DB Netz () was a major subsidiary of that owned and operated a majority of the German railway system. It was one of the largest railway infrastructure managers by length (33,291 km as of 2019) and transport volume of its network.
On 1 January 2024, it merged with
DB Station&Service
DB Station&Service was a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, responsible for managing over 5,400 train stations on the German railway network.
On 1 January 2024, it merged with DB Netz to form DB InfraGO.DB InfraGO.
Overview
The company was established in the course of the second stage of the German rail reform as a subsidiary of . DB Netz was headquartered in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
and contained seven regional divisions ("Regionalbereiche", RB) and a central division. The locations of its regional headquarters were
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
(RB east), Frankfurt (RB central),
Duisburg
Duisburg (; , ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine (Lower Rhine) and the Ruhr (river), Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruh ...
(RB west),
Hanover
Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
(RB north),
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...
(RB southwest),
Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
(RB southeast) and
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
(RB south). DB Netz AG was profitable from route fees but received extensive public funding for maintaining, developing and extending the network of European and federal transportation routes.
Despite being an integral part of AG and one of its major subsidiaries, DB Netz AG had to grant non-discriminatory access to other rail service providers that are in competition to 's other major business units. Therefore DB Netz AG was overseen by the
Federal Network Agency
The Federal Network Agency ( or ) is the German regulatory office for electricity, gas, telecommunications, post and railway markets. It is a federal agency of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and headquartered in Bo ...
.
It was included in the division DB Netze when was reorganized into three major divisions covering passengers, logistics, and infrastructure. However its legal entity remained. On 1 January 2024, it then merged with
Deutsche Bahn
(, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG).
DB was fou ...