alex (train)

This article deals with the alex since 2007. For the alex until 2007 see Allgäu-Express .

alex (north)
Course book section (DB) :	930, 855, 875
Course book series (SŽDC) :	170, 171, 180
Route length:	318 or 445 km
State:	Bavaria
0 Munich central station 41 Freising 57 Moosburg 77 Landshut (Bay) Hbf 96 Ergoldsbach 100 Neufahrn (Niederbay) 114 Eggmühl 130 Obertraubling 138 Regensburg Central Station 153 Regenstauf 177 Maxhütte-Haidhof (Train division in Schwandorf) 181 Schwandorf 217 Roding 229 Cham (Oberpf) 248 Furth in the forest 272 Domažlice 297 Holýšov 331 Plzeň hl.n. 441 Praha-Smíchov 445 Praha hl.n. 230 Pastures (Oberpf) 258 Wiesau (Oberpf) 276 Marktredwitz 318 Hof Hbf

The alex is a type of train operated by the Länderbahn for local rail passenger transport in Bavaria in the Regentalbahn group . In the timetable it is abbreviated as ALX , until 2010 the official name was Arriva -Länderbahn-Express .

As part of the Interregio Line 25, which ran until 2002, the Hof – Munich and Munich – Lindau / Oberstdorf routes have been served by the Länderbahn since December 9, 2007, which emerged as the winner of the tender by the Bavarian Railway Company (BEG).

The Munich – Regensburg –Schwandorf and Munich – Immenstadt – Lindau / Immenstadt – Oberstdorf routes are served every two hours . On the Schwandorf – Hof railway line , five pairs of trains run at least four hours, four pairs of trains travel via Schwandorf – Furth im Wald , Furth im Wald – Pilsen and Pilsen – Prague . In addition, from December 2009 to December 8, 2012, two pairs of trains ran from Nuremberg via Schwandorf , Furth im Wald and Pilsen to Prague.

Vehicle material

The Länderbahn hauls the trains between Munich and Regensburg with five locomotives from the EuroSprinter family (183 001–005) on the non-electrified sections Oberstdorf / Lindau – Immenstadt – Kempten – Munich and Regensburg – Schwandorf – Hof or Regensburg – Schwandorf – Furth in the forest with twelve EuroRunners (223 061-072). The diesel locomotives are leased from Alpha Trains , the electric locomotives are leased from Hannover Mobilien Leasing .

The BR 2143 , rented from the Stauden Verkehrsgesellschaft, runs between Oberstdorf and Immenstadt im Allgäu, provided it is operational.

In addition to the 23 wagons taken over from the Allgäu-Express , 50 wagons that were converted from express train wagons from Deutsche Bahn AG between 2007 and 2009 and seven wagons newly acquired in 2009 are used as wagons. The current fleet comprises 80 cars, including compartment cars ( UIC-X and UIC-Z of the DB , as well as UIC-Z of the DR ), modernized "Silberlinge" ( n cars ) and modern double-deck cars .

The wagons taken over from the Allgäu-Express were modernized in 2003 at the partner for vehicle equipment (PFA) in Weiden and only repainted when operations began in 2007. Some of the second-class compartment cars were retrofitted with enlarged bicycle areas. The remaining wagons were fundamentally modernized in 2007 in the DB repair shop in Neumünster and at VIS Halberstadt, and some were subsequently air-conditioned. In summer 2009, another seven wagons with a bicycle area (type ABvmdz) followed. Since December 7, 2009, seven newly purchased double-decker cars with low-floor entry from Bombardier have also been in use.

This results in the following fleet:

• 5 air-conditioned compartment car 1st class of the type Avmz 200 km / h (formerly Allgäu-Express) ¹
• 17 air compartment car 1st and 2nd class with disabled toilet of the type ABvmz 200 km / h which 6 cart multiple voltages ²
• 7 air-conditioned compartment cars, 1st and 2nd class, with type ABvmdz bicycle compartments, 200 km / h
• 7 air-conditioned "alex-treff" cars of the types BRmz and BRmh, 200 km / h, 2 of them in TEE paintwork ³
• 4 "alex-treff" carriages with handicapped accessible toilets, type BRDpm, 200 km / h (formerly Allgäu-Express)
• 5 compartment cars, 2nd class, type Bomz, 200 km / h (formerly Allgäu-Express)
• 8 compartment cars, 2nd class, with a Bomdz design bike compartment, 200 km / h (formerly Allgäu-Express)
• 14 type Bm compartment cars, 2nd class, 200 km / h, fully multi-voltage ⁴
• 3 compartment coaches 2nd class with a reduced number of compartments, type Bomz, 200 km / h (1 coach formerly Allgäu-Express)
• 1 compartment car, 2nd class, with type BDomz bicycle compartment, 140 km / h ⁵
• 1 open seating car, 2nd class, with type Bnd bike compartment, 140 km / h
• 1 type Bn open seating car, 2nd class, 140 km / h
• 7 air-conditioned double-decker cars, type DBpz, 160 km / h

Remarks:

¹ Currently in use as a 2nd class car

²Required for use e.g. B. to the Czech Republic

³The two BRmz in TEE livery have not been modernized. Until 2010, this included another BRmh, which was painted in blue / red as "Kakadu" and has since been sold.

