RAILROAD ACTIVITIES IN EAST GERMANY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A006000110003-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 30, 2010
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: March 17, 1955
• Content Type: REPORT

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COUNTRY
SUBJECT
PLACE
ACQUIRED
DATE OF
INFO.
CLASSIFICATION
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT
INFORMATION REPORT CD NO.
i s t :ae r' w ny
H,-dlroed activities in East Germany
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE
OF THE UNITED STATES, WITHIN THE MEANING OF TITLE 18, SECTIONS 799
AND 794, OF THE U. S. CODE, AS AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR REVEL-
ATION OF ITS CONTENTS TO OR RECEIPT BY AN UNAUTHORIZED PERSON
IS PROHIBITED BY LAW THE REPRODUCTION OF THIS FORM IS PROHIBITED.
DATE DISTR. 17 March 1955
NO. OF PAGES 4
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMAT'^A'
50X1-HUM
1. Cb s in the boundaries of RJDs were scheduled to go into effect on 3 Jarsa ry
1955. On 28 December 1954, a conference of the presidents of RBD Cottbus and
RBD Dresden was held. At this conference, the new boundaries between the two
RBDs were fixed. Another conference was scheduled to be held with the president
of RBD Berlin. After 3 January 1955, the boundaries of RBD Cottbus will be as
follows:
Koenigswusterhausen (exclusive) - Beeskow (exclusive) - Grunow (inclusive) -
Frankfurt/Oder (exclusive) - Neuzelle - Guben - Forst - Muskau - Steinbach
(Niesky district) - Goerlitz - Zittau - Health Resort Oybin - Health Resort
Jonsdorf - Grossschoenau - Seifhennersdorf - Ebersbach - Neustadt/Saxony (exclusive;
- Arnsdorf near Dresden (exclusive) - Kleinroehrsdorf - Weixdorf - Grossen-
hain (exclusive) - Elsterwerda - Falkenberg (exclusive) - Dahme/Mark -
Wuensdorf (exclusive).
RBD Cottbus took over:
from RBD Dresden: the entire Bautzen district including Goerlitz, Zittau
and Bischofswerda as far as Arnsdorf, which was
excluded;
from RBD Berlin: the Brand - Koenigswusterhausen (exclusive) and the
WNeichensdorf - Frankfurt/Oder (exclusive) railroad
lines;
Grossenhain rpa ilroad station wa:; turned over the RBD Dresden.
Operational control of the lines involved was to be taken over after 3 January
1955 and this process was to be completed by 31 March 1955. At the conference
held between representatives of RBDs Cottbus and Dresden on 28 December 1954,
it was mentioned that the revision of RBD districts had political significance
also, because one of the effects of this revision was that all areas with
Sorbian population were now under the control of one RBD. The boundaries of
the other RBDs will also be revised. Detailed information on the changes were
not available. 1
2. In connection with the changes in the boundaries of RBDs, the organizational
setup of RBD headquarters will also be modified. Operational servioes will
henceforth cover: 50X1-HUM
CLASSWICAT
STATE X xAW Jx
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a. Operations and traffic;
b. Maintenance and administration of locomotives and machinery;
C, Maintenance and administration of rolling stock.
All the construction work will remain under the control of a special
Construction Department.
The so-called cQuerschnitt-Abteilungen, i.e. departments serving the entire
railroad administration such as the Personnel and Planning Departments
will be merged with the newly formed departments. 2
The idea of revising the existing railroad boundaries originated with Kramer
? at a time when he still was deputy railroad minister. Roman Chwalek opposed
this reorganization, a point which may have contributed to his downfall.
Kramer's plans were approved by the SED Central Committee. The order related
to the revision of RBD boundaries has so far been only tansmittedStohtharbeiter"
presidents of the various RBDs. On 3 January 1955, r
of the East German Railroad Administration made inquiries over the telephone
at RBD headquarters concerning the new RBD boundaries. With regard to
operations, the new RBD boundaries were ordered to become effective at 2200
on 2 January 1955. Some RBDs pointed oiit that the change-ever to the new
boundaries could not go into effect without advance notice, but all
protests were rejected by Railroad Minister Kramer. It is believed that a
transitional period of at least three months will be required to make the of.
new system fully effective. At present, there appears to be a great
confusion due to the unexpected introduction of the nevi RBD boundaries.
4. Former Railroad Minister Roman Chwalek has become manager of the Greater
Berlin Konsum-Zentrale (Central Administration of Cooperative Shops at UM
Berlin-Lichtenberg. 3
5. In the pre-Christmas days, the railroad coal situation became so critical
that in some cases coal to be used for locomotives had to be trucked from
one railroad supply point to another. The critical coal situation was partly
caused by the interruption of hard coal imports from Poland.
