Intercity
Intercity , also InterCity (short form: IC ), is an internationally used term for a type of train . The term is used in many European countries for mostly national quality trains with comfortable wagons, longer distances, high travel speeds and, compared to other trains, few intermediate stops. In some countries the IC is subject to a surcharge. In many countries, the term Intercity is associated with a systematization of long-distance train services, in particular fixed lines and regular timetables .
The Trans-Europ-Express (TEE) trains introduced in 1957 can be seen as the forerunner and international variant of the Intercity . In international traffic, most long-distance trains have been referred to as EuroCity (EC) since May 1987 .
The intercity systems of some countries are described below.
Examples
Belgium
In Belgium, clear attempts to synchronize national long-distance transport and to operate it in clearly separated lines were noticeable as early as the 1960s and 1970s, although not quite as pronounced as in the neighboring Netherlands. It was not until 1984 that the National Society of the Belgian Railways introduced its new concept, which structured almost all local and long-distance passenger transport into clocked lines. The fastest of the new types of train was given the name Intercity , which is already known throughout Europe .
“With the timetable change, the Belgian Railways have now introduced a completely new system of train connections, to which the bus routes for area transport have been optimally coordinated. The main network consists of 13 intercity connections (IC), which, like another 16 interregional connections (IR), are used every hour. The intercity trains run between the big cities, the IR trains connect the medium-sized cities with the economic centers of the country. "
With the timetable change in December 2014, most Belgian interregional trains were converted to intercity trains, but the current concept is still very similar to that of 1984.
Denmark
In 1974 the Danske Statsbaner (DSB) started the hourly InterCity service between Copenhagen and Aarhus , which was supplemented by connections to other parts of Jutland . The InterCity trains replaced all Lyntog ( lightning trains ), which were formed from multiple units of the MA series as well as MB and MS in the meantime . These railcars were now used alongside trains with locomotives and passenger coaches on the InterCity routes.
Germany
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The Deutsche Bundesbahn used the designation from 1971 for particularly high-quality, fast and largely air-conditioned trains that only ran the first class and served the large cities of western Germany on then four fixed lines every two hours. Right from the start, the timetables were designed in such a way that two trains from different lines were facing each other on the same platform at the important junction stations of Hanover, Dortmund, Cologne, Mannheim and Würzburg, thus offering transfer connections with minimal loss of time, but the greatest possible connection security. In the above-mentioned stations, the IC trains usually waited up to 10 minutes for each other in the event of a delay (so-called IC correspondence connections).
In particular, the introduction of standardized lines and stations as well as the frequency was a significant change compared to the previous top products Trans-Europ-Express (TEE) for international and long-distance express trains (F) for national long-distance traffic. Many of the former TEE diesel railcars of the VT 11.5 series were now used in IC service instead of TEE traffic. They therefore had a metal sign on their front side with the words "InterCity", which was mounted over the TEE emblem.
The basic idea of the intercity system in Germany was based on a proposal from the head office of the Deutsche Bundesbahn in April 1967, which aimed to establish a dense inner-German express railcar network with which all major economic centers were to be connected with one another. A year later, the board of directors of the Deutsche Bundesbahn approved an operating program. From the end of 1968 a working group dealt with technical and commercial issues. A comprehensive proposal based on this for an intercity network was approved by the DB's board of directors on August 1, 1969. The concept was then incorporated into the existing timetable by the senior operations management and the Federal Railway Directorate. Due to longer delivery times for passenger coaches, the beginning of the winter timetable section 1971/1972, on September 26, 1971, was set as the introduction date. IC trains partially replaced former express trains and differ from the rest of rail traffic in that they have better rolling stock, higher speeds and fewer stops on the way. In the first few years, the IC trains ran every 2 hours and only ran the first class of car , with several sections traveling at 200 km / h.
