Karlex

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The Karlex was an international express train operated by the Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR) between Berlin and Karlsbad from 1959 to 1994 . He became known through the use of the express railcars of the DR class VT 18.16 from 1969 to 1981, during this time it was one of the high-quality trains of the DR as an express train (Ex) . It operated again as an express train until 1992. Then he drove briefly between Leipzig and Prague until 1994 . From 1972 to 1990 the Karola also ran between Leipzig and Karlsbad.

history

Carlsbad
Destination of the Karlex - the train station of Karlovy Vary

The baths of the Bohemian Baths Triangle in Karlsbad (Karlovy Vary), Franzensbad (Františkovy Lázně) and Marienbad (Mariánské Lázně) have been a destination for people in need of care since the 15th century. Very early on there were also kings, nobles and other wealthy people. Especially with the advent of the railroad , the baths developed into meeting places for the upper class . Therefore, even before the First World War , various luxury trains such as the Karlsbad Express , which came from Paris or Ostend , drove to the spa triangle. For decades, direct express trains were also run from Berlin to Karlsbad. After the Second World War and before the fall of the Iron Curtain , distinguished guests from western countries stayed away, the baths were nationalized and the sanatoriums were used for the recreation of working people and nomenklatura .

As early as 1955 there were direct train connections from Berlin to Karlsbad. The D 185/186 from Berlin via Plauen to Bad Bramstedt received from the summer schedule this year coaches to Karlovy Vary, from 1957 also car to Prague. In addition to Karlovy Vary, Františkovy Lázně, located just behind the Czechoslovak border station Vojtanov , was also served. The increasing demand led the DR and the Czechoslovak State Railways (ČSD) to introduce the new Ext 147/148 "Karlex" from Berlin to Karlsbad from the 1959 summer schedule. Express trains, listed as “Ex” or “Ext” in the timetable , were the DR's highest quality train type at that time .

In contrast to its forerunner, which ran via Werdau and Reichenbach in the Vogtland , the Karlex was run between Leipzig and Weischlitz via Gera and the Elstertalbahn , in Plauen it therefore served the lower station . One year after its introduction, the Karlex, initially served by ČSD railcars , was converted into a locomotive- hauled express train with seating cars as well as dining and luggage cars . It turned out, however, that the travel times on the curved Elstertal Railway were difficult to maintain, so that from the summer timetable in 1961 the Karlex was again led over the Leipzig – Hof railway line .

From 1965 the DR received series delivery of its new Görlitz type express multiple units . The important connection to Karlovy Vary should also be equipped with these trains, so the Karlex was upgraded to Ext again for the 1969 summer schedule. For a while, however, older railcars had to be used due to a lack of vehicles, and from August 1969 the new railcars took over the Karlex. Now referred to as Ext 147/148 again, the Karlex was one of only six international express trains operated by the DR in the 1970/71 winter timetable.

The increasing demand for the introduction of visa-free travel to the ČSSR led to another express being introduced from Leipzig to Karlsbad with the Ext 347/348 "Karola" from the summer of 1972. The Karola drove from Leipzig to Karlsbad in the morning and back in the afternoon, while the Karlex, which left Berlin in the morning, offered Leipzig a midday connection to the spa triangle. In the opposite direction the Karlex did not leave Karlsbad until noon. Originally, the Karola was supposed to run over the Elstertalbahn in 1972, which was already shown in the timetable. However, due to construction work, it operated like the Karlex via Reichenbach.

In the same year, on October 30th, the worst accident occurred on the route to Karlovy Vary. In the railway accident at Schweinsburg-Culten , the Ext 348 coming from Leipzig ran over the exit signal of the Schweinsburg-Culten station, which was on "Halt" in thick fog, and collided with the oncoming D 273 from Aue to Berlin. 22 people died and 70 were injured.

In 1973 both trains were given new train numbers as Ext 66/67 "Karlex" and Ext 68/69 "Karola". The Karlex remained on the route via Reichenbach, while the Karola was again led via Gera and the Elstertalbahn from 1980. After the Vindobona was switched from Berlin to Vienna to a locomotive-hauled train in 1979 , the Karlex was operated in double traction with the vacated railcars. Nevertheless, the train still required a seat ticket and was often sold out. With the 1981/82 winter timetable, Karlex and Karola became locomotive-hauled express trains again with the new train numbers D 366/367 and D 460/461. Both trains were also run via Reichenbach again. The longer and heavier trains, together with the increasing number of speed limits, led to significantly longer travel times. In 1973 the Karlex needed 4 hours and 23 minutes for its 323 km long route, in 1986 it was already 5 hours and 20 minutes.

