Suspension railways (Schwebebahn) are present in two cities, Dresden and Wuppertal, in addition to the H-Bahn at Düsseldorf Airport and Dortmund University.

[1] Deutsche Bahn (DB), a state-owned private company, is the main provider of railway service.

In 2018, public sector funding accounted for 25.6% of the cost of short-distance passenger transport including all rail and bus services.

[11] The European Union Commission issued a TSI (Technical Specifications for Interoperability) on 30 May 2002, (2002/735/EC) that sets out standard platform heights for passenger steps on high-speed rail.

'Holiday Express'), national night trains to the Alps and the Baltic Sea during vacation times, were abolished in 2007.

Veolia Verkehr (Now merged into Transdev) offered services on certain former InterRegio routes (Harz-Berlin-Express, Ostseeland Express) until 2014.

Regional and local rail traffic is organised and funded (as the fares usually do not cover the running costs) by the federal states.

The respective states are free to announce short- or long-term contracts as well as to stipulate further conditions such as on rolling stock.

In recent years, many bids have been won by private rail companies like NordWestBahn or Netinera, although some states have awarded long-term contracts to local DB Regio subsidiaries.

There are also train ferries (carrying only goods wagons) between Rostock and Trelleborg (Sweden) across the Baltic Sea.

The table includes operational cross-border services,[needs update] most of which run either as EuroCity (EC), EuroCity-Express (ECE), InterCity (IC), Intercity-Express (ICE) or Regionalexpress (RE).

A wagonway operation was illustrated in Germany in 1556 by Georgius Agricola (image right) in his work De re metallica.

Modern German rail history officially began with the opening of the steam-hauled Bavarian Ludwig Railway between Nuremberg and Fürth on 7 December 1835.

During the Second World War, austere versions of the standard locomotives were produced to speed up construction times and minimise the use of imported materials.

Train frequency rapidly increased on the existing East/West corridors; closed links which had formerly crossed the border were re-opened.

Administrative and organisational problems led to the decision to completely re-organise and reconnect Germany's railways.

The German railways were long protected from competition from intercity buses on journeys over 50 km (31 mi).