^4th Top speed temporarily reduced to 160 km / h

⁵ Currently shut down

“Alex-meet” car in the middle of the train

Until the 2017 timetable change, the so-called alex-treff car was roughly in the middle of each train . In this car, tickets could also be bought at the beginning of the journey at no extra charge, and snacks and drinks were also offered. However, tickets can still be purchased in the service compartment. Snacks and drinks are still available via mobile catering service.

The color scheme of the vehicles is white with a green-blue window band or green-blue side surfaces on the locomotives, as well as an orange-yellow contrasting stripe. Two half-dining cars of the BRmz class are an exception. These cars are painted in TEE colors and the interior is also in the original colors. These two cars are owned by a private person and rented to the Länderbahn.

Since July 2017, 29 used but modernized wagons from the parent company Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane have been in use. The existing cars are also to be modernized.

alex north

On the timetable Route 930, the trains only stop in Munich Central , Freising train station , train station Landshut , Neufahrn (Ndb) and Regensburg Central Station , twice daily as evening peak connection to Regensburg in Moosburg and once daily also other regional rail holding Landshut to Regensburg.

Travel times and speed

Play media file

Alex's train with four wagons pulled by a ČD locomotive

For the 439 kilometers from Munich to Prague, the alex needed 371 minutes at an average speed of 71 km / h and four locomotive changes in 2009, and in 2010 now 353 minutes, 74 km / h, three locomotive changes. Of this, the Bavarian section Munich - Furth im Wald accounts for 248 kilometers in 175 minutes (85 km / h) with two locomotive changes, and the subsequent Czech section 191 kilometers in 186 minutes (61 km / h) with one locomotive change.

Timetable

With the entry into force of the new operator concept, the range of services beyond Regensburg to Hof was also improved, so that it almost reached the level of interregional service by 2000. Between Munich and Schwandorf , nine pairs of trains a day run between 6:44 a.m. and 8:43 p.m. every two hours.

The cross-border journeys of the alex have been operated in the Czech Republic by Czech Railways (ČD) as express trains (EX) since December 2010 and are therefore given priority in the operational process. With the timetable change in December 2014, several connections to Prague were upgraded again and will then operate in the Czech Republic as EuroCity (EC).

The trains ran from December 2007 to December 2009 from Munich at 6:44, 10:44, 14:44, 16:44 (not Saturdays) and 18:43 to Hof, at 8:44 (as Albert Einstein ) and 4:43 p.m. (as Franz Kafka ) without changing via Furth im Wald to Prague, at 12:44 p.m. (with a connection to Prague) and 8:43 p.m. to Schwandorf and at 10:44 p.m. (not on Saturdays) and 11:55 p.m. Regensburg. The train at 4:44 p.m. from Munich was split in Schwandorf, one part of the train continued to Hof, the other to Prague.

In the opposite direction, the trains that reached Munich at 9:15 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 1:15 p.m., 5:15 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. came from Hof ​​at 3:15 p.m. ( Franz Kafka ) and 11:24 p.m. ( Albert Einstein ) from Prague, at 7:16 am (only Mondays to Saturdays), 9:16 am (only Sundays) and at 7:19 pm (with a connection from Prague) from Schwandorf and from Monday to Saturday at 6:15 am or on Sundays at 7:16 a.m. from Regensburg. The train, arriving at 9:16 p.m., continues from Munich main station to Lindau main station.

Changes from 2009

alex to Praha before departure in Nuremberg main station

Since December 2009, the two pairs of trains from Prague have been running faster by up to 18 minutes as an additional service ordered by the Free State of Bavaria (Munich from 9:01 am and 5:02 pm, at 3:02 pm and 11:06 pm) with a stopover from Munich to Regensburg partly now in Landshut, as well as use of the class 223 without changing locomotives in Furth im Wald also in the Czech Republic to Pilsen. On the electrically operated section of the route between Munich and Landshut, repairs to the substructure and track renewals will increase the top speed on further sections from 140 km / h to 160 km / h.

