Private company
German Railway Operating Company
Transport company based in Hamelin1
The German Railway Operating Company (German: Deutsche Eisenbahn-Betriebs-Gesellschaft) or DEBG was a public limited company (Aktiengesellschaft) that was founded on 15 November 1898 in Berlin. It was founded by the Vering & Waechter railway construction and operating company, the firm of Doertenbach & Co and the Central German Credit Bank (Mitteldeutsche Creditbank).2 It ceased to exist in 1970.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0
Last updated Oct 21, 2026.
Overview
- Industrypassenger rail transport, interurban (NACE 49.1), rail freight transport, rail transport1
- HeadquartersBerlin1
- Legal formAktiengesellschaft1
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The German Railway Operating Company (German: Deutsche Eisenbahn-Betriebs-Gesellschaft) or DEBG was a public limited company (Aktiengesellschaft) that was founded on 15 November 1898 in Berlin. It was founded by the Vering & Waechter railway construction and operating company, the firm of Doertenbach & Co and the Central German Credit Bank (Mitteldeutsche Creditbank).2
Corporate structure
German Railway Operating Company sits at the top of its group. 2 entities, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.
- German Railway Operating Company Berlin
- Vorwohle-Emmerthaler Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft Subsidiary · Germany
Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.
Subsidiaries and ownership
Subsidiaries
- Vorwohle-Emmerthaler Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft
From Wikidata.1
Acquisitions
The DEBG immediately took over from Vering & Waechter the running powers for twelve branch lines with a total length of 184 km. These included seven railways of foreign owners in all parts of the German Reich, however these were given up again in the years that followed. One of them was the narrow gauge Gernrode-Harzgerode Railway in the Harz mountains. The remaining five were transferred to the DEBG in 1898/99; four of them were in the Grand Duchy of Baden.
After the turn of the century the centre of gravity for the business was now clearly in the southwestern part of the Empire. The DEBG built another four railways in Baden and three in Alsace-Lorraine, the latter being lost again in 1919/20 after the First World War.
The loss of the lines in Alsace-Lorraine was balanced out by the procurement of five railways from the Badischen Lokal-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (BLEAG) on 22 December 1931. This expansion added 131 km of line and resulted in the DEBG achieving its highest network length of 264.5 km excluding the 32 km of the VEE.
At the start of the Second World War the following branch lines in Baden belonged to the DEBG:
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Acher Valley Railway
Alb Valley Railway
Katzbach Railway
Kraich Valley Railway
Bühler Valley Railway
Harmersbach Valley Railway
Jagst Valley Railway
Kander Valley Railway
Münster Valley Railway
Neckarbischofsheim–Hüffenhardt railway
Oberschefflenz-Billigheim railway
Orschweier-Ettenheimmünster railway
Wiesloch–Meckesheim/Waldangelloch railway
In the north of Germany the DEBG only owned the Voldagsen-Duingen-Delligsen railway which ran through the Prussian provinces of Hanover and the neighbouring state of Brunswick. There in the Weser Uplands it also ran the Vorwohle-Emmerthal Railway Company, in which it had acquired a majority shareholding. The VEE owned the main workshop for all DEBG railways in Bodenwerder-Linse; it was also responsible for the Baden railways.
From Wikipedia’s article on German Railway Operating Company, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3
Timeline
Links
- WikipediaGerman Railway Operating Company
- WikidataQ1202329
Sources
The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.
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