First autonomous vehicle on public roads

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    Deutsche Bahn moves Germany. Every day.

    One railway. Reliable. For everyone.

    Infrastructure

    We operate a 33,400 kilometre-long network with 5,400 stations, which are used by 450 railway companies and 50,000 trains every day.

    Passenger transport

    Every day, more than five million people travel with Deutsche Bahn - in ICE and Intercity trains, in regional express trains or in regional and suburban trains.

    Logistics

    DB Cargo replaces around 80,000 lorry journeys across Europe each day, offering a climate-friendly alternative.

    The immediate action programmes for a better railway.

    More efficient, more reliable and determined to permanently and noticeably improve quality for passengers.

    The modernisation of the infrastructure takes time. We are implementing three immediate action programmes so that customers can see that things are improving at DB: for improved cleanliness and security at our stations. For greater comfort on long-distance services. For a better customer information. For these three programmes, we are investing a total of more than 140 million euros in DB in 2026 alone.  

    Even cleaner trains and ever more reliable service in our dining cars make train journeys even more comfortable and attractive. 

    Increased presence of security staff, additional cleaning and quick repairs at railway stations ensure that people enjoy their stay and get to their trains in comfort.  

    In future, DB will provide customers with even better information before and during their journey - both on the train, at the station and in digital information channels. 
    Low-noise and environmentally friendly electric bus in Bad Birnbach

    DB began operating Germany's first autonomous bus line on public roads in 2017. The ioki-branded bus is in service in Bad Birnbach, a spa town in Bavaria. What drivers and pedestrians see is a small electric bus that is not only quiet and environmentally friendly; it is also has no driver, steering wheel or gas pedal. All the bus needs is an attendant on board who can intervene if necessary. The vehicle travels through the spa town on since October 2019 to the train station.

    In Bavarian spa Bad Birnbach, passengers can now board the autonomous bus directly from the train.
    In Bavarian spa Bad Birnbach, passengers can now board the autonomous bus directly from the train for the first time and drive comfortably to their destination.

    A pilot project was conducted in cooperation with Berliner Verkehrsbetrieben (BVG), Berlin's transit authority, to test a self-driving vehicle. The individual on-demand service was the first that passengers could call using an app, It operated without a set timetable. The latest-generation public service vehicle from EasyMile, which uses inductive charging to "fuel up," was in use at the EUREF Campus in Berlin's Schöneberg district through 2018. Plans call for test operations to be expanded to public roads at a later date. The objective of flexible on-demand services like these that use autonomous vehicles is to offer door-to-door mobility in combination with trains and buses. The result will be public transportation that is much more appealing.

    BVG and DB have teamed up on Berlin's autonomous ioki bus
    BVG and DB have teamed up on Berlin's autonomous ioki bus