In addition, there is a regional express previously provided by DB (Munich main station at 8:19 a.m., stops Monday to Friday only in Neufahrn (Ndb) and Landshut) as a daily return service for the early Prague train to transfer locomotives and wagons to Munich as alex and from Regensburg at 6:34 p.m. an additional alex with an intermediate stop only in Landshut and Freising, so that 13 pairs of alex trains (2009: ten) will then travel the Regensburg – Munich route. North of Regensburg the five pairs of trains to Hof and the two to Prague remain.

Since December 13, 2009, the two pairs of trains from Nuremberg to Prague have also been running as alex , from Nuremberg to Pilsen without changing locomotives and 15 minutes faster. In addition, there was a daytime connection between Schwandorf and Nuremberg there in the morning and back again in the evening to transfer the locomotive and wagons from the Schwandorf depot to Nuremberg. For this, the previous Regental Cargo 223 072 was adapted to the other machines ( alex and Arriva logos) and added to the inventory of the Länderbahn. The 223 072 can only be distinguished from the other locomotives by its number and the missing train destination indicator.

Since June 14, 2009, in advance of the 2010 operating program, the alex trains 355 and 357 and, in the opposite direction, the DB regional express trains 350 and 352 between Furth im Wald and Pilsen have already been hauled by an Arriva class 223 locomotive DB trains in Furth im Wald a locomotive had to be changed from the 218 series to the 223 series. The class 223 locomotives are currently only approved for ČD ( České dráhy ) at 100 km / h, as they do not have the Czech variant of the Indusi .

In addition, seven new double-decker cars with low-floor entry from the manufacturer Bombardier Transportation went into operation from December 7, 2009 until the timetable change . These second class coaches with 126 seats run on the north branch from Munich to Hof to increase the capacity of these trains. As planned, a double-decker car is added to each set. On the lower deck of the double-decker car, regular passengers can reserve a fixed seat with the numbers 11–54. The wagon sequence of the alex trains always consists of a first and second class car with a bicycle compartment (ABvmdz), then a second class double-deck car (DBpz), an alex -treff (BR) and another first and second class car (ABvmz) . In addition, there are additional amplifier cars between Munich and Regensburg, which are then detached together with the class 183 locomotive in Regensburg.

With the timetable change on December 9, 2012, the two pairs of alex trains from Nuremberg to Prague were discontinued, as demand on this line has fallen sharply since Deutsche Bahn introduced the faster long-distance bus on this route. The previous pairs of alex trains were replaced by Regional Express Nuremberg – Schwandorf of Deutsche Bahn, in Schwandorf there is a transfer option to two newly introduced pairs of alex trains from Munich to Prague, which ran a four-hour cycle between Munich and Prague.

With the timetable change in December 2017, BEG ordered three additional pairs of alex trains between Munich and Prague, so that this route runs every two hours. The through coaches to Prague and Hof run between Munich and Schwandorf combined and are shared in Schwandorf station.

Vehicle use

Mixed alex train to Prague from five alex wagons and several ČD wagons

The trains to Hof consisted mostly of five cars until the beginning of December 2009, one of which was a dining car and a first class car. Since the timetable change in December 2009, there are generally only four cars left, but there is a double-decker on the train. The trains between Munich and Regensburg will be increased to up to nine cars. The pair of trains from Prague, which arrive in Munich at 3:15 p.m. and leave again at 4:43 p.m. together with the Hof train section, will continue to be made up of ČD wagons , and all remaining trains will be made up of regional railway wagons.

All trains between Munich main station and Regensburg main station are pulled by one of the five electric locomotives 183 001–005. In Regensburg it is turned and the locomotive is changed.

From Regensburg to Schwandorf and Hof the train is hauled by diesel locomotives 223 061-072. The 223 072 was only given the alex logo in September 2009 and is now part of the alex fleet. Before it belonged to Regental Cargo and was only used in front of alex trains when required .

The trains to Prague were also pulled by a class 223 diesel locomotive from Regensburg to Furth im Wald until December 2009 (turning around in Schwandorf and changing the locomotive). From Furth im Wald to Pilsen the train was hauled by a Czech diesel locomotive of the 754 series and from Pilsen with a Czech electric locomotive of the 363 series and reinforced with Czech passenger coaches as far as Prague.

alex south

alex (south)
Course book section (DB) :	970
Route length:	221 or 172 km
State:	Bavaria
0 Munich central station 7th Munich-Pasing 23 Fürstenfeldbruck 43 Geltendorf 57 Kaufering 68 Buchloe 89 Kaufbeuren 94 Biessenhofen 112 Gunzach 131 Kempten (Allgäu) main station 141 Martinszell (Allgäu) (Train division in Immenstadt) 151 Immenstadt 155 Blaichach (Allgäu) 159 Sonthofen 162 Old Towns (Allgäu) 166 fishing 168 Langenwang (Schwab) 172 Oberstdorf 168 Oberstaufen 181 Röthenbach (Allgäu) 186 Heimenkirch 197 Hergatz 221 Lindau Hbf

alex with a 223 in Lindau main station

Between Munich and Oberstdorf , the Arriva-Länderbahn-Express succeeded the Allgäu-Express , also abbreviated as alex , which was a joint venture between Länderbahn and SBB GmbH .

