page_title: Deutsche Bundesbahn
section_title: 1949-1970
hierarchical_section_title: Deutsche Bundesbahn / 1949-1970
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Diesellokomotive der Baureihe V 200 der Deutsche Bundesbahn mit Personenzug im Würzburg Hauptbahnhof. English: Diesel locomotive V200 010 pulling passenger train at Würzburg Hauptbahnhof.
context_page_description: The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft. The DB remained the state railway of West Germany until after German reunification, when it was merged with the former East German Deutsche Reichsbahn to form Deutsche Bahn AG, which came into existence on 1 January 1994.
context_section_description: The immediate tasks in the early years after the end of World War II involved the reconstruction of the heavily damaged infrastructure and the replenishment of locomotives and rolling stock. Contrary to the Deutsche Reichsbahn in the GDR, the DB was not subject to reparations and benefited from the influx of capital through the Marshall Plan. During the early years, new steam engines were constructed and placed into service. The last new steam locomotive type was the Class 10, which entered service in 1957. Only two units of class 10 were built. In 1959 DB took the last steam locomotive delivery when the last of the class 23 locomotives was delivered. Soon, with increase in mass motorization, the railway started to lose passenger volume. As a result, rail buses were introduced on some lines, while other smaller volume lines were closed. Main lines became increasingly electrified. The later years of this epoch saw a decrease and eventual phasing out of steam engines, with the last one to cease regular service in 1977. Traction was provided increasingly by diesel and electric engines. With increased use of diesel and electric locomotives, progress was made in decreasing travel time for passengers. New types of passenger trains were introduced such as the Trans Europ Express and the InterCity.
  Transport of goods also had to compete with the ever-increasing competition from trucks. Furthermore, traditional services such as coal and iron ore shipments declined with the changes in the overall economy.
caption: V200 number 010 pulling passenger train in West Germany, c. 1961.
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