After the reunification in the GDR , the number of passengers on both trains fell noticeably. Karola, now run as D 1460/1461, last operated in the 1990/91 winter timetable. From the timetable change in 1992, the Karlex was given the new route Leipzig - Plauen - Karlsbad - Prague. In Leipzig there was a connection to and from Berlin with intercity trains. With the expiry of the 1993/94 timetable, the train was discontinued.

For several years now, the name Karlex has been used for an express train for domestic Czech transport. In the timetable year 2012, the pair of express trains R 610/611 (Praha - Ústí nad Labem - Chomutov - Karlovy Vay - Cheb) bears this name.

vehicles

Class VT 18.16 multiple units in service in the Karlex from 1969 to 1981

The Karlex was best known for the VT 18.16 and 175, which were used from 1969 to 1981. However, railcars were initially used when it was first introduced. ČSD provided its ČSD class M 495.0 railcars from Ganz-MÁVAG for the Karlex . These vehicles, which were identical in construction to the DR series VT 12.14 , however, turned out to be unsuitable for the poor superstructure and the winding roads in the Vogtland. There were several derailments, for example on June 27, 1960 at Rentzschmühle .

From 1961 the Karlex operated as a locomotive-hauled express train. The cars were provided by both the DR and the ČSD until 1963. From 1963 the DR completely took over the car production. Only part of the train drove to Karlsbad, some of the cars were only taken to Plauen or Bad Brambach. The DR used the DR class 03 as the train locomotive between Berlin and Leipzig, and the DR class 22 from Leipzig to Plauen . From there locomotives of the class 50 (old building) or the reconstructed DR class 50.35 led the train to Vojtanov. As a substitute, old Saxon XIV HTs , designated by the DR as the 75.5 series, were also used. From 1963 the class 22 between Leipzig and Reichenbach was replaced on the newly electrified line by the new DR class E 11 , the locomotive change was moved accordingly from Plauen to Reichenbach. From around 1966, instead of the steam locomotives south of Reichenbach, the likewise new diesel locomotives of the DR class V 180 were used, but the 50s south of Adorf remained indispensable as push locomotives . This locomotive also brought the wagons across the border from Bad Brambach.

The new Görlitz railcars, which were to take over the Karlex from 1969, were initially urgently needed for the Vindobona, as the ČSD, which was actually responsible for its vehicle provision, had a lack of railcars. Therefore, the pre-war Cologne-type railcars initially took over the Karlex from May to August 1969. Only then could the DR use the planned VT 18.16. Depending on demand, the railcars usually ran as a five-part set in the summer schedule and as a four-part set in the winter schedule. The Karola was also driven with the VT 18.16 from 1972, with the railcars being integrated into a common circuit. After the Vindobona was driven as a locomotive-hauled train in 1979, the DR ran the Karlex between Berlin and Plauen as a double unit, and in the summer of 1981 even as far as Adorf.

From 1981 locomotive-hauled again, the DR continued to take over the position of the rolling stock. As before 1969, only part of the train was led to Karlsbad. Only four cars crossed the border at a time, the remaining cars, including the dining car, remained in Plauen, and from 1984 in Bad Brambach. The train was hauled between Berlin and Reichenbach with electric locomotives of the series 243 and 250 , from Reichenbach to Vojtanov with the DR series 132 . After 1990 some of the wagons were provided by the ČSD again, and the first modernized interregional wagons were also used in the Karlex , otherwise there were no notable changes until both trains were discontinued.

literature

  • Rico Bogula: International express trains in the GDR , EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-88255-720-6
  • Günter Feuereißen: Alternate case. From the history of Karlex , Eisenbahn-Magazin 10/85, pp. 52–57.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The "Karlex" has reached the last station , Sächsische Zeitung of July 3, 2007 (accessed on October 27, 2012)
  2. ↑ Rico Bogula: International express trains in the GDR , EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2007, p 121
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Günter Feuereißen: Wechselfall. From the history of Karlex , Eisenbahn-Magazin 10/85, pp. 52–57.
  4. ↑ Gerd Böhmer: Railway accidents at the DR and DB after the Second World War (accessed on October 27, 2012)
  5. ↑ 2012 timetable for route 140 Chomutov – Karlovy Vary – Cheb ( memento of the original from October 9, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on October 28, 2012; PDF; 296 kB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cdrail.cz
  6. ^ Eisenbahnforum Vogtland (accessed October 27, 2012)
  7. ↑ Rico Bogula: International express trains in the GDR , EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2007, p 122