The Berliner Elektrische Straßenbahnen Aktien-Gesellschaft ; abbreviated as BESTAG, was an electric tram operator in Berlin, active from 1899 to 1920. It evolved from the electric tramways initially operated by Siemens & Halske, earning the colloquial nickname "Siemensbahn" among Berliners. In 1895, Siemens & Halske launched Berlin's first electric tram line, connecting Gesundbrunnen to Pankow. A second line opened in 1896, linking Friedrichstadt to the Great Industrial Exposition of Berlin grounds in Treptower Park. By 1916, additional routes extended to Französisch Buchholz and Rosenthal, with the Pankow and Treptow networks connected via the Lindentunnel. In 1919, Berlin, which held the majority of BESTAG's shares, converted the company into a municipally owned corporation. In December 1920, BESTAG merged with the and the Städtische Straßenbahnen (SSB) to form the Berlin tramway. The tram lines from Pankow to Buchholz and Rosenthal remain part of Berlin's tram network, while other BESTAG routes have been decommissioned.
History Beginnings
In the early 1890s, the Pankow rural community, linked to Berlin since 1874 by a horse-drawn tram operated by the Große Berliner Pferde-Eisenbahn (later GBS), expressed interest in a horse-drawn tram connection to Gesundbrunnen. Siemens & Halske proposed an electric tram instead. In April 1893, a contract was signed. After initial hesitation, Berlin approved the construction in May 1894. Resistance to overhead lines persisted in Berlin, with the police president's approval for their installation granted on March 19, 1895, valid for 50 years. On September 10, 1895, Berlin's first electric tram line opened, running 3.35 kilometers from the Prinzenallee and intersection to Pankow, with 900 meters within Berlin's boundaries. The mostly double-track route passed through Prinzenallee, Wollankstraße, Breite Straße, and Damerowstraße to the Mendelstraße corner. Due to narrow streets, the return trip from Breite Straße used Spandauer Straße (now Wilhelm-Kuhr-Straße) and Kreuzstraße to Wollankstraße. Trams ran every ten minutes, with fare boxes used on weekdays and conductors collecting fares on Sundays. Power was drawn from overhead lines via a bow collector, a technology developed by Siemens engineer in 1887. In contrast, GBS used roller pantographs for its electrified network.
A second line, independent of the Pankow route, was built for the 1896 Berlin Trade Exhibition in Treptower Park, with a concession granted on April 23, 1896. The first section opened a week earlier, running from Görlitzer Bahnhof via Wiener Straße, Wiener Brücke, Lohmühlenstraße, Am Schlesischen Busch, Köpenicker Landstraße (now Treptower Park), and Bulgarische Straße to Neue Krugallee in Treptow. The planned route via Ritterstraße and Reichenberger Straße was abandoned due to GBS's electrification plans there. A month later, the line extended via Grünauer Straße (now Ohlauer Straße), Kottbusser Ufer (now Paul-Lincke-Ufer), Britzer Straße (now Kohlfurter Straße), Wassertorplatz, Wassertorstraße, and Alexandrinenstraße to Hollmannstraße (no longer extant). The final section to Behrenstraße required an underground power rail for aesthetic reasons. This extension opened in two stages: on July 13, 1896, from Hollmannstraße via Lindenstraße, Markgrafenstraße, and Schützenstraße to Mauerstraße at Leipziger Straße, and on October 3, 1896, along Mauerstraße and Behrenstraße to Wilhelmstraße. Trams initially ran every six minutes, every three minutes on Sundays, later adjusted to five minutes from Behrenstraße to Görlitzer Bahnhof and 15 minutes to Treptow.
