Kursbuch (Germany)

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This article describes the course books of the rail transport companies in Germany.

Norms

The International Union of Railways UIC issued a recommendation on the design of course books since 1952. The 6th and last edition of this UIC Leaflet 411 Design, content and structure of the course books was valid from 1978 to November 1, 2002 and was then deleted without replacement.

The German Institute for Standardization was with the standard DIN 66359: 1997-11-00 Public transport passenger information - content, structure and design - Timetables 1997 and the successor standard 66359 of the same name: 1999-05 two years later as a recommendation for course books out.

development

History of the course book system in Germany

Even in the days when there were no railroads, travel guides were published that can be regarded as forerunners of the later course books. When more and more railway lines were opened in the middle of the 19th century and more and more people took trips with the new means of transport, it was their understandable desire to receive reliable information about routes, travel times and tariffs of the railways and the supplementary stagecoach connections.

As the first course book in Germany to teach about this in 1845, a manual that was published in Frankfurt am Main by the Fürstlich Thurn und Taxischen Oberpostamts-Secretary Hendschel. It was even published monthly from 1847 onwards under the name Telegraph for post, rail and steamship connections in Germany and the neighboring countries . With Storm's course book for the Reich, it developed into a widely used source of information, which did not cease to appear until the early 1930s.

Reich course book and German course book

Course book table from the German course book 1939 (route 117, Berlin-Eydtkau)
Reich course book small edition (excluding foreign countries) No. 2 of November 2, 1942

Now only the official course books dominated the market, the first of which was published in 1850. This represented a summary of the railway timetables in the German Confederation and neighboring countries, but also of postal rates and ship connections, sometimes also to overseas. The publisher was the Cours Bureau of the Royal General Post Office . It has been known as the "Reichskursbuch" since 1878 and compiled by the course book department of the Reichspostamt . It was not until 1926 that the Deutsche Reichsbahn appeared as an associate editor.

The state and private railway companies had published pocket timetables and course books before, but only for a limited area. Before a complete edition for Germany was realized, five official Reichsbahn course books appeared from May 15, 1927 in addition to the regional pocket timetables for East, Central, West and Southwest Germany and Bavaria. It was not until the 1933 timetable that the Deutsche Reichsbahn published the "Official Course Book for the Reich" as a summary. Alfred Baumgarten was the author of this first imperial uniform course book . From 1936 this was called Deutsches Kursbuch - Gesamtausgabe der Reichsbahn-Kursbuch and appeared in competition with the Reichskursbuch until 1944, whereby the Deutsche Reichsbahn urged its employees to promote the sale of their own product. The last edition contains the note: "Applies from July 3, 1944 until further notice".

Both official publications also contained the timetables of the private and small railways, the Reich curriculum also contained the tram lines going beyond the city limits; in the case of very frequent connections, often only the route was given, but not all travel times. However, the division, numbering and design of the timetable tables in the two course books were completely different. Since 1933, the official or German course book was largely similar to today's DB course books.

The Reichskursbuch also contained a section on the omnibus lines of the post office and other companies, whereas the German Kursbuch only contained the - at that time still few - Reichsbahn omnibus lines. In addition, the Reichspostzentralamt also published a Kraftpost-Kursbuch for the entire Reich area, in which the Reichsbahnbuses could also be found. There were also a large number of pocket timetables from the individual Reichsbahn and Reichspost directorates as well as from private publishers, especially from daily newspapers for their catchment area. The Mitropa also gave a course book out, which, however, contained only the long-distance connections.

Attached was the course books mostly a separate coaches directory from which the path of individual coaches was evident that at railway stations have been converted to other trains. A train and wagon directory was later integrated into the timetable, which showed the route of all trains. A foreign course book with the most important routes of the neighboring railways was also available separately.

The course books of the last 150 years provide science with important knowledge not only about the structure of transport connections at that time, but also about the development of economy and tourism in all parts of Germany and about the general history not only in the local area. Despite their large circulation, only a few copies of the originals have survived as they were mostly disposed of after their validity had expired. Therefore, numerous editions of different course books have been reprinted or digitized in recent years and are available to interested readers.

