Port, Industrial and Mineral Railways in

Germany

Stena Line train ferry at the port of Rostock

Industrial Railways

• ArcelorMittal Eisenhüttenstadt Transport railway serving the steelworks and various other local industries (Site in German)
• Ardagh Glass at Wahlstedt has a private rail network connecting with the national network at Fahrenkrug (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• Audi the plant at Ingolstadt has an extensive internal railway network (Website contains few details relating to railway)
• Augsburger Localbahn network of lines serving local industries around Augsburg (Site in German)
• Basalt AG has a small private rail network serving its quarry at Lüptitz. The quarry is connected to the national rail network by a 15km railway operated by DB Cargo as a long siding (Website contains no details relating to railway nor to quarry location)
• BASF has an extensive private rail network serving its facilities in Ludwigshafen (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• BEG 5km line connecting warehouse and distribution centre at Mussum with the national network at Bocholt. Also performs subcontract work for DB Cargo and HGK (Site in German)
• Benteler has a private railway 4km in length connecting its tube works at Paderborn with the national network (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• BMW has a private railway connecting its plant in Leipzig with the national network (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• Chemion serves the extensive internal railway networks of Chempark at its three sites in Dormagen, Krefeld-Uerdingen and Leverkusen, with connections to the national network (Site in German)
• Dillinger has a private railway (Cargo-Rail GmbH) serving its various works sites in Dillingen, with connection to the national network, and a 21km branch to the works of Meiser at Schmelz-Limbach (Websites contain no details relating to railway)
• Enercon owns the 17km track, formerly part of the national network, connecting its works at Aurich with the national network at Abelitz (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• Erfurter Bahnservice leases track from Opterra Zement Karsdorf, serving the cement works and the rail vehicle repair works of its own subsidiary Fahrzeugwerk Karsdorf (Site in German)
• Georgsmarienhütte GmbH has a private railway (GET Eisenbahn) 7.3km in length connecting its steel works with the national network at Hasbergen (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• Hörseltalbahn serving the Opel plant in Eisenach and connecting with the national network
• Holcim Zement has a private railway over 7km in length connecting its Lägerdorf plant with the national network at Itzehoe (Site in German)
• HVLE in addition to freight services on the national network, operates the following industrial railways:
  • Freight services on the 20km electrified Rübelandbahn linking potash works at Homberg with the national network at Blankenburg (Harz). The line also carries tourist trains
  • A 2km private railway linking its workshops at Johannestift with the national network at Berlin Spandau
  • An 8km line linking the Industriepark Walsrode at Bomlitz with the national network at Walsrode
  • A 5km line linking the K+S Sigmundshall fertilizer plant with the national network at Wunstorf
  • The Industriebahn Premnitz serving a number of industries in the Premnitz area
  • Serving the Rail & Logistik Center Wustermark intermodal freight facility
  • Serving the Bombardier facility at Hennigsdorf
  • Serving the Kompetenzzentrum für Bahntechnik facility at Kirchmöser
• IBB Stade network of lines serving local industries around Stade (Site in German)
• Ilmebahn 7km line serving industries in the area of Einbeck, connecting with the national network at Einbeck-Salzderhelden. Also carries passenger services operated by DB Regio (Site in German)
• InfraLeuna railway serving the refinery and petrochemical complex of Leuna Werke, south of Halle (Saale)
• IRLE Rolls has a private standard gauge railway connecting its two sites in Netphen-Deuz, with no connection to the national network (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• ITB several separate lines serving local industries around Brandenburg (Site in German)
• K+S Borth has a private railway connecting its salt mines in Borth with its processing plant and the national network at Millingen (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• K+S Werra has a private railway connecting its potash plant at Werra with the national network (Website contains no details relating to railways)
• KSW several local railways serving industries in and around Siegen (Site in German)
• Lammert + Reese has a 12km private railway connecting its gravel workings at Bodenweder with the national network at Emmerthal (Site in German)
• LEAG has an extensive network of lines totalling almost 400km of standard gauge line, most of which is electrified at 2400V DC, serving lignite mines and power plants to the south and east of Cottbus. There are connections with the national network at Spreewitz and Peitz Ost
• Leonhard Weiss has a short private line connecting its works at Göppingen with the national network (Site in German, contains no details relating to railway)
• MEG several separate industrial operations:
  • Böhlen: serving several industries in and around the Böhlen-Lippendorf Industrial Park
