Press release ·
Fact sheet: STEAM RAILWAY ROUTE Saxony, as of 03/2026
Project sponsor:
Sächsisch-Oberlausitzer Eisenbahngesellschaft mbH, Zittau (SOEG)
Objectives:
- joint tourism marketing of a unique selling point: Germany’s densest and most varied range of historic railways, with approx. 1 million passengers on the narrow-gauge railways and approx. 2 million on tourist railways in Saxony as a whole
- strengthening regional economic cycles
- networking small-scale offers for powerful and efficient tourism marketing
- integrating the hospitality sector and leisure attractions into the marketing network to create comprehensive tourism packages for diverse target groups
- integrating Saxony-wide themed marketing into the activities of Tourismus Marketing Gesellschaft Sachsen (TMGS), networking with the activities of the destinations and of Landestourismusverband Sachsen e.V. (member since 2013),
- positioning as a living facet of industrial heritage
Cooperation partners:
- launched in 2009 with 40 partners – as of 03/2026: 199 partners with financial participation (62 railways, associations and museums; 75 tourism service providers; 23 model railway and media partners; 39 local authorities and associations)
- 9 marketing partners or partner networks
Stations of the STEAM RAILWAY ROUTE Saxony:
- 90 themed stations, 49 of them with signage
- route network with 3 branches and a total length of approx. 700 km
Marketing work, begun in 2010, is carried out through:
- involvement of cooperation partners through a tiered participation and service model
- approx. 20 trade fair and event appearances per year
- up-to-date printed advertising material - annually: A4 image catalogue (152 pages), DL-format Kursbuch & Reiseführer (256 pages); as required: multilingual catalogue (CZ/EN/PL), leaflets
- comprehensive responsive website (in German/Czech/English/Polish)
- social media: facebook.com/dbrsachsen and instagram.com/dampfbahn_route_sachsen
- press and media relations for the project
Achievements:
- “Leuchtturm der Tourismuswirtschaft” award from the East German Savings Banks Association (Ostdeutscher Sparkassenverband) in March 2013
- Claus Köpcke Prize in April 2014
- new bookable tourism packages through partner networking
- increased passenger/visitor numbers at key partners of the STEAM RAILWAY ROUTE
- certification of the project with the ServiceQualität Deutschland seal
Timeline:
- 2006: idea of a joint marketing platform for Saxon steam railways for the anniversary year “125 Jahre Schmalspur Dampf Sachsen” (125 years of narrow-gauge steam in Saxony)
- 2007 – 2008: concept developed by the Verein zur Förderung Sächsischer Schmalspurbahnen ((VSSB) - merged into the Saxon Narrow-Gauge Railway Foundation in 2014))
- 2009: concept and trademark rights transferred from VSSB to SOEG mbH
- 2009: contractual integration of partners + start of active project work by SOEG mbH
- 2009: patronage assumed by the incumbent Minister-President of the Free State of Saxony
- 2010: start of active marketing with trade fair appearances, publication of the annual catalogue and launch of the website www.dampfbahn-route.de
- 2011: marketing media expanded to include an English-language website and publication of the Kursbuch timetable book
- 2013: joined Landestourismusverband Sachsen
- 2013: first funding received under the Free State of Saxony’s tourism funding plan for the 2013/14 budget year
- 2013: start of cooperation with the Bahnnostalgie Deutschland marketing network
- 2014: start of market development in the Czech Republic with print and online advertising and trade fair appearances
- 2015: STEAM RAILWAY ROUTE Saxony app for Android / iOS (replaced by mobile website)
- 2016: first edition of an annual STEAM RAILWAY ROUTE Saxony booking catalogue “Übernachten, Genießen und Entdecken”
- 2019: mobile website and production of a new image film
- 2020: Polish-language website created, advertising tram in Berlin
- 2021: advertising locomotive in long-distance service with DB AG
- 2022: further new image films
- 2023: TV portraits of the STEAM RAILWAY ROUTE in the SWR series “Eisenbahn-Romantik”
- 2025: previous DL-format brochures merged into “Kursbuch & Reiseführer”
- 2026: organisation of a joint presentation by Saxon tourism providers at Holiday World Prague
Contact – project office:
SOEG mbH
Projekt DAMPFBAHN-ROUTE
Am Alten Güterboden 4
01445 Radebeul
Telephone: +49 351 2134440
Fax: +49 351 2134445
Email: info@dampfbahn-route.de
Internet: www.dampfbahn-route.de
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dbrsachsen
Instagram: instagram.com/dampfbahn_route_sachsen