Course books of the German railways since 1945

Course book of the DR, winter 1976
Course book table 150 of the West Berlin Ringbahn in the DR course book winter 1976

Since 1945 the Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR) and the Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) published course books for their areas. The Deutsche Reichsbahn continued to use the number system of the German course book until 1968. A newly developed numbering system was used from the 1968 summer timetable. The main routes to and from Berlin received the hundreds. Two exceptions were the course book routes 100 (Berlin Friedrichstrasse – Strausberg Nord of the S-Bahn Berlin) and 500 (Line A of the S-Bahn Leipzig). Main routes with high-speed passenger traffic were given full tens whenever possible, letters were no longer added.

Every six months the Deutsche Reichsbahn published not only pocket timetables for the individual administrative districts for 50 pfennigs, but also the domestic traffic course book for 2 marks, the course book for international traffic for 1.50 marks and the complete edition for 3.50 marks. In addition, a pocket timetable with international connections to Poland and Czechoslovakia was published for 50 pfennigs. Until 1981, the international traffic course book contained the tables to the neighboring countries, sorted according to states and border crossings, inland long-distance connections in many European countries. From 1982 the tables for traffic with neighboring countries were significantly expanded and thus made clearer. However, this eliminated the inland traffic connections in Western Europe.

It should be noted that the timetable tables for the West Berlin S-Bahn were published by the DR until 1984, as the railways in the whole of Berlin - although not part of the GDR in the west of the city - were operated by the DR. They were given the number group 150 to 159. From 1984 onwards, only the departure and arrival times of the S-Bahn trains in Berlin Friedrichstrasse station to and from Lehrter Stadtbf were given in a special, numberless table .

The German Federal Railroad introduced a new numbering system for the summer timetable (May 28, 1972). The number previously consisting of a three-digit number (for main routes) and a three-digit number and a lowercase letter (for secondary routes) has been replaced by three-digit numbers in both systems. S-Bahn tables received a three-digit number at the DB, to which the S-Bahn line is appended with a dot (990.1). At the Deutsche Reichsbahn, from 1983/84 to 1989/90, instead of the usual issues for summer and winter timetables, only an annual timetable with the timetable for one year was published.

First common course book DB / DR 1991/1992

After German reunification, a joint DB / DR course book was published for the first time for the period from June 1991 to May 1992, which, with a thickness of 55 mm, reached an almost unwieldy format. A year later, a new, all-German numbering system was developed. By the summer timetable 1999 the all-German course book appeared in a single volume. The timetable of the winter timetable 1999/2000 was sold in three more manageable individual issues.

Up to and including 2008, Deutsche Bahn published the course book valid for a timetable year in individual editions; in total it appeared in eight booklets, which were designated with the letters A to H. Issue A included long-distance lines and night trains in Germany and neighboring countries, while issues B to H, classified by region, included local and local long-distance traffic in Germany. In addition, individual ship lines, mountain railways and museum and nostalgic railways were listed in all issues. Major changes to the timetable were published in the form of supplements.

The question of the extent to which the timetable and the other published timetable information from Deutsche Bahn represent a monopoly-like railway infrastructure within the meaning of the Essential Facilities Doctrine , to which competitors must be granted access, was the subject of various legal disputes.

Replacement of the printed complete course book of DB AG / new course book editions

Course books in paper form

Last printed edition, in a slipcase with three-sided silver trim
The following paragraph is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.
Circulation amount, and requirement {{source}} for the assertion of higher circulation with private publishers.

The circulation of the complete course book has steadily decreased over the years. In 2003 it was 53,000, in 2005 35,000 and finally 20,000 in 2007. With these figures, DB AG justified the discontinuation of the publication of printed course books at the end of the 2008 timetable period. In the meantime, printed course books are being published by competitors of DB AG or other organizations, whereby the current circulation of these course books is often higher than that of the former corresponding regional editions of DB AG. The course book complete edition was last published in four volumes as a “luxury edition” at a price of 99.00 euros. However, this had to be pre-ordered by August 31, 2008. Only the regional edition of Baden-Wuerttemberg continued to appear for another timetable year due to a valid transport contract before the publication was transferred to the state-owned NVBW from December 2009.

In 2009 the DB AG itself published the course books Europe Summer and Winter , the booklets Departure / Arrival Germany , the regional course book Baden-Württemberg , the overview map of passenger transport and the CD-ROM DB-Reiseservice , which also contains the electronic course book as a complete edition. The course book tables will continue to be published on the Internet. Since the 2011/2012 timetable year, the long-distance and international tables and the train directory have also been missing in the electronic version. The overview map for passenger transport (route network map ) cannot be downloaded or saved. The CD-ROMs offered for sale by DB AG no longer contain any course book tables, but only "timetable information" (the publication of "DB timetable information" as a download and on CD was discontinued on December 14, 2014). The Deutsche Bahn website contains an overview of the timetable media currently published by DB.