+ Tram Lines in 1900 Route Frequency Length (km) Pankow, Damerowstraße/Mendelstraße – Pankow, Kirche – Mittelstraße/Friedrichstraße 10 min 6.2 Pankow, Kirche – Mittelstraße/Friedrichstraße 10 min 5.4 Behrenstraße/Wilhelmstraße – Görlitzer Bahnhof – Wiener Brücke – Treptow, Rathaus 10 min 9.3 Behrenstraße/Wilhelmstraße – Görlitzer Bahnhof – Wiener Brücke 10 min 6.0
To improve the Pankow line's profitability, Siemens & Halske sought an extension to Berlin's city center. A concession for a route to Mittelstraße at Friedrichstraße was granted on April 12, 1898. As major roads were already served by GBS, the route wound through side streets to Dorotheenstadt, passing via Bellermannstraße, Grüntaler Straße, Badstraße, Hochstraße, Wiesenstraße, Hussitenstraße, Feldstraße, Gartenstraße, Elsässer Straße (now Torstraße), Artilleriestraße (now Tucholskystraße), Ebertbrücke, Prinz-Friedrich-Karl-Straße (now Geschwister-Scholl-Straße), Georgenstraße, Prinz-Louis-Ferdinand-Straße (now Planckstraße), and Charlottenstraße. The extension opened in three phases: to Gartenstraße/Elsässer Straße on May 20, 1899; to Georgenstraße/Prinz-Louis-Ferdinand-Straße on October 21, 1899; and to Mittelstraße/Friedrichstraße on December 16, 1899. A short section to Prinzenallee was served by a second line until March 22, 1902, then by a shuttle tram.
Formation of BESTAG and network expansion The Berliner Elektrische Straßenbahnen AG was established on July 1, 1899, taking over both lines on July 31, 1899, with the concession transfer finalized on June 20, 1900. The transfer of existing lines was backdated to July 1, 1899, with new lines to be owned by BESTAG upon opening. Siemens & Halske managed operations until 1911.
In April 1900, tram frequency between Behrenstraße and Wiener Brücke, and Mittelstraße and Pankow Kirche, increased to five minutes, with ten-minute intervals for trams to Treptow Rathaus or Damerowstraße. Between 1902 and 1905, the Görlitzer Bahnhof to Treptow frequency was occasionally reduced to 20 minutes.
In 1901, Berlin acquired most of BESTAG's six-million-mark share capital, becoming the sole owner by 1903, effectively making BESTAG a municipal tram operator. This prevented a takeover by GBS, which could have strengthened its dominance. That year, the Behrenstraße to Hollmannstraße section switched to overhead power.
From 1905, both networks expanded. On May 8, 1905, a line from Pankow via Schönholzer Straße and Lindenstraße (now Grabbeallee) to Bismarckplatz (now Pastor-Niemöller-Platz) in Niederschönhausen opened. Trams previously terminating at Pankow Kirche now used this route. Two days later, a branch from Bismarckplatz to Kaiserweg (now Friedrich-Engels-Straße) at Platanenweg opened, served every 20 minutes by alternate trams.
On March 15, 1906, the Behrenstraße terminus was relocated to Mauerstraße, with trams turning via a loop through Kanonierstraße (now Glinkastraße) and Behrenstraße.
On July 22, 1907, BESTAG agreed to take over Französisch Buchholz's municipal horse-drawn tram, including electrifying the 3.3-kilometer line and building a connecting track along Damerowstraße to Pankow-Heinersdorf station. This was completed on December 19, 1907. The new line ran every 35 minutes from Badstraße/Prinzenallee to Französisch Buchholz Kirche, taking 29 minutes, replacing the Prinzenallee shuttle. On February 15, 1911, it extended to Mittelstraße with a 20-minute frequency, and the Bellermannstraße section was closed.
The Treptow line was rerouted on September 1, 1911, between Wiener Brücke and Köpenicker Landstraße, using Graetzstraße (now Karl-Kunger-Straße) and Bouchéstraße, abandoning Lohmühlenstraße and Am Schlesischen Busch. A turning loop was added in Graetzstraße for trams from Görlitzer Bahnhof.
On June 23, 1914, the Niederschönhausen branch extended single-track from Platanenweg via Wittenauer Straße (now Friedrich-Engels-Straße) and Lübarser Weg (now Quickborner Straße) to Rosenthal station on the Heidekrautbahn. Trams from Platanenweg ran to Rosenthal every 20 minutes, while the Bismarckplatz line operated to Platanenweg only during peak hours. In 1915, a siding to Rosenthal's estate was built for potato transport to Berlin, dismantled in 1917.