6. The following information was excerpted from the monthly report of the
Main Administration for Locomotives and Machinery, dated 14 December 1954:
a. In November 1954, locomotives consumed a total of 146,521 tons of raw
brown coal or 20.6 percent of all the fuel. consumed by locomotives. 5
b. In November 1954, an average of 14 major train delays per day were caused
1
by engine troubles and 22 major delays were caused by lack of steam.
Mechanical troubles mainly due to excessive wear and tear were or50x1-HUM
6
+rp Game level as in October.
volume of freight traffic
1 859 3 50X1-HUM 2
Be,.-lin 378 8 7
2
Greifswaid 410 404 361 -
n 1
Schweian 436 435 396 7 3 2
2 L
T,Zagdeburg 1,051 1,009 1,005 6 9
1,586 1,411 16
Valle 1,550
1,226 1,071 8 11 7
Erfurt 1,154
Dresden 2,027 2,135 1,875 7
836 811 3 3 S
Cottbus 840
GDR 8,346 8,502 7,789 46 35 39 7
Tdumber of Freight Trains operating
25 Decem; 28 Decem- 2 Janu-
ber 1954 her 1954 ary 1955
Number of Major Train Delays
25 Decem- 28 Decem- 2 Janu-
ber 1954 ber 1954 ary 19`$
C I CRET
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2 and 3 of the t'erfuegungen and Mitteilungen des Ministeriu
Issues No 1, .50X1-HUM
N
fuer Vekehrswesen, Teil Deutsche Reichsbahn" (Railroad B'avelyoind8cate the
December 1954, 16 December 1954,and 23 December 1954, ePecti
following:
a. Technical Schools in Operation in 1955
School with trainsr_g courses for railroadeop operations and at Altenburg,
e
the technical service at Blankenburg,/Hart
locomotive engineers at Halle, Magdeburg,
Zittau, Rangsdorf and Guestrow
It the dispatcher service at Eisenach
It the organization of traffic at Finsterwalde
it " management, planning and finances at Greifswalc
it it the handling of personnel questions at
Luetzow and Berlin-Lichtenberg
Failroad schools were also available at Prerow and JJittenberge.
b. Type of Coal to be Used by Locomotives: coal
n
b
(3
row
Interzonal trains: hard coal and one box of raw
Express trains and fast trains: hard coal and brown coal briquettes
mixed at a ratio of 1 : 1 or hard coal and raw brown coal mixed at a
a c
Freight trains and smpty freight trains composed of gondo
mixed at a ratio of 1 ], or brown:
hard coal and raw brown coal
and raw brown coal mixed at ratios raring from
coal briquettes
q : 1 to 3 I.
ratio of 3 : 1
Passenger trains, sho~ri -distance freight
trains: brown coal q
ranging from 4 : 1 to 2 : 1, or hard, coal and raw brown coal mixed
at ratios of 1 : 1 to 1 : 2
ars:
l
c. Chan es in RBD Boundaries:
RBD Schwerin railroad lires
The Muled w Neust-relitz Mierow
scheduled effective
scheduled to o be transferred
1 January 1955. 1
The former privately owned railroad line from Hoyerswerda, to Strassgraebcner_/
d. ttbus 1055- 8
Bernsdor.f via Zeissholz was taken over by RBD Co on 1 January 50X1-HUM
Comment. The revision of RBD boundaries was re222orted previcuslyl
50X1-HUM
comment. Information on a change in the organizational structure of RBDs
was received for the first time.
^The information on the new assignment of former Railroad
50X1-HUM
Minister Chwalek could not be verified.
omment. Information the critical coal situation of the RBD Railroads
C UM
was transmitted previously.
SE C'RET,
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SEC ~?_~T1
locomotve~s consumed a total of 114,218 tc50X1-H U M
Comment. In qatober 1954, ,,32_ 8 percent of the coal
of raw brown coal. be r'bw brown coal.. -UQ
was
b
er
consumed by locomotives in Novem
50X1-HUM
Comment. Most of the defects suffered by locomotives were due to
over-aged equipment. The lack of steam in locomotives was caused by the u.,50X1-HUM
of low-grade coal such as raw brown coal and mud coal Most Commentm7Jor 50X1-HUM
ine troubles. See also
trair delays were caused by eng
traffic decreased slightly, possibly
Comment. The volume of f reig
because of the Christmas holidays.
railroad line.has not bee known.
. The existence of this
comment. The existence of this
SEC :`ET
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