In addition, however, course books or course book-like timetable booklets were published by several organizations as a replacement. The Bavarian Railway Company, together with the regional association of Pro Bahn, published a "Bayerisches Kursbuch 2009" based on DB AG data with a circulation of 10,500 instead of the Bavarian regional course book H. This roughly corresponds to the individual edition of this regional edition from 2007 decreased slightly over the years. For the timetable valid from December 11, 2011, 6500 copies were printed. The course book for Baden-Württemberg (3-Löwen-Kursbuch) is being printed for the 2015 timetable year with a circulation of 7000 copies. The front runner is the course book for Saxony-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt timetable), which was printed in the 2015 timetable with a circulation of 30,000 and distributed free of charge.

Printed course book editions in the 2018/2019 timetable year

  1. Baden-Württemberg: bwegt-Kursbuch Baden-Württemberg (until 2017: Drei-Löwen-Kursbuch ) with all timetable tables of the DB in the state, adjacent routes in Switzerland and Austria (taken from the SBB and ÖBB timetable). The ÖBB-Nightjet night train tables are listed separately. The two long-distance traffic tables (Munich / Frankfurt - Berlin) added last year, which together with the other tables with long-distance traffic offers a good overview of the most important connections across national borders towards Central Germany, are no longer included. However, the KBS 472 (Frankfurt-Cologne via high-speed line) has been added. The Bayern course book contains the two Fv tables. Various tables already contain information on the planned operator changes during the current timetable year. At the operator's request, the mountain railway tables are no longer part of the course book. In contrast to the electronic course book of the DB , however, the ship tables are included in the printed matter. The timetable is accompanied by the new overview map of Passenger Transport Germany with the course book route numbers of the DB, which shows the map of Verkehrsverbünde Deutschland on the back . The “Regio bus routes”, which are funded by the state as a supplement to the rail network away from the train, are offered every hour, can be found at the end of the work. The course book is available for 12.00 euros at the train station or from bookshops.
  2. Bavaria: Bavaria timetable with all DB timetable tables in the country and adjacent routes in Austria and the Czech Republic (taken from the ÖBB and ČD timetable). The two long-distance traffic tables Fv1 and Fv2 with the traffic between Munich / Frankfurt and Berlin can be found in front of the regional tables. The shipping tables and the timetables of the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn are also published in this printed timetable. The course book can be purchased for 9.90 euros at train stations and on the BEG website. When the timetable changes in June, a "supplementary volume" will be published containing the timetable changes that have occurred up to then (can be ordered free of charge via the website or a reply postcard enclosed with the timetable). The timetable is accompanied by the new overview map of Passenger Transport Germany with the course book route numbers of the DB, which shows the map of Verkehrsverbünde Deutschland on the back .
  3. Saxony-Anhalt: The timetable for Saxony-Anhalt is published for the last time with all the DB timetable tables in the state, the departure plans of major train stations and the regional bus routes in the state network . The course book can be ordered free of charge on the Internet.
  4. Thuringia: Timetable book Thuringia with all DB timetable tables in the country. Since June 2012, the DB itself is no longer the publisher of the course book, but the state's own local transport company. It initially appeared as a summer and winter timetable edition - currently it is published as an annual edition.
  5. North Rhine-Westphalia: NRW timetable book with specially prepared timetable tables that differ from the DB tables and do not contain train numbers. Long-distance traffic is listed separately in this timetable book. The timetable is available for 2.00 euros.
  6. Schleswig-Holstein: Schleswig-Holstein timetables contains tables for the federal state similar to the DB timetable . This edition is only available in Schleswig-Holstein.
  7. Hesse: Since 2014 there has been a timetable book for the federal state of Hesse which contains all rail connections and is similar to most network timetables in terms of table design (line names instead of course letter numbers, train types without train numbers, long-distance traffic listed in the regional tables). Attached to the timetable is the Hesse leisure map with worthwhile excursion destinations and a route map. The timetable book can be obtained from RMV .
  8. In addition, the three German city-states of Berlin ( VBB ), Hamburg ( HVV ) and Bremen ( VBN ) each publish timetable booklets from transport associations that cover the entire state.