In its first 5.5-month operating year, BESTAG recorded a profit of 97,001 marks (approximately EUR in 2025).Calculated using the Template:Inflation, rounded to the nearest 1,000 EUR, as of January 2025. Even during the World War I in 1918, it achieved a surplus of 474,384 marks (about EUR).
Network connection and dissolution + Tram Lines in 1916 Route Frequency Length (km) Buchholz, Kirche – Buchholz, Blankenburger Weiche – Pankow, Damerowstraße/Mendelstraße – Pankow, Kirche – Lindentunnel – Görlitzer Bahnhof – Wiener Brücke – Treptow, Graetzstraße 20 min 19.6 (Buchholz, Blankenburger Weiche –) Pankow, Damerowstraße/Mendelstraße – Pankow, Kirche – Lindentunnel – Görlitzer Bahnhof – Wiener Brücke – Treptow, Graetzstraße 20 min 17.6 Rosenthal – Niederschönhausen, Platanenstraße – Niederschönhausen, Bismarckplatz – Mittelstraße/Friedrichstraße 20 min 11.9 (Niederschönhausen, Platanenstraße –) Niederschönhausen, Bismarckplatz – Mittelstraße/Friedrichstraße 20 min 9.5 Behrenstraße – Görlitzer Bahnhof – Wiener Brücke – Treptow, Rathaus 10 min 9.9
Despite the proximity of the inner-city termini, connecting the networks was challenging. The Unter den Linden boulevard, controlled by the German emperor and Prussian king, required a suitable crossing. A surface crossing at the Städtische Opernhaus, electrified in 1894, prohibited overhead lines. Accumulator and underground power systems proved inadequate, leading GBS to install a single overhead wire in 1907. Further crossings or tunnels were rejected, so Berlin planned a four-track Lindentunnel to serve BESTAG, GBS, and SSB lines. Construction, interrupted by World War I, ran from mid-1914 to December 1916. The western tunnel section, opened on December 17, 1916, linked BESTAG's networks. Lines from Buchholz or Damerowstraße were rerouted via Universitätsstraße and Dorotheenstraße through the tunnel to Behrenstraße, then Markgrafenstraße to Graetzstraße, discontinuing the Behrenstraße–Graetzstraße line.
Plans for new lines from Treptow and Neukölln to Johannisthal, with tracks laid in Plesser Straße and Neuköllnische Brücke, were halted by the war.
On September 20, 1919, BESTAG was removed from the commercial register and became a municipal entity, as did GBS. This paved the way for their merger with SSB into the Berliner Straßenbahn on December 13, 1920.
Further development after 1920
In spring 1921, the former BESTAG lines were assigned numbers, with the lines terminating in Buchholz and at Damerowstraße merged into a single route: Line 16: Behrenstraße – Treptow, Town Hall Line 116: Buchholz, Church – Pankow, Damerowstraße – Treptow, Graetzstraße Line 30: Mittelstraße – Niederschönhausen, Bismarckplatz Line 130: Mittelstraße – Rosenthal
In the same year and the following one, the tracks and vehicles were converted for operation with trolley poles. However, the escalating inflation increasingly hampered BSt operations, leading to the shortening or discontinuation of several lines in 1923. By September 9, 1923, known as the "tramless day," most former BESTAG routes ceased regular service. This primarily affected tracks laid in side streets for concession reasons. Specifically, this included the section from Bellermannstraße to Prinz-Louis-Ferdinand-Straße (except Hussitenstraße), the western tunnel section of the Linden Tunnel including the connecting tracks in Behrenstraße and Markgrafenstraße, the Mauerstraße loop, the section from Hollmannstraße to Kottbusser Brücke, a short section in Grünauer Straße, and the remaining section from Wiener Brücke to Treptow. Tracks in Wassertorstraße, the Mauerstraße loop, and the connection from Gartenstraße to Prinz-Louis-Ferdinand-Straße were soon reactivated, but the other sections remained unused and were dismantled by the early 1930s. In Treptow, the Bouchéstraße track was abandoned, with a remnant used as a turning loop; trains instead used existing tracks in Plesser Straße and a route built by the former Southern Berlin suburban railway in Elsenstraße to Köpenicker Landstraße.