Since December 9, 2007, trains from Munich have been divided into Immenstadt. One part of the train continues to go to Oberstdorf, the other to Lindau . Currently (April 2012) the Lindau train section consists of three cars. In Immenstadt , the rear wagons are taken down and the locomotive continues with the first three wagons to Lindau. The rear wagons are pulled by a second locomotive to Oberstdorf, which has to be attached to the "rear" because of the other exit direction from Immenstadt. This eliminates the need to move the locomotive previously.

Changes from 2010

In order to release a model of the 223 series to Schwandorf for the additional alex service Nuremberg-Prague, the Oberstdorf-Immenstadt (-Munich) section has been covered with a Eurorunner (223 008 / ER 20 - 008) from MRCE since December 1, 2009 .

Since May 2010 this has been replaced by the 2143.18 of the Stauden-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft mbH .

Since December 2016, a pair of alex trains has stopped in Fürstenfeldbruck every morning .

Operation from 2020

In August 2014 it was announced that DB Regio Allgäu-Schwaben had won the new tender for the routes of today's Alex and will take over operations from Munich to Lindau and Oberstdorf from the end of 2020, which will cease operations accordingly in this region.

Problems 2014

Due to damage to the locomotive of the Staudenbahn and the lack of a replacement, it was temporarily no longer possible in 2014 to form the wing trains in Immenstadt, so that NE-81 multiple units were used as a replacement. There were also problems due to a lack of staff, as employees moved to other employers due to the imminent change of operator.

Railway lines traveled on

alex north

• Munich – Regensburg railway line
• Regensburg – Oberkotzau railway line
• Railway line Oberkotzau – Hof
• Schwandorf – Furth railway line in the forest
• Furth im Wald – Plzeň railway line
• Plzeň – Praha railway line

alex south

• Railway line Munich – Immenstadt – Lindau (Allgäubahn)
• Immenstadt – Oberstdorf railway line

Web links

Commons : Alex (Zug)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• alex homepage
• The Länderbahn homepage

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Alexander Bückle: The Allgäu Express (Alex). In: privat-bahn.de. Retrieved January 14, 2018 . 
2. ^ Christian Lennartz: car inventory. (PDF; 101 KiB) January 19, 2012, archived from the original on March 11, 2016 ; accessed on January 14, 2018 (private listing). 
3. ↑ Alex's car. In: deutsche-reisezugwagen.de. May 21, 2016, accessed January 14, 2018 . 
4. ↑ Alex / Die Länderbahn: First of 29 new cars in use. In: eurailpress.de. DVV Media Group, July 4, 2017, accessed on January 14, 2018 . 
5. ↑ Online timetable information from Deutsche Bahn
6. ↑ Bavaria's Transport Minister Zeil welcomes the expansion of the Munich - Prague rail link. Zeil: "A prime example of successful cooperation". Bavarian State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology, May 28, 2009, archived from the original on January 19, 2015 ; accessed on January 14, 2018 (press release). 
7. ↑ Vehicle fleet. Regentalbahn GmbH, accessed on January 14, 2018 . 
8. ↑ Article . In: turntable . Volume 30, Issue 241, August 2012, p. 81 .
9. ↑ Cornelia Lorenz: The Länderbahn is upgrading the "Alex". In: Mittelbayerische Zeitung . November 3, 2016, accessed January 14, 2018 . 
10. ↑ Final bid: DB Regio Allgäu-Schwaben wins tender for diesel network Allgäu. In: deutschebahn.com. August 4, 2014, archived from the original on August 12, 2014 ; accessed on January 14, 2018 (press release). 
11. ↑ Regional transport in the Allgäu diesel network should go to DB Regio - improvements in detail. In: beg.bahnland-bayern.de. July 23, 2014, accessed January 14, 2018 (press release). 
12. ↑ Martin Ruf: Turbulence . In: railway magazine . No. 8 , 2015, ISSN  0342-1902 , p. 32 f .