Deutsche Reichsbahn (East Germany)

Deutsche Reichsbahn
Company type	State-owned enterprise
Industry	Rail transport
Founded	October 7, 1949; 77 years ago
Defunct	January 1, 1994
Fate	Merged with Deutsche Bundesbahn to form Deutsche Bahn AG
Headquarters	East Berlin, German Democratic Republic
Area served	East Germany, West Berlin (partial)
Key people	Willi Besener (1946–1949), Willi Kreikemeyer (1949–1950), Erwin Kramer (1950–1970), Otto Arndt (1970–1989), Herbert Keddi (1989–1990), Hans Klemm (1990–1991), Heinz Dürr (1991–1992)
Products	Passenger and freight rail transport services
Number of employees	Largest employer in East Germany (exact number not specified)

The Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR; , ) served as the state-owned railway enterprise in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1949 until 1990, continuing its operations in the New Federal States of Germany following reunification until 1 January 1994. Supervised by the Ministry for Transport, it stood as the largest employer within East Germany.

Originating from the railway assets located in the Soviet occupation zone, the DR provided both passenger and freight transportation services throughout East Germany and sections of West Berlin. It functioned independently from West Germany's Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) until their consolidation in 1994 under Deutsche Bahn.

Organisation

Founded alongside the establishment of the GDR on 7 October 1949, the DR was a state-owned entity directly accountable to the Ministry for Transport. Its roots lay in the national railway infrastructure situated within the Soviet-occupied zone after World War II. Between November 1954 and November 1989, the position of Director General of the DR was held concurrently by the GDR Minister of Transport. The company’s central offices were located at 33 Voßstraße, East Berlin, close to both the Berlin Wall and the former Reich Chancellery. The DR's structure was divided into eight regional directorates positioned in Berlin, Cottbus, Dresden, Erfurt, Greifswald, Halle, Magdeburg, and Schwerin.

Catering services aboard DR trains and at stations were managed by Mitropa.

Passenger service

Operating within a centrally planned socialist framework under the GDR’s command economy, the DR managed 17.2% of passenger transport volume by 1989—approximately triple the market share held by West Germany's Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB). Although ticket prices were kept low, trains frequently suffered from overcrowding and slow speeds due to deteriorated track infrastructure. The DR offered a limited selection of express routes including "Neptun" (Berlin–Copenhagen), "Vindobona" (Berlin–Vienna), "Karlex" (Berlin–Carlsbad), and "Balt-Orient-Express" (Berlin–Bucharest).

Electrification

Following World War II, steam locomotives remained predominant, with the last standard-gauge steam engine withdrawn from service in May 1988. Much of eastern Germany’s electrified rail network had been dismantled after the war as reparations sent to the Soviet Union. By the early 1970s, only a small fraction of GDR railway lines were electrified compared to Western European standards; instead, Russian-built diesel locomotives were favored due to subsidized fuel supplies from the Soviet Union.

In response to escalating energy expenses during the early 1980s, a significant expansion of electrification was initiated, utilizing electricity generated primarily from domestically mined lignite. Electrified track coverage increased from 11.5% in 1979 to 27.3% by 1990.

The DR in Berlin during the Cold War

Throughout the Cold War and continuing until its merger with DB in 1994, under Four-Power Occupation Agreements, the DR operated long-distance rail and barge services across both East and West Berlin. This arrangement presented unique operational complexities, such as DR-employed railway police maintaining authority at West Berlin stations controlled by East Germany—despite non-recognition of GDR jurisdiction by Western Allied powers—resulting in parallel patrols conducted by West Berlin police forces.

The West German DB maintained a ticket office near Zoological Garden station in West Berlin, partly due to dissatisfaction with DR customer service and as a symbol of West German presence. The Soviet military operated a ticket counter at East Berlin’s Ostbahnhof for its personnel, running dedicated trains to Moscow until their withdrawal in 1994. Each Western Allied power also maintained separate stations and ticket offices: United States at Lichterfelde West, United Kingdom at Charlottenburg, and France at Tegel.

Western Allied military trains traversed DR-operated lines between Berlin-Wannsee and Marienborn; while DR crews managed train operations, military staff handled passengers and border controls.

Maintaining operations within West Berlin proved financially burdensome for the GDR; deficits reached between 120 and 140 million Deutsche Marks annually during the early 1980s. The retention of the name Deutsche Reichsbahn was legally essential for preserving transit rights across all four sectors of Berlin. Changing this name risked forfeiting operating privileges granted by Western Allies in West Berlin. This necessity explains why the communist regime continued using the historically loaded term "Reich" despite ideological conflicts and fiscal challenges—their presence in West Berlin was strategically indispensable.

The S-Bahn in West Berlin during the Cold War

Throughout much of the Cold War, the S-Bahn local train service in West Berlin was operated by the DR. Following the construction of the Berlin Wall on 13 August 1961, a significant number of West Berlin residents chose to boycott the S-Bahn. In September 1980, a strike by DR employees based in West Berlin led to a severe reduction in S-Bahn operations, resulting in the closure of nearly half the network in West Berlin, including the western segment of the Ringbahn. On 9 January 1984, a treaty between the GDR and the West Berlin Senate transferred control of the West Berlin S-Bahn to the local transport authority, BVG, which gradually reinstated much of the curtailed service. After German reunification in October 1990, this arrangement persisted until Deutsche Bahn AG was founded on 1 January 1994 and assumed responsibility for all S-Bahn services throughout Greater Berlin.

The complete restoration of S-Bahn operations across Greater Berlin extended over several years. The revival of service on the West Berlin section of the Ringbahn occurred incrementally from 1993 until 2002. Ongoing infrastructure projects continue to address maintenance and upgrades deferred during the DR-GDR era.

The DR after German reunification

Article 26 of the Unification Treaty (Einigungsvertrag), signed on 31 August 1990, classified the DR as special property (Sondervermögen) of the Federal Republic of Germany, requiring its integration with DB at the earliest feasible date. Although DR and DB continued to function as separate entities immediately following reunification, their operations were coordinated. On 1 June 1992, a joint board was established to oversee both organizations. Political concerns regarding increasing operational deficits delayed their merger. Subsequently, the Federal Ministry of Transport proposed an extensive railway reform (Bahnreform), which received approval from the Bundestag in 1993 and came into effect on 1 January 1994. This reform included consolidating DR and DB into a state-owned public limited company named Deutsche Bahn AG.

Directors General of the DR

Willi Besener (1946–1949)
Willi Kreikemeyer (1949–1950)
Erwin Kramer¹ (1950–1970)
Otto Arndt¹ (1970–1989)
Herbert Keddi (1989–1990)
Hans Klemm (1990–1991)
Heinz Dürr (1991–1992)

(¹) Held concurrent office as GDR Minister of Transport while serving as Director General.

Chairman of the board of the DR

Heinz Dürr (1991–1992)

Dürr simultaneously chaired DB’s board and later led the combined DB-DR board from June 1992 until January 1994.

External links

"Berlin 1969" features sections on Marienborn-Berlin rail operations.