BOGESTRA was founded by the cities of Bochum and Gelsenkirchen and Siemens & Halske AG in Berlin on 13 January 1896. At the time of the founding of the company, the transit network consisted of three lines built by Siemens & Halske in 1894 and 1895. Thus, BOGESTRA already had, at the time of its founding, approximately of streetcar network. The construction and operation of these lines remained with the Siemens & Halske AG, while BOGESTRA itself initially took only functional control. In the next 10 years the network grew rapidly.