Georg Zacharias Platner (27 July 1781 - 8 July 1862) was a German manufacturer-entrepreneur and an astute businessman who later also became a politician. His principal claim to fame arises on account of his role as instigator and founder of the Bavarian Ludwig Railway ("Bayerische Ludwigseisenbahn") which opened at the end of 1835. It connected Fürth with Nuremberg, a distance of 6 kilometers, by means of the first regular steam-hauled railway service in Germany.