Nevertheless, the preparation time was too short. However, the project could not be postponed because of the ongoing advertising campaign. InterCity traffic started in a difficult environment (in 1971 the DB recorded a "black series" of serious accidents) and with an insufficient fleet of vehicles. The priority of IC trains over all other traffic messed up the timetable. A wave of long-term delays was the result. The inconsiderate preference given to IC travelers over other rail users was drastic: a separate train was used to bring two IC travelers who had missed their connection to their destination. Locomotives were missing elsewhere and “normal” trains could not leave. That brought the Deutsche Bundesbahn harsh criticism.
On May 27, 1979, with the slogan “every hour, every class”, the frequency was condensed to an hourly cycle and the second car class was introduced in all InterCity trains, after a few on IC line 4 (Bremen – Munich) as early as 1976 Second-class trains ran and since May 28, 1978, an approximate hourly service of two-class IC trains between Hamburg and Cologne (part of Line 1) was offered as a “dress rehearsal”. This was another far-reaching change, because since there were significantly more passengers traveling in the second class than in the first class, the trains were considerably longer, heavier and the demands on engines and timetables were higher. The strict cycle timetable for slow TEE diesel railcars of the 601 series and the new, fast, but short IC railcars of the 403 series at that time had to retire from IC service in 1979, designed for a top speed of 200 km / h .
From the early days of Intercity until well into the 1990s IC trains were usually by electric locomotives of the series 103 carries. It was gradually replaced by the 120 series (commissioned in 1988) and 101 (1996).
Further features of the IC '79 concept were the so-called block train formation, i.e. the strict division of the IC trains into a first class part and a (longer) second class part, separated or connected by the dining car. In the five above-mentioned correspondence stations with a platform-level connection, the first and second class cars were directly opposite each other. Everything else was done to minimize the stopping time, for example, as a rule, the IC trains did not carry the baggage cars or rail mail cars that were found in almost all long-distance trains at the time , which meant that there was no time-consuming loading business during the tight stops. (At that time, luggage that passengers had sent to their destination by train for a fee was carried in baggage trolleys; it was reloaded by railway personnel. Letters and parcels were transported in mail trolleys; these were also loaded and unloaded during stops on the way.)
Since the IC network had taken over some of the previous express train connections through its sudden consolidation in 1979 (and further consolidation in 1985), but some of the express trains had served international routes, individual intercity routes were also extended abroad from 1979. From 1987 on, these were called EuroCity.
With the use of the Intercity Express (ICE) from June 1991, the now Intercity written train type lost its status as the top product of the railway. In Germany, from its introduction in 1971, a distance-independent surcharge on the actual ticket had to be paid when using an Intercity, which primarily served to direct short-distance travelers (e.g. Duisburg - Essen, 20 km) to other trains if possible. For the ICE, on the other hand, special transport-dependent fares applied from the start. With the introduction of the new price system in December 2002, the IC surcharge was converted into a separate tariff, here the IC is now a separate product class (B) between ICE (A) and regional / local trains (C).
From 2002, the DB also converted some of the remaining Interregio trains into Intercity trains, with the IC now also being used on subordinate long-distance connections or serving main routes with significantly more frequent stops. (For example, the trains left over from the original IC network today only stop in Bonn on the 94 kilometers between Cologne and Koblenz, whereas the ICs created from IRs also stop in Remagen and Andernach, so their average stopping distance is half as large.)
Today in Germany an Intercity has a bistro car (half dining car ) in most connections ; in the past, pure dining cars were usually part of the range of intercity trains. On some routes, only a minibar or a “compartment sale” (use of a compartment to sell beverages and small cold dishes) is offered to the passengers.
France
In France, the classic daily long-distance trains have been known as Intercités since 2006 . They do not drive on high-speed routes and can reach speeds of up to 200 km / h on some sections. Some modernized day trains - marketed as Téoz until 2012 - offer on-board service with meals at the seat. A strict (hourly) cycle is traditionally not part of the long-distance train service in France.
Since 2012, the name Intercités has also been used for night trains with couchette cars in France ; the full name is Intercités de nuit . Before that, the night connections were marketed as Lunéa . The night trains run a service car with snack machines.
Most of the Intercités are made up of Corail wagons ; on some routes, multiple units of the series B 82500 , Z 26500 , X 72500, X 73500 , Z 26500 and, since 2016, B 85000 are used. In the medium term, the X 73500 are to be replaced by more comfortable diesel multiple units.
