At the Berlin Trades (Industrial) Exhibition, Werner von Siemens showed a small electric railway using power collected from a conductor rail. The demonstration helped prove that electricity could move passenger trains without steam, setting the stage for later urban lines and mainline experiments in Germany.
Siemens & Halske opened the Gross Lichterfelde electric tramway near Berlin for regular public operation. This early line showed that electric traction could work reliably in everyday service, not just as a short exhibition test.
The Lokalbahn AG electrified part of the Isar Valley Railway for suburban service using 580 volts DC. While not the system later used on main lines, it showed how electrification could improve frequent city-region service by giving faster acceleration and cleaner operation than steam.
An experimental three-phase electric railcar reached 210.2 km/h in tests, exploring the limits of electric traction at very high speed. The technology used multiple overhead conductors and was not practical for wide use at the time, but it proved how much performance electric traction could deliver.
Hamburg’s urban and suburban railway introduced electric trains using overhead wires and single-phase AC power. This became the first electrified suburban railway network in Germany, demonstrating that electrification could be scaled to a busy multi-station commuter system.
Work started on the Muldenstein railway power station, built to supply traction power for planned mainline electrification in central Germany. Locating generation near lignite (brown coal) deposits supported a dedicated rail-power approach, which was important before modern grid connections were common for railways.
Electric operation began on the Dessau–Bitterfeld section as an early standard-gauge mainline test route using single-phase AC overhead electrification. This project helped establish technical choices—especially high voltage and low frequency—that later shaped much of Germany’s mainline electrification.
The Mittenwald Railway in the Alps was built as an electric local railway and opened in late 1912. It was among the early routes operated with high-voltage single-phase AC, showing that electrification could handle steep gradients and challenging mountain engineering.
After initial steam operation due to delays in power supply and locomotives, the Bavarian section of the Mittenwald route changed over to electric traction. This step mattered because it completed full electric operation across the cross-border line and helped confirm electric traction’s usefulness in Alpine service.
The Freilassing–Berchtesgaden railway was electrified as an early example of AC electrification used for demanding terrain and tourist traffic in the Bavarian Alps. It illustrated how electrification could improve performance on steep grades and support reliable regional service.
Electric operation was extended and put into service on the Bitterfeld–Leipzig section in June 1914. With the start of World War I in August 1914, the electric equipment was disconnected, showing how quickly technical progress could be interrupted by major political and military events.
After the wartime shutdown, electric operations in the central Germany test network were reinstated in 1922. Restarting service helped preserve accumulated technical experience and kept the 15 kV AC approach in active use during the interwar period.
Hamburg’s suburban railway began converting from its earlier AC overhead system to DC operation with a side-contact third rail. The change reflected a move toward equipment better suited to dense urban service (frequent stops and tight clearances), while mainline routes elsewhere continued to favor high-voltage AC overhead.
Railway electrification in Germany (1879–1930)