- DB AutoZug
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DB AutoZug GmbH 
Industry Rail Headquarters Dortmund, Germany Revenue 202million Euro Employees ~354 (2007) Parent Deutsche Bahn AG Website www.dbautozug.de 
DB AutoZug terminal for 'SyltShuttle'
DB AutoZug GmbH is a rail transport company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG, based in Dortmund, which provides automobile (Motorail) and night passenger trains for Deutsche Bahn.
The night trains were operated with the sister company CityNightLine AG (headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland);[1] CityNightLine AG later merge with DB NachtZug
DB AutoZug GmbH and CityNightLine are subsidiaries of DB Fernverkehr AG[1] which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of DB Mobility Logistics AG.[1]
DB AutoZug GmbH is also responsible for the car transporter trains from Niebüll - Westerland, known as the SyltShuttle, as well as the Schifffahrt und Inselbahn Wangeroogeshipping (Island railway of Wangeroo).[1]
Contents
History
Background
The first car was transported by rail in Germany by the Deutsche Reichsbahn on 1 April 1930. At first only the rich and privileged could afford cars and the market was small.[2] In the 1950s, Britain and France started to run car transporter trains. In the Summer of 1956, the first true car train in Germany ran, via Hamburg, Munich and also Ostend; the drivers travelled in a passenger car, whilst their automobile was carried by the same train.[3] The German economic recovery in the 1960s brought an increase in travel and a corresponding increase in the number of cars transported, increasing eightfold to 80,000 by 1969, many holiday makers travelling to warmer more sunny parts of Europe.[4] The numbers of cars transported peaked in 1973, at 185,550 vehicles; the oil crisis put an end to this growth. In 1978, the Bundesbahn cut back by 40% its number of terminals due to a lack of demand.[5] The increase in car ownership in the 1980s did little to help the rail-car transporter business - changes in lifestyle meant that people often expected to drive their cars all the way to their holiday destination (which represented most of the car by rail business). Additionally, the seasonal nature of the business meant that buying new wagons was not profitable. In this decade the number of people flying over to a holiday overtook those travelling by rail. Also in this decade, the transport of caravans and boats also ceased.[6] After the merger of the Deutsche Bundesbahn and the Deutsche Reichsbahn - in 1996 a new company was formed : DB AutoZug.[7]
Company history and operations
Created in 1997 the DB brand AutoZug is responsible for the companies private car transportation business. In 1999 the night trains of the Deutsche Bahn including the with the brands UrlaubsExpress and DB NachtZug also came under the company's control.[8] From 2002, the organisation became DB AutoZug GmbH, and a company in its own right.
Since the 1st of January 2003, the Euro Night and D-night trains have also become the responsibility of DB AutoZug GmbH.
In December 2007 DB NachtZug and UrlaubsExpress were branded together under the new name CityNightLine. At the same time, the number of car-trains was reduced by around 1200 to approximately 920, and four of the nine terminals were closed.
2008 brought the procurement of new-car wagons to replace some of up to 40 years old.[9] 2007, the company transported 183,000 vehicles and generated with a turnover of 60 million euros.
