Private company

Hamburger Hochbahn AG

Logo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons4

Public company in Hamburg

Hamburger Hochbahn AG (German pronunciation:; HHA), founded in 1911, operates the underground system and large parts of the bus system in Hamburg, Germany. Its name comes from the initial name given to the Hamburg metro system, Hochbahn (German: elevated railway).2 It was founded by AEG and Siemens & Halske.1 It employed 5,300 people.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

May 27, 1911Founded1
  • Industrypassenger transport, urban and suburban passenger land transport1
  • HeadquartersHamburg1
  • Founded inHamburg1
  • Websitewww.hochbahn.de/hochbahn/hamburg/de
  • Legal formAktiengesellschaft1
  • LEI98450007CP3E2ABFF9833
  • StatusActive3
  • LEI statusIssued and current3
  • Registered addressSteinstr. 20, 20095 Hamburg, Germany3
  • Registered withLocal Court Hamburg, HRB 30723

See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards

HochbahnHamburg2
Photo: Nawi112 ; Edit by Waugsberg (perspective correction), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons6

Hamburger Hochbahn AG (German pronunciation: [ˈhambʊʁɡɐ ˈhoːxbaːn]; HHA), founded in 1911, operates the underground system and large parts of the bus system in Hamburg, Germany. Its name comes from the initial name given to the Hamburg metro system, Hochbahn (German: elevated railway).2

Corporate structure

Hamburger Hochbahn AG is part of a group headed by Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg. 27 entities, 4 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg Hamburg, Germany
    • HHLA 98% · Hamburg, Germany
      • Metrans 100% · Praha 10, Czechia
        • METRANS /Danubia/, a.s. Subsidiary · 100% · Dunajská Streda, Slovakia
      • METRANS Rail Subsidiary · Prague
      • CERP Solution, a.s. Subsidiary · 100% · Praha, Czechia
    • Hamburg Messe und Congress Hamburg, Germany
    • Hamburgische Investitions- und Förderbank Hamburg, Germany
    • HGV Hamburger Gesellschaft für Vermögens- und Beteiligungsmanagement mbH Hamburg, Germany
      • Hamburger Energiewerke Hamburg, Germany
      • Hamburger Hochbahn AG Hamburg, Germany
        • Fahrzeugwerkstätten Falkenried Subsidiary · 100% · Hamburg
        • HADAG Subsidiary · 100% · Hamburg
          • 1 more
        • BeNEX Stake · 25.1% · Hamburg, Germany
          • 2 more
        • Alsterdampfer Subsidiary
        • FFG Fahrzeugwerkstätten Falkenried GmbH Subsidiary · Hamburg, Germany
        • Landungsbrücken station Owned · Hamburg-Mitte, Germany
        • Reeperbahn station Owned · Hamburg-Mitte, Germany
      • HHLA International GmbH Subsidiary · 100% · Hamburg, Germany
        • HHLA PLT ITALY S.R.L. Subsidiary · Trieste, Italy
      • HHLA Container Terminal Altenwerder GmbH Subsidiary · Hamburg, Germany
    • 2. IVFL Immobilienverwaltung für Forschung und Lehre Hamburg GmbH & Co. KG Subsidiary · Hamburg, Germany
    • CCH Immobilien GmbH & Co. KG Subsidiary · Hamburg, Germany
    • HNH Hamburger Netzinfrastruktur Holding GmbH Subsidiary · Hamburg, Germany
    • Stadtreinigung Hamburg AöR Subsidiary · Hamburg, Germany

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

What it owns

What Hamburger Hochbahn AG reports owning in its annual reports to the SEC: buildings, land and equipment, real estate and locations, investments, intangible assets and inventory, at the end of its latest fiscal year and a year before.

Stakes and holdings (Wikidata)

Things Wikidata records the company as owning, with the share when stated.1

The story

Founded by AEG and Siemens & Halske on May 27, 1911, in Hamburg.1

The HHA was founded by Siemens & Halske and AEG as a consortium on 27 May 1911. The first chairman was Albert Ballin.

From 1919 until 1978, the HHA operated a large tram network, and from 5 December 1921 the HHA also operated the first motor buses in Hamburg. After the acquisition of the Straßen-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (SEG) in 1919 and the Hamburg-Altonaer-Centralbahngesellschaft AG in 1923, the HHA had a rolling stock of 865 power cars and 930 trailers by 1928. The length of tracks was 217.33 km. In 1970 the length of the lines were only 82.7 km, in 1978 they were 89.5 km with 80 stations.

In 1965, HHA was one of the founding members of the Hamburger Verkehrsverbund (HVV).

From Wikipedia’s article on Hamburger Hochbahn, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Products and brands

HHA operates about 111 bus routes and four underground lines. In spite of the "U" for "underground", large portions, especially outside the inner city, run on the surface. Some parts of the underground, notably along the banks of River Elbe in the city centre, are elevated (hence the name "Hochbahn", "elevated railway").

Former Subsidiaries

BeNEX GmbH was HHA's holding company for public transport corporations outside of Hamburg. The UK listed investment firm International Public Partnerships Limited (then known as Babcock & Brown Public Partnerships) acquired 49% of BeNEX in 2007, and the remaining 51% in 2019.

Through BeNEX HHA owed 25.1% of the Metronom Eisenbahngesellschaft, a company operating commuter trains in northern Germany. Nordbahn Eisenbahngesellschaft, with Neumünster - Bad Segeberg - Bad Oldesloe railway in Schleswig-Holstein, was owned in joint venture with the AKN railway. Among others there were also the East German Railway plc (German: Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn; 50% ownership) and the Cantus Verkehrsgesellschaft, both joint ventures with other corporations.

From Wikipedia’s article on Hamburger Hochbahn, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Subsidiaries and ownership

Owners

Subsidiaries

Also owns

  • Landungsbrücken station
  • Reeperbahn station

Parent company (GLEIF)

Ultimate parent

From Wikidata.1 Ownership links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); each one cites its LEI record.

Timeline

  1. Oct 27, 2025Parent Directly consolidated by HGV Hamburger Gesellschaft für Vermögens- und Beteiligungsmanagement mbH3
  2. May 27, 1911Founded Founded in Hamburg1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6