  • Rüdersdorf: serving Cemex Deutschland cement works and quarries
  • Schkopau: serving the works of Dow Olefinverbund and several other local industries, connecting with the national network at Buna Werke
  (Site in German)
• MEG Plettenberg serving its own logistics hub in Plettenberg (Site in German)
• MHI Gruppe has a 3.2km private railway (Groß-Bieberau-Reinheimer Eisenbahn) connecting its quarries at Groß Bieberau with the national network at Reinheim (Site in German, contains no details relating to railway)
• MIBRAG has an electrified standard gauge railway connecting concentration and loading points at its Profen opencast lignite mine with interchange points on the national network (Site in German, contains no details relating to railway)
• Norddeutsche Naturstein has its own standard gauge railway connecting quarries with its works at Flechtingen (Site in German, contains no details relating to railway)
• NME serving industries in south Berlin, connecting to the national network at Neukölln (Site in German)
• Opel the plant at Rüsselsheim has an extensive internal railway network (Website contains no details relating to railway). For the plant at Eisenach, see Hörseltalbahn above
• PCK has an extensive internal railway network at its refinery at Schwedt, with a private line linking with exchange sidings of the national network at Stendell (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• Railflex INFRA local railway serving industries around Monheim, connecting with the national network at Langenfeld (Rheinland) (Site in German)
• RbT Regiobahn Thüringen two lines:
  • Hohenebra (national network) to Ebeleben
  • Bad Salzungen (national network) to Unterbreizbach, with planned extension to Schengklengsfeld
  (Site in German)
• Rettenmeier has a 16km private railway connecting its Hirschberg (Saale) timber mills with the national network at Schönberg (Vogtland) (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• RSVG 15km local railway connecting industries in Niederkassel and Lülsdorf with the national network at Troisdorf West (Site in German)
• RWE has the following private railways:
  • a 22km standard gauge railway network (Hambachbahn) connecting its Hambach opencast lignite mine with power stations and processing plants in the area west of Köln. The railway is electrified at 6kV, 50Hz AC
  • a line connecting its power plant at Ibbenbüren-Laggenbeck with the national network at Ibbenbüren-Esch
  (Site contains no details relating to railways)
• Saar Rail services within the various Saarstahl plants, with over 160km of private railway, and transport between plants over the national network (Scroll down webpage to find detail of Saar Rail; not to be confused with Saarstahl Rail which is a producer of steel rail)
• Schwaiger Holzindustrie has a 7.5km dedicated railway connecting its sawmill at Hengersberg with the national network at Deggendorf Hafen (Website contains no details concerning railway)
• Solvay has a 2km, 900mm gauge railway connecting its works in Bernburg with nearby quarries (Site in German, contains no details relating to railway)
• Stahlwerk Thüringen has private railway connecting its works in Unterwellenborn with the national network at Könitz (Site in German, contains no details relating to railway)
• Starkenberger Baustoffwerke has a private railway connecting its sand quarries at Kanya with the national network at Ronneburg (Thüringen). Also rsponsible for the line from Ronneburg to the site of former uranium mines around Seelingstädt. Since the 1990s, the line has benn used intermittently in connection with rerhabilitation of the site (Site in German)
• Tesla has a 5km private railway connecting its Gigafactory at Grünheide with the national network. Passenger services for employees and visitors are operated by NEB (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• ThyssenKrupp Rasselstein has a private railway connecting its plant with the national network at Neuwied, near Koblenz (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• ThyssenKrupp Steel has an extensive network of railways serving its own plant in Duisburg as well as various local industries. There are several connections with the national network, the principal one being in Oberhausen (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• TME several separate lines serving local industries around Schwerin (Site in German)
• UEG railway serving local industries in the Niederau area north of Dresden, connecting with the national network (Site in German)
• Volkswagen has a 70km internal railway network at its facility in Wolfsburg, and a smaller rail operation in Emden (Website contains few details relating to railways)
• Vossloh has an internal railway network at its Rail Center in Bützow, and is also a licensed carrier on the national network (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• Warsteiner brewery has a 4km private railway connecting with WLE at Warstein (Brewery site contains no details of railway; WLE site in German)
• Yara fertilizer works at Poppendorf has its own locomotives for shunting at the plant; also owns the 7.5 km electrified single line connecting with the national network at Bentwisch, although trains on this section are normally hauled by national operators (Site in German, contains no details relating to railway)

