State-owned Deutshe Bahn dominates Germany's 41,000km railway network, accounting for about 80% of the total freight traffic and 99% of the long-distance passenger traffic.
More than 150 private railway companies apart from Deutshe Bahn operate on the network, providing regional passenger and freight services. The S-Bahn serves major suburban areas, while the Hamburg Cologne Express (HKX) is the major long-distance passenger operator after Deutshe Bahn.
The German railway network had more than 1,300km of high-speed railway track operational as of mid-2013 and more than 400km of new high-speed line under construction. Deutshe Bahn opened high-speed services, under the name InterCity Express (ICE), for the first time in 1991. The high-speed network, operated at speeds up to 320km/h, now connects major German cities and neighbouring countries such as France, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Austria.