Italy
After the long-distance train service in Italy consisted of a large number of individual train runs in irregular time slots until the 1980s, the Italian State Railways , following the European trend, also began to systematize its long-distance network. The Intercity train type appeared to a small extent in Italy as early as 1980, mainly on international trains. In the summer of 1985, as a “prototype” on the Turin - Milan - Venice and Milan - Genoa routes, a consistently maintained two-hour cycle with intercity trains was started. A nationwide clock network was still a long way off, however, so in the summer of 1986 only 20 IC train pairs ran in Italy, 16 of them within Italy on the two aforementioned routes (some extended to Trieste or Sestri Levante or with through coaches abroad) and 4 international ones (Marseille, Dortmund via Brenner, Dortmund and Hamburg via Gotthard). On a large scale, a clocked intercity traffic was only introduced on May 31, 1987 after the extensive completion of the central high-speed line Rome - Florence ( Direttissima ), including on the busiest connection Milan - Bologna - Florence - Rome. From 1987 onwards there was an hourly service there, but there were gaps of several hours at some times of the day. From the same time on, the international clocked trains throughout Western Europe were uniformly referred to as EuroCity. In the course of the next few years, the Italian IC network was expanded and many gaps in the clock were gradually closed, on the other hand, the strict clock on the "germ cell" routes around Milan was partially weakened again.
Cameroon
In Cameroon , Camrail offers the “Intercity” train type, exclusively on the Douala – Ngaoundéré line . These Intercity trains are the only passenger trains on this route between Douala and Yaoundé , offer two car classes , first class and "Premium", and run between the two cities without a scheduled stop. Two train pairs are offered daily.
On October 21, 2016 derailed the train accident eseka the Intercity 152 , in which 79 people were killed and at least 600 others were injured.
Netherlands
In the Netherlands, shortly after the Second World War, many routes were operated in a more or less strictly adhered to rhythm, including numerous national long-distance connections. In terms of nationwide clock timetables, the Netherlands was even ahead of Great Britain, the motherland of Intercity, in the 1960s. In 1970 the Dutch State Railways introduced the Spoorslag '70 concept (roughly equivalent to "Bahnknaller"), which included, among other things, that every route was run at least every hour on every weekday and that connections in the junction stations were optimized. As part of this concept, the brand name Intercity was also introduced for the clocked national long-distance trains, which has remained to this day. The transfer relationships in the Netherlands have not only been optimized by suitable connections in the timetable, but also by the fact that long platforms have been divided into two halves in numerous node stations so that up to four moderately long trains can stop at one platform and you can quickly and can change without stairs or elevators.
Austria
In Austria, daily long-distance trains for inland transport operated by ÖBB are referred to as InterCity, unless they are operated as a railjet . InterCity trains have first and second class cars, which, with the exception of the control cars, are air-conditioned in some push-pull trains and possibly reinforcement cars . The wagons mainly consist of Eurofima wagons and related types (pressure-proof EC wagons and modular wagons). As a rule, there is a mobile on-board service with a minibar serving trolley for catering. Most of the time, bicycles are offered; sometimes there is a women's compartment for women traveling alone and a breastfeeding compartment for mothers. A pair of trains between Graz and Salzburg is run as an intermediate use with a German InterCity set and is equipped with an on-board bistro. From 2003 to 2013, InterCity trains with modernized cars were referred to as ÖBB-InterCity .
Portugal
The Portuguese state railway company Comboios de Portugal (CP) introduced the Intercidades class in 1988 to connect other cities in the country more quickly and comfortably in addition to the Lisbon-Porto connection. During the 1990s, some Intercidades connections were closed again. In 2006 there were still 34 connections, which were driven almost exclusively with locomotives of the CP 5600 series . From the end of 2014 connections Intercidades free was also on the Wi-Fi - wireless -Internet furnished. As a rule, bicycles can also be taken into Intercidades.
