275:
65:
680:
between the two German states signed on 31 August 1990 established the DR as special property
598:. The status of Berlin is also believed to be the reason the East Germans retained the name
290:
or GDR on 7 October 1949) continued to run as the Deutsche Reichsbahn, the name given to the
689:
372:
8:
1071:
562:
406:
299:
291:
174:
127:
20:
1129:
882:] (in German) (fully revised and expanded new ed.). München: GeraMond Verlag.
952:
929:
906:
883:
880:
Deutsche Reichsbahn Confidential: Poison Trains, Military Transports, Secret Projects
860:
837:
733:
534:
464:
422:
654:
903:
The Deutsche Reichsbahn in West Berlin - Interzonal Traffic, the S-Bahn and the DR
899:
Die Deutsche Reichsbahn in West-Berlin – Interzonenverkehr, die S-Bahn und die DR
830:
Das Buch der Deutschen Reichsbahn: Erinnerungen an den Schienenverkehr in der DDR
638:
467:
due to the easy availability of fuel from the Soviet Union at subsidised prices.
459:
402:
1091:
1050:
445:
688:, and stipulated the DR to be merged with DB at the earliest opportunity. Upon
532:
Another oddity was the presence of a ticket counter at the East Berlin station
333:
195:
117:
1159:
1066:
809:
708:
628:
608:
509:
505:
347:
The company was administratively subdivided into eight regional directorates
341:
306:
184:
781:
763:
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389:
services to the DR, both on board trains and in stations, were provided by
295:
287:
279:
260:
222:
206:
834:
The Book of the Deutsche Reichsbahn: Memories of Rail Transport in the GDR
103:
859:] (in German) (approved special ed.). München: GeraMond Verlag.
632:
595:
489:
475:. The electrified rail network grew from 11.5% in 1979 to 27.3% by 1990.
414:
337:
329:
318:
200:
636:
the closure of the western portion of the Berlin circular ring railway (
876:
Deutsche Reichsbahn geheim: Giftzüge, Militärtransporte, Geheimprojekte
745:
588:
418:
368:
986:"Berlin 1969" includes sections on Marienborn-Berlin rail operations.
814:
704:
603:
in all four sectors of Berlin. Had the DR been renamed, for example,
434:
376:
922:
Der Reichsbahn-Report: 1945–1993; Tatsachen, Legenden, Hintergründe
493:
386:
380:
256:
1023:
857:
The Album of the Deutsche Reichsbahn: Railway Everyday in the GDR
800:
List of East German Deutsche Reichsbahn locomotives and railbuses
611:
deficits to operate and maintain the West Berlin railway system.
584:
472:
390:
360:
356:
230:
614:
274:'s railways were returned to German control after four years of
973:
554:
550:
518:
513:
426:
364:
352:
853:
Das Album der Deutschen Reichsbahn: Eisenbahnalltag in der DDR
926:
The Reichsbahn Report: 1945–1993; Facts, Legends, Backgrounds
718:(Corporation), which is a state-owned limited stock company.
699:
proposed a comprehensive reform of the German railway system
576:
985:
945:
Deutsche Reichsbahn intern geheime Akten, brisante Tatsachen
671:
645:
619:
16:
State railway of the German Democratic Republic (1945–1993)
949:
Deutsche Reichsbahn Secret Internal Files, Explosive Facts
478:
653:
On 9 January 1984, a treaty between the GDR and the
775:
928:] (in German). Stuttgart: Transpress Verlag.
905:] (in German). Stuttgart: Transpress Verlag.
1157:
53:but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
721:
328:. The headquarters of the DR were located in
1006:
951:] (in German). München: GeraMond Verlag.
836:] (in German). München: GeraMond Verlag.
615:The S-Bahn in West Berlin during the Cold War
942:
1013:
999:
471:from the burning of domestically produced
326:(Generaldirektor der Deutschen Reichsbahn)
672:The DR after the reunification of Germany
454:in 1945 had been removed and sent to the
84:Learn how and when to remove this message
1181:Railway companies disestablished in 1993
1171:Government organisations in East Germany
896:
873:
644:
618:
444:
1201:German companies disestablished in 1993
433:), and "Balt-Orient-Express" (Berlin –
340:and across from the site of the former
1158:
943:Preuss, Erich; Preuss, Reiner (2011).
919:
298:, the Reichsbahn was succeeded by the
255:was the operating name of state owned
108:"DR-Kreis" logo used from 1949 to 1994
1176:Railway companies established in 1949
1046:History of the railway in Württemberg
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676:Article 26 of the Unification Treaty
1186:History of rail transport in Germany
1166:Defunct railway companies of Germany
1041:History of rail transport in Germany
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479:The DR in Berlin during the Cold War
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1196:1949 establishments in East Germany
545:from 1987 to 1998) operated by the
13:
1077:Deutsche Reichsbahn (East Germany)
488:and barge canals in both East and
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322:(Ministerium für Verkehr der DDR)
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492:throughout the years of the
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703:which was approved by the
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1028:German railway companies
897:Kuhlmann, Bernd (2020).
874:Kuhlmann, Bernd (2013).
292:German national railways
39:This article includes a
605:Staatseisenbahn der DDR
349:(Reichsbahndirektionen)
253:(German Reich Railways)
68:more precise citations.
1034:German railway history
920:Preuss, Erich (2001).
650:
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450:
429:), "Karlex" (Berlin –
284:Soviet occupation zone
267:until 1 January 1994.
157:; 30 years ago
139:; 74 years ago
981:at Wikimedia Commons
851:Heym, Rudolf (2010).
828:Heym, Rudolf (2003).
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137:7 October 1949
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66:introducing
1160:Categories
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843:3765472468
821:References
782:Heinz Dürr
764:Heinz Dürr
758:Hans Klemm
746:Otto Arndt
589:Marienborn
538:(known as
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369:Greifswald
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302:(DB).
276:Allied
1115:Hesse
1105:Baden
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