Course books in electronic form

While Deutsche Bahn long-distance traffic relies entirely on electronic timetable information, the timetable for regional traffic continues to be published, but only in an electronically accessible form. The layout corresponds to that of the previous paper course book, but some tables actually only show regional and local trains, even if long-distance trains run in parallel.

numbering

The traffic lines are numbers Kursbuch routes (in so-called K urs b uch s treks, in short, KBS ) is divided, for example Kursbuch route 440 for the Ruhr-win path .

Currently, three to five-digit numbers are assigned in the electronic course book of the DB AG. Long-distance lines were given two-digit numbers until the 2011 timetable change, as were night train and holiday lines, which, however, were preceded by an N or F. These tables have not been published in the eKB since 2011. The regional tables with the total traffic on a route (unfortunately the long-distance traffic is sometimes missing) are designated with a three-digit number. The region in which the route is located can be recognized from the leading number. The routes with the numbers 5xx are located in south-east Germany.

Certain routes are divided into sections by adding a number after a period. This can be individual S-Bahn lines (e.g. 999.1 for S-Bahn line 1 in Munich), foreign sections (e.g. 730.4 for the Waldshut - Koblenz - Winterthur / Baden (- Zurich) route) or, earlier, also for individual ones Long-distance lines (e.g. 13.1 or 13.2 for the two long-distance lines between Cologne and Frankfurt (Main), which run over the high-speed route or through the Rhine Valley). As an exception to this rule, lines 6 and 7 of the Hanover S-Bahn between Hanover and Celle are summarized in a timetable table with the number 360.6.7 due to the very similar route.

Shipping lines, mountain railways and museum or nostalgic railways are designated with a five-digit number. These start with a 10 (shipping lines), 11 (mountain railways, which are no longer published in the course book) or a 12 (museum railways).

Railway bus course book

Title of volume 1 of 3 of the bus course book (complete edition) of the Deutsche Bundesbahn for the timetable year 93/94; latest edition
Title of the bus course book Volume II of the Deutsche Bundesbahn 91/92

Up to the timetable year 1993/1994, the post and rail bus timetables for the Deutsche Bundesbahn and later the timetables of the regional bus companies of the DB were published in the so-called bus course book (formerly the official bus course book ). First in one volume, then in two and in the last three years as a three-volume work. A two-part overview map Die Bahn - Der Bus contained an overview of the bus routes for the entire West Federal Republic, the timetables of which were published in the bus timetable. The bus tables were later published in the so-called regional course books. The system of numbering in the bus course book followed that of the course book (rail); The bus tables were provided with a four-digit number (e.g. 7443 for the Spaichingen – Gosheim – Egesheim route branching off from the KBS 740). Even today, some regional DB bus companies use the course letter numbers when creating their tables. Many routes are also marked with the numbers of the relevant network timetables. The last time in the timetable year 2002 was a comprehensive separate bus course book for Bavaria, which was sold together with the regional edition “H” and the long-distance section.

In the GDR, due to the responsibility of the road transport companies for local bus traffic, there were neither references in the timetable to bus connections nor an overall bus course book. The motor transport companies in the districts issued their own timetable books, usually in the classic course book set with their own timetable table numbers. These usually three-digit numbers were preceded by the first letter of the respective vehicle registration number, for example S-107 for the Leipzig – Zwenkau line. Timetable tables for railway lines on which travel was discontinued as part of the change of mode of transport were not published in the DR course books, and the travelers concerned had to obtain information from the transferring operator.

Nowadays, the regional bus tables can also be seen in the local or district timetables and in the network timetables. They can also be accessed online, for example at www.bahn.de. There the regional bus companies of the DB offer the timetable tables as PDF for download.

Postal rate book

Sample page from the 1989 postal rate book with additional postal trains or in the regular offer as "Ladeschaffnerbahnpost" (red) on the KBS 750

Up until the end of the rail mail service in 1997, there was a special postal rate book based on the rail course book. This included the “completely normal” train schedule, provided that trains with rail mail cars ran on the route . Special mail (freight) trains were marked in red with special symbols. This was done by hand; the example opposite shows a later timetable year. With a marked time in the timetable tables, it was possible to determine whether and when the mail was being loaded into a rail mail car that was attached to a scheduled train. The printed works in yellow envelopes were published by the Federal Ministry for Post and Telecommunications . The postal rate books were not only intended for internal use, but could also be purchased from all post offices by interested customers for a nominal fee of DM 5.00 (as of 1993/94; excerpt from the postal rate book I). The postal course books II and III contained the timetables