Port Railways

The sea and river ports listed here have their own rail infrastructure serving the ports, as well as nearby industries in many instances. Most have their own rail operators, at least for internal shunting, although National Network operators may bring traffic to and from the ports.

• Aken rail operations within the port, also serving local industries (Site in German)
• Aschaffenburg
• Bamberg
• Berlin Westhafen
• Brake (Website contains few details relating to railway)
• Bramsche-Engter rail operations within the port (Site in German, contains few details relating to railway)
• Braunschweig (Site in German)
• Bremen and Bremerhaven
  • Bremenports extensive rail network serving ports and local industries
  • Hansebahn Bremen rail network serving the ArcelorMittal Bremen steelworks
• Brunsbüttel rail network serving the port and local industries (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• Cuxhaven (Website contains few details relating to railway)
• Dörenthe rail operations within the port (Site in German, contains few details relating to railway)
• Dorsten (Site in German)
• Duisburg
  • Duisport Rail rail operations in the port
  • Ziel Terminal shunting operations in the Ziel intermodal terminal, operated by Hector Rail (Hector Rail site in German, contains no specific details of Ziel operation)
• Düsseldorf rail operations in the various ports (Site in German)
• Emden (Website contains few details relating to railway)
• Emmelsum rail network serving the port and local industries (Website contains few details relating to railway)
• Essen (Site in German)
• Frankfurt am Main railway network in and connecting the Osthafen and Westhafen (Site in German)
• Gelsenkirchen (Site in German, contains few details relating to railway)
• Greifswald (Site in German, contains no details relating to railway)
• Halle rail operations in the Container Terminal Halle Saale (Site in German)
• Hamburg extensive network of railways in and around the port
• Hamm (Site in German, contains few details relating to railway)
• Hanau (Site in German)
• Hannover rail networks in the various ports and neighbouring industries:
  • Städtische Häfen the municipal ports of Nordhafen and Lindener Hafen (Site in German and English, English version contains no details relating to railway)
  • Hafen Hannover GmbH Brinker Hafen (Site in German, contains no details relating to railway)
  • Misburger Hafen GmbH (No website located at present)
• Hildesheim rail operations within the port (Site in German)
• Ibbenbüren-Uffeln rail operations within the port (Site in German, contains few details relating to railway)
• JadeWeserPort (Wilhelmshaven) rail operations within the port (Site in German, contains few details relating to railway)
• Kiel rail network within the various port areas, trains on the national network between the ports and to several local industries
• Koblenz rail network serving the port and local industries (Site in German)
• Köln rail operations in the port (Site in German)
• Krefeld (Site in German, contains few details relating to railway)
• Leer (Site in German)
• Lübeck
  • LHG rail infrastructure within the various ports (Website contains no details relating to railway)
  • Finnlines operator of the train ferry from Travemünde to Malmö, Sweden
• Lüneburg (Site mainly in German with some information in English, contains few details relating to railway)
• Lünen (Site in German)
• Magdeburg rail networks in the ports of Magdeburg and Schönebeck (Site in German)
• Mannheim (Website contains few details relating to railway)
• Nürnberg (Site in German, contains no details relating to railway)
• Osnabrück rail operations within the port (Site in German, contains few details relating to railway)
• Papenburg rail operations within the port (Website contains few details relating to railway)
• Passau rail operations within the port
• Recke rail operations within the port (Site in German, contains few details relating to railway)
• Regensburg rail operations within the port
• Riesa (Site in German and Czech, contains few details relating to railway)
• Roßlau (Site in German and Czech, contains few details relating to railway)
• Rostock
  • RFH rail operations within the port
  • Stena Line operator of the train ferry to Trelleborg, Sweden
• Sassnitz Mukran Port. The port is equipped in part with 1520mm gauge track to handle freight wagons arriving from Russia by ferry, but this service was suspended in 2019.
• Stralsund (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• Stuttgart (Site in German)
• Torgau (Site in German and Czech, contains no details relating to railway)
• Trier (Site in German)
• Wanne
• Weil am Rhein (Site in German, contains few details relating to railway)
• Wesel rail operations within the port (Website contains few details relating to railway)
• Vierow (Site in German, contains few details relating to railway)
• Wismar rail operations within the port
• Wittenberge
• Worms rail operations within the port (Site in German)
• Würzburg rail operations within the port (Site in German)

Test Track

• Siemens has a test and validation centre at Wegberg-Wildenrath with a number of high speed and conventional lines used for testing and proving by itself and other rail companies. It is connected to the national network by a spur from Kinkum

Funicular

• Geesthacht Pumped-storage Power Plant has a private funicular railway transporting staff and materials between the pumping station at river level and the higher level storage lake (Website contains no details relating to funicular)

Feldbahnen

Name given to small, light, narrow gauge railways constructed for various purposes in the countryside. Those listed here were used in conjunction with the peat extraction industry and were believed to be operational until recent years. For environmental reasons, that industry has almost completely ceased. Some of the railways are retained for land restoration purposes or for tourist or museum interest.

Known sites of peat extraction railways: Borstel, Edewechterdamm, Gnarrenburg, Groß Hesepe, Hatzte, Huvenhoopsmoor, Lichtenmoor, Lohne, Neustadt am Rübenberg, Ramsloh, Rühlermoor, Sauensiek, Schewegermoor, Sedelsberg, Teufelsmoor, Vechta, Warmsen, Wietingshausen

Construction Railways

• LKN.SH has two narrow gauge railways serving offshore islands in Schleswig-Holstein:
  • from Dagebüll: a 900mm gauge line to the islands of Oland and Langeneß
  • from Lüttmoor: a 600mm gauge line to the island of Nordstrandischmoor
  The railways are used for maintaining the causeways connecting the islands to the mainland, and also for local passenger and freight traffic using privately owned motorised vehicles known as Loren (Site in German, webpage contains no details relating to railways, but a small amount of information appears in a downloadable brochure)
• WSA Weser-Jade-Nordsee operates a 600mm gauge railway on the island of Minsener Oog for the construction and maintenance of coastal defences (Site in German, contains no details relating to railway)