German Transportation

Because Germany is located directly in the middle of the European Union, German transportation has become incredibly important to getting goods and people across the continent. Germany’s extensive system of roads, railways, and air and water transport are all supported and regulated by the German government. Germans were pioneers of high-speed, high-volume transportation, and their tradition of excellence in this regard continues today. These avenues of German transportation have been extremely well maintained, and have updated and evolved to adjust the increasing volume of traffic.

One of the reasons that German transportation is so well known is that the Germans have brought the world many of its transportation firsts. Karl Benz designed and constructed the world’s first automobile in Germany in 1885, and later, Germans built the world’s first freeway, or Autobahn. Then, they were known as Reichsautobannen, or Freeways of the Reich. The Autobahnnen are world famous for their lack of blanket speed limits, and for being one of the most dense roadway systems in all of Europe. In recent decades, the German government has had some difficulty with bringing the road system in East Germany up to date, as well as with maintaining the country’s extensive highways. Since Germany has been acceded by the European Union, however, this has become less of a problem.

German transportation by road is also served by a number of national and state roads that are maintained by the federal and state governments, respectively. Federal roads are known as Bundesstraßen, and are usually designated by the letter B followed by a number. These numbers are odd if the road in question runs east-west, even if it runs north-south. Lower numbers designate more important routes. The state roads, or Staatsstraße, are similarly designated, but numbers may be reused in other states. Smaller roads, Landesstraße, or “country roads,” as well as district roads and minor roads, are controlled by the states, cites and towns.

Many other methods of German transportation exist to get German people and goods where they need to be. German rail, for instance, is a popular method of conveyance for commuters and freight alike. The largest rail company by far is Deutsche Bahn, which was originally headquartered in Frankfurt, but is currently planning to move to Berlin. Although DB is technically a privately owned company, the German government holds all shares of the stock. DB owns, through its subsidiaries, more than 3,000 km of railway lines.

Much of German transportation also focuses on waterways and air travel. Many large rivers, including the Rhine and the Elbe, traverse the German countryside, and there are many seaports in towns along this route. There are major ports in Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Cologne, Dresden, Hamburg, Kiel, Oldenburg, Rostock, and Stuttgart. Air travel is also important in Germany, and the country has two international airports, one in FrankAir travel is also important in Germany, and the country has two international airports, one in Frankfurt. Although it is uncommon for Germans to travel within Germany using this method, thanks in large part to the excellent road system, as air fare gets cheaper, many Germans have taken up domestic flying.