Public transportation arrives

Since November 1st, 1856 Bielefeld was connected to the telegraph network, in the same year first gas lights illuminated the city, followed by the Senne waterworks 1891 (after some trouble) and the first power station (cost: two million Reichsmark) in 1900.
The power station was mainly constructed because of the urban light rail, which started—according to schedule—with the first line from Johannesstift (former Rettungshaus) to the southern suburb Brackwede.
In 1902, the tram network consisted of two completed lines, operating every 7.5 min. The construction of a third line was canceled in 1914 because of the World War I, rails and contact wires were confiscated and used for armaments.

Another light rail appeared in the beginning of the 20th century: The “Kreisbahn” took up service in Bielefeld on April 1, 1901 with two lines, starting from the new Kreisbahnhof Station at Eckendorfer Street to Enger (15.4 kms), and from Schildesche to Werther (10.6 kms).
At first, there was much discussion whether the tracks should be at 600 mm or 1000 mm gauge, electrified, or steam-driven. Finally decisions were made for the metre gauge because of the compatibility to the neighbouring Herford Kreisbahn, and for steam-driven engines because it was less expensive.
The Kreisbahn was an instant success. 414,207 people and 9,482 tons of goods have been transported in the first year of service. For fast reloading, regular-gauge freight cars were piggy-backed upon bogies at Kreisbahnhof Station (see pictures left), and then sent to their destinations.
The slowly moving Kreisbahn was outdone in the late 1920s by buses and lorries and would have been discontinued, unless the oil price had risen due to the world depression. Later, in the war, the Kreisbahn became very important to commuting workers again, before it was finally taken out of commission on February 13, 1954.