Private company

Linke-Hofmann

German manufacturing company producing locomotives, trams and rolling stock (1834–2009)

Alstom Transport Deutschland, formerly Linke-Hofmann-Busch, is a German manufacturing company originally established in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) to produce locomotives and rolling stock. Its origins lay in the wheelwright business of Gottfried Linke, begun in 1834. After World War II, the company was reestablished in Salzgitter in West Germany.2 It is part of Flick Concern.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

1839Founded1

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Photo: Rdrozd, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons4

Alstom Transport Deutschland, formerly Linke-Hofmann-Busch, is a German manufacturing company originally established in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) to produce locomotives and rolling stock. Its origins lay in the wheelwright business of Gottfried Linke, begun in 1834. After World War II, the company was reestablished in Salzgitter in West Germany. In 1994, GEC Alsthom acquired a 51% shareholding. It is now part of Alstom; the name Linke-Hofmann-Busch ceased to be used in 2009 when it became Alstom Transport Deutschland GmbH.2

Corporate structure

Linke-Hofmann sits at the top of its group. 2 entities, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • Linke-Hofmann Salzgitter
    • Düsseldorfer Waggonfabrik Subsidiary · Germany

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

Products and brands

  • locomotive

Listed on Wikidata.1

Aircraft industry

During World War I, it became one of many companies in Germany drawn into the aircraft industry even though they had no prior experience in aircraft design.

Linke-Hofmann-Busch first entered the aircraft industry by repairing and constructing aircraft designed by other established companies under licence, such as the Roland C.IIa, Albatros B.IIa, C.III and C.X. In 1916 Linke-Hofmann-Busch was awarded a contract to design and build a four-engined heavy bomber under the Riesenflugzeug ("giant aircraft") designation.

Two designs were built in prototype form, the R.I and the R.II; both designs were unconventional. The R.I was unsuccessful, but the Linke-Hofmann R.II flew well. However, the war ended before it could go into production. Post-war attempts to build R.II's as passenger and transport aircraft were prevented by the Allied Control Commission which was concerned about bombers being built illicitly, under the guise of airliners, and the possible resumption of the war.

Rail products

Heavy rail

Prototype carriages for the Deutsche Bundesbahn (1976).

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Indian Railways' LHB coach are based on a design developed by Linke-Hofmann-Busch.

Suburban rail

Litra SA and Litra SE for the Copenhagen S-tog (with Siemens, 1996–2006)

CIÉ 8100 Class for the Dublin Area Rapid Transit (with GEC, 1983–1984): built to a metro-style specification.

DB Class 420 for S-Bahn services in Munich, Rhine-Main, Rhine-Ruhr, and Stuttgart.

Metro

M1, M2 and M3 series for the Amsterdam Metro (1973–1980)

DT2 series for the Hamburg U-Bahn (with Kiepe).

DT4 series for the Hamburg U-Bahn (with ABB).

Light Rail

TT Class 8 for the Trondheim Tramway (1984)

P86 stock for the Docklands Light Railway in East London (1986), now used on the Essen Stadtbahn

TW 2000 for the Hanover Stadtbahn (1997–2000)

From Wikipedia’s article on Alstom Transport Deutschland, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

  • Flick Concern

Subsidiaries

  • Düsseldorfer Waggonfabrik

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1839Founded Founded1

Sources

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

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