Most recently, there were Intercidades connections on eight main axes:
- IC Norte : Lisbon Santa Apolónia Train Station - Porto-Campanhã Train Station ( Linha do Norte )
- IC Norte : Lisbon Santa Apolónia Train Station - Braga Train Station (Linha do Norte, Ramal de Braga )
- IC Norte : Lisbon Santa Apolónia Train Station - Guimarães Train Station (Linha do Norte, Linha de Guimarães )
- IC Beira Alta : Lisbon Santa Apolónia Train Station - Guarda Train Station ( Linha da Beira Alta )
- IC Beira Baixa : Lisbon Santa Apolónia Train Station - Covilhã Train Station ( Linha da Beira Baixa )
- IC Sul : Lisbon Oriente Train Station - Faro Train Station ( Linha do Sul )
- IC Alentejo : Lisbon Oriente Train Station - Évora Train Station ( Linha do Alentejo , Linha de Évora )
- IC Alentejo (Shuttle) : Casa Branca Train Station - Beja Train Station (Linha do Alentejo)
Switzerland
In Switzerland, when the regular timetable was introduced in 1982, the InterCity replaced the city express trains , which until then had been marketed as Swiss Express on the east-west axis . The air-conditioned cars were seen as a distinguishing feature from the other express trains. When the Intercity was introduced, there were only a few cars, as the IV standard cars were still being delivered and only a few first-class cars were available in 1982. Later, the compulsory proportion of air-conditioned cars in an IC master composition (i.e. without reinforcement cars) was set to "at least 80%".
Today, intercity trains in Switzerland are made up of EW IV or IC2000 double-decker cars, mostly as a shuttle train , sometimes also with reinforcement modules from another locomotive with middle and control cars. New Bombardier Twindexx Swiss Express double-decker multiple units will be used from 2018 . The trains run dining cars or minibars .
United Kingdom
The first time the name InterCity for fast moving trains in Great Britain was introduced by British Railways in 1966.
Derived trademarks
The postal and freight transport categories ExprIC and Parcel InterCity (PIC) were created based on the category Intercity. Here, however, only special speed is to be expressed compared to the other freight trains; There can be no question of a line system with a regular schedule, as it was only a matter of individual pairs of trains that were transported overnight on relatively long national routes (e.g. Hamburg - Munich) special rail mail cars (ExprIC with 200 km / h) or Bringing containers (PIC at 140–160 km / h) to their destination.
The same applies to the InterCityNight of Deutsche Bahn, a particularly comfortable night long-distance train with tilting technology, which was marketed under this name for a few years from 1994 to emphasize its high quality compared to the conventional night trains (then known as D-trains ). The successors are currently mostly normal Intercity or Intercity Express connections and the ÖBB Nightjet . There are also night trains in Italy today (as of the 2016 annual timetable ) that are marketed as InterCityNotte ( ICN ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ From: In Belgium: New train system , article in the Aachener Nachrichten of June 15, 1984
- ^ Rolf Rückel: InterCity . Two-hour intervals on the rails. In: Deutsche Bundesbahn (Ed.): DB Report 72 . Hestra-Verlag, Darmstadt 1972, ISBN 3-7771-0119-2 , p. 197-200 .
- ^ Railway accidents in Aitrang , Dahlerau , and Rheinweiler .
- ↑ Hans Joachim Ritzau: From Siegelsdorf to Aitrang. The railway disaster as a symptom - a study of the history of traffic . Landsberg 1972, p. 48.
- ^ Deutsche Bundesbahn: Foreign course book summer 1985
- ^ Ferrovie Italiane dello Stato: Il treno nel periodo estivo 1 Giugno - 27 Settembre 1986, Orario ufficiale (Official Course Book), list of trains from page 731
- ↑ Ferrovie Italiane dello Stato: Il treno nel periodo estivo 31 Maggio - 26 Settembre 1987, Orario ufficiale (Official Course Guide), Table 65 (Milano - Roma)
- ↑ Timetable of the Camrail .
- ↑ Cameroon train crash kills more than 70, injures 600. Fox News , October 22, 2016, accessed October 22, 2016 .
- ^ Deutsche Bundesbahn: Foreign course book summer 1965