Editing Transport in Germany (section)

==Rail transport==

===Overview===
{{main|Rail transport in Germany|History of rail transport in Germany}}
[[File:DeutscheBahn gobeirne.jpg|thumb|[[ICE 3]] train at [[Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof]]]]
Germany features a total of 43,468&nbsp;km railways, of which at least 19,973&nbsp;km are electrified (2014).<ref name=ciafactbook>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/germany/ |title=CIA World Facebook: Germany}}</ref>

[[Deutsche Bahn]] (German Rail) is the major German railway infrastructure and service operator. Though Deutsche Bahn is a private company, the government still holds all shares and therefore Deutsche Bahn can still be called a state-owned company. Since its reformation under private law in 1994, Deutsche Bahn no longer publishes details of the tracks it owns; in addition to the DBAG system there are about 280 privately or locally owned railway companies which own an approximate 3,000&nbsp;km to 4,000&nbsp;km of the total tracks and use DB tracks in ''open access''.

Railway subsidies amounted to €17.0 billion in 2014<ref>{{cite web |title= German Railway Financing |url= https://www.deutschebahn.com/file/de/2192370/2RLvPOzueXgX19CucGFn4Wofp5E/2267530/data/finanz_eisenbahn_dtl.pdf |page= 2 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160310165357/https://www.deutschebahn.com/file/de/2192370/2RLvPOzueXgX19CucGFn4Wofp5E/2267530/data/finanz_eisenbahn_dtl.pdf |archive-date= 2016-03-10 }}</ref> and there are significant differences between the financing of long-distance and short-distance (or local) trains in Germany. While long-distance trains can be run by any railway company, the companies also receive no subsidies from the government. Local trains however are subsidised by the German states, which pay the operating companies to run these trains and indeed in 2013, 59% of the cost of short-distance passenger rail transport was covered by subsidies.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/EN/BNetzA/Areas/Railways/Downloads/RailwayMarketAnalysis2014.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=1 |title=Market Analysis: German Railways 2014 |access-date=2015-11-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151127032909/http://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/EN/BNetzA/Areas/Railways/Downloads/RailwayMarketAnalysis2014.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=1 |archive-date=2015-11-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This resulted in many private companies offering to run local train services as they can provide cheaper service than the state-owned Deutsche Bahn. Track construction is entirely and track maintenance partly government financed both for long and short range trains.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} On the other hand, all rail vehicles are charged track access charges by [[DB Netz]] which in turn delivers (part of) its profits to the federal budget.

High speed rail started in the early 1990s with the introduction of the Inter City Express (ICE) into revenue service after first plans to modernize the rail system had been drawn up under the government of [[Willy Brandt]]. While the high speed network is not as dense as those of France or Spain, ICE or slightly slower (max. speed 200&nbsp;km/h) Intercity (IC) serve most major cities. Several extensions or upgrades to high speed lines are under construction or planned for the near future, some of them after decades of planning.

The fastest high-speed train operated by Deutsche Bahn, the [[InterCityExpress]] or ICE connects major German and neighbouring international centres such as [[Zürich]], [[Vienna]], [[Copenhagen]], [[Paris]], [[Amsterdam]] and [[Brussels]]. The rail network throughout Germany is extensive and provides services in most areas. On regular lines, at least one train every two hours will call even in the smallest of villages during the day. Nearly all larger metropolitan areas are served by [[S-Bahn]], [[Rapid transit in Germany#U-Bahn|U-Bahn]], [[Trams in Germany|Straßenbahn]] and/or bus networks.

The German government on 13 February 2018 announced plans to make public transportation free as a means to reduce road traffic and decrease air pollution to EU-mandated levels.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/14/german-cities-to-trial-free-public-transport-to-cut-pollution|title=German cities to trial free public transport to cut pollution|last=Oltermann|first=Philip|date=2018-02-14|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-02-15}}</ref> The new policy will be put to the test by the end of the year in the cities of [[Bonn]], [[Essen]], [[Herrenberg]], [[Reutlingen]] and [[Mannheim]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/morgen-europa/politico-morgen-europa-freie-offis-gegen-schlechte-luft-neues-zum-spitzenkandidatenprozess-in-eigener-sache/|title=POLITICO Morgen Europa: Freie Öffis gegen schlechte Luft — Neues zum Spitzenkandidatenprozess — In eigener Sache|date=2018-02-13|work=POLITICO|access-date=2018-02-15|language=en-US}}</ref> Issues remain concerning the costs of such a move as ticket sales for public transportation constitute a major source of income for cities.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/auto/aktuell/kostenloser-nahverkehr-so-teuer-wie-eine-elbphilharmonie-pro-jahr-a-1193400.html|title=Kostenloser Nahverkehr: Allein in Hamburg so teuer wie eine Elbphilharmonie pro Jahr|date=2018-02-14|work=Spiegel Online|access-date=2018-02-15}}</ref>{{update inline|date=November 2023}}

=== International freight trains ===
While Germany and most of [[Geographic contiguity|contiguous]] Europe use {{RailGauge|1435mm|allk=on}}, differences in signalling, rules and regulations, electrification voltages, etc. create obstacles for freight operations across borders. These obstacles are slowly being overcome, with international (in- and outgoing) and transit (through) traffic being responsible for a large part of the recent uptake in rail freight volume. EU regulations have done much to harmonize standards, making cross border operations easier. [[Maschen Marshalling Yard]] near Hamburg is the second biggest in the world and the biggest in Europe. It serves as a freight hub distributing goods from Scandinavia to southern Europe and from Central Europe to the port of Hamburg and overseas. Being a densely populated prosperous country in the center of Europe, there are many important transit routes through Germany. The [[Mannheim–Karlsruhe–Basel railway]] has undergone upgrades and refurbishments since the 1980s and will likely undergo further upgrades for decades to come as it is the main route from the North Sea Ports to northern Italy via the [[Gotthard Base Tunnel]].