For holiday travel by car, the market share of the company is less than 0.5 percent, 70% of the customers are regulars, a quarter are pensioners. Statistically, customers have an above average income.[10]
By the 2008 season, further changes in service were made: the terminal in Troisdorf Germany closed, and services to Livorno (Italy), Fréjus (France) and Rijeka (Croatia) no longer in operation, however in Alessandria (Italy) a new terminal came into operation.[11]
Other services
Night trains
Comprising the former UrlaubsExpress and DB NachtZug and the 'EuroNight' and 'D-Nacht' services.[12]
Wangerooge Island Railway
Main article: Wangerooge Island RailwayDB AutoZug GmbH is also the controlling company for the SyltShuttle and the railway on the North Sea island of Wangerooge.[13]
SyltShuttle
The SyltShuttle is a car transporting service to the Island of Sylt which is connected to the mainland by the Hindenburgdamm causeway, a man made construction carrying rail tracks but no road.[14]
DB Autozug terminals
Germany
As of 2009 there are seven car/rail terminals in Germany[15]
Location State Berlin-Wannsee Berlin Düsseldorf Nordrhein-Westfalen Hamburg-Altona Hamburg Hildesheim Niedersachsen Lörrach Baden-Württemberg München-Ost Bayern Neu-Isenburg Hessen Rest of Europe
As of 2009 the European terminals are:
Country Location France[16] Narbonne Avignon Italy[17] Alessandria Bozen Verona Trieste[18] Austria[19] Innsbruck Salzburg Villach Vienna
Service via OBB terminalSee also
References
- ^ a b c d "DB Autozug - Firmenprofil", www.db-autozug.de, archived from the original on 9 December 2008, http://web.archive.org/web/20081209050142/http://www.dbautozug.de/site/dbautozug/de/unternehmen/firmenprofil/firmenprofil.html
- ^ Die 30er und 40er Jahre, Mein Auto fährt Eisenbahn The 30s and 40s : "My Car by Rail" db-autozug.de
- ^ Die 50er Jahre, "Parkhäuser auf Schienen" The 50s, "Car parks on rail" db-autozug.de
- ^ Im Käfer zum Teutonengrill Überspringen In the beetle - to the 'Teutonic grill' db-autozug.de
- ^ 17 Jahre nach dem Neubeginn die erste Million the 1970s (1 million cars after 17 years) db-autozug.de
- ^ Stagnation statt Boom The 80s, Stagnation instead of Boom db-autozug.de
- ^ Das vereinigte deutsche Reisefieber und neue Zeit, neuer Name: DB AutoZug The united Germany travel fever, a new time and new name: DB AutoZug db-atouzug.de
- ^ Neuer Fahrplan: Ausgeschlafen, geneigt und schneller beim Sprint. In: mobil. Mai 1999, S. 10.
- ^ Deutsche Bahn streicht Angebot an Autozügen zusammen. In: Die Welt, 1. November 2007
- ^ DB Autozug hat viel mehr Potenzial als gedacht. In: DB Welt, Ausgabe September 2008, S. 7
- ^ Meldung Autozug-Angebot „gestrafft“. In: Eisenbahn-Revue International, Ausgabe Juli 2008, ISSN 1421-2811, S. 352
- ^ The DB AutoZug GmbH company citynightline.ch
- ^ Firmenprofil: Schifffahrt und Inselbahn Wangerooge Company Profile: Shipping and Island Railway Wangerooge siw-wangerooge.de
- ^ There is no road link to Sylt
- ^ DB Autozug terminals in Germany dbautozug.de
- ^ DB Autozug terminals in France plus traffic regulations and general tips dbaurozug.de
- ^ DB Autozug terminals in Italy plus traffic regulations and general tips dbautozug.de
- ^ Neues Autozug Terminal in Italien: Triest New car terminal in Italy: Trieste db-autozug.de
- ^ DB Autozug terminals in Austria plus traffic regulations and general tips dbautozug.de
Main sources
- Schifffahrt und Inselbahn Wangerooge Shipping and Railway of Wangerooge Island. DB company website. siw-wangerooge.de
- CityNightLine Company website citynightline.ch
- DB AutoZug Company website autozug.de
- DB AutoZug SyltShuttle Company website syltshuttle.de
External links
Deutsche Bahn Current departments (post 2007) 
Current business areas (post 2007) DB Dienstleistungen · DB Fernverkehr · DB Netze Energie · DB Netze Fahrweg · DB Netze Personenbahnhöfe · DB Netze Projektbau · DB Regio · DB Schenker Rail pre 2009 'Railion' · DB Schenker Logistics · DB Stadtverkehr · DB Station&ServiceServices Intercity-Express · Intercity · InterRegio (defunct) · Interregio-Express · Regional-Express · Regionalbahn · S-Bahn · DB City Night Line · DB AutoZug · Metropolitan (defunct)International Services EuroCity · ThalysFormer business areas (2000-07) United Kingdom History Related topics Rail transport in Germany · BahnTower · Bahn TV · BahnCard
Category · 
CommonsCategories:- Deutsche Bahn
- Rail freight transport in Germany
- Passenger rail transport in Germany
- Night trains
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