=== S-Bahn ===
Almost all major metro areas of Germany have suburban rail systems called [[S-Bahn]]en (''Schnellbahnen''). These usually connect larger agglomerations to their suburbs and often other regional towns, although the [[Rhein-Ruhr S-Bahn]] connects several large cities. An S-Bahn calls at all intermediate stations and runs more frequently than other trains. In [[Berlin]] and [[Hamburg]] the S-Bahn has a [[U-Bahn]]-like service and uses a [[third rail]] whereas all other S-Bahn services rely on catenary power supply.

=== Rapid transit (U-Bahn) ===
[[File:Munich subway C-Zug.jpg|thumb|Train ([[MVG Class C]]) on the [[Munich U-Bahn]]]]
Relatively few cities have a full-fledged underground [[Rapid transit in Germany#U-Bahn|U-Bahn]] system; [[S-Bahn]] (suburban [[commuter railway]]) systems are far more common. In some cities the distinction between U-Bahn and S-Bahn systems is blurred; for instance, some S-Bahn systems run underground, have frequencies similar to U-Bahn, and form part of the same [[integrated transport network]]. A larger number of cities has upgraded their tramways to [[light rail]] standards. These systems are called [[Stadtbahn]] (not to be confused with S-Bahn).

Cities with [[Rapid transit in Germany#U-Bahn|U-Bahn]] systems are:
* [[Berlin]] ([[Berlin U-Bahn|U-Bahn]])
* [[Hamburg]] ([[Hamburg U-Bahn|U-Bahn]])
* [[Munich]] ([[Munich U-Bahn|U-Bahn]])
* [[Nuremberg]]/[[Fürth]] ([[Nuremberg U-Bahn|U-Bahn]])
[[File:Street car passengers as percent of total by German lander gradient map (2016) 2.gif|thumb|Street car passengers and tram systems by [[German Länder]]]]
With the exception of Hamburg, all of those aforementioned cities also have a tram system, often with new lines built to light rail standards. Berlin and Hamburg (as well as the then independent city of [[Schöneberg]] whose lone subway line is today's [[U4 (Berlin U-Bahn)|line 4 of the Berlin U-Bahn]]) began building their networks before World War I whereas Nuremberg and Munich - despite earlier attempts in the 1930s and 1940s - only opened their networks in the 1970s (in time for the [[1972 Summer Olympics]] in the case of Munich).

[[File:Logo Stadtbahn Stuttgart.svg|thumb|Logo of the [[Stadtbahn Stuttgart]]. The prominence of the U-Bahn-like "U" compared to the "Stadtbahn" term makes the confusion understandable.]]
Cities with ''Stadtbahn'' systems can be found in the article [[Trams in Germany]]. Locals sometimes confuse ''Stadtbahn'' and "proper" ''U-Bahn'' as the logo for the former sometimes employs a white U on a blue background similar to the logo of the latter (in most cases, however, the Stadtbahn-logo includes additions to that U-logo). Furthermore, Stadtbahn systems often include partially or wholly underground sections (especially in city centers) and in the case of [[Frankfurt U-Bahn]] what is properly a ''Stadtbahn'' is even officially called an U-Bahn. To some extent this confusion was deliberate at the time of the opening of the Stadtbahn networks, as it was seen at the time to be more desirable to have a "proper" U-Bahn system than a "mere" tram system and many cities which embarked on Stadtbahn building projects did so with the official goal of eventually converting the entire network to U-Bahn standards.

===Trams (Straßenbahn)===
{{See also|Trams in Germany}}

Germany was among the first countries to have electric streetcars, and Berlin has one of the longest tram networks in the world. Many West German cities abandoned their previous tram systems in the 1960s and 1970s while others upgraded them to "[[Stadtbahn]]" (~light rail) standard, often including underground sections. In the East, most cities retained or even expanded their tram systems and since reunification a trend towards new tram construction can be observed in most of the country. Today the only major German city without a tram or light rail system is Hamburg. [[Tram-train]] systems like the [[Karlsruhe model]] first came to prominence in Germany in the early 1990s and are implemented or discussed in several cities, providing coverage far into the rural areas surrounding cities. Trams exist in all but two of the [[states of Germany]] (Hamburg and Schleswig Holstein being the exception) and in 13 of the 16 state capitals ([[Wiesbaden]] being the capital outside the aforementioned states without a tram system). While there have been attempts to (re)-establish tram systems in many cities that formerly had them (for example [[Aachen]], [[Kiel]], [[Hamburg]]) as well as in some cities that never had them, but are comparatively close to a city that does (for example [[Erlangen]], [[Wolfsburg]]), only a handful of such proposals have come to fruition since World War II - the [[Saarbahn]] (trams defunct in 1965; Saarbahn established in 1997) in Saarbrücken, [[Heilbronn Stadtbahn]] (defunct in 1955, re-established as an extension of [[Stadtbahn Karlsruhe]] in 1998) and a few extensions across the border - the [[Strasbourg tramway]] to [[Kehl]] and the [[Trams in Basel]] to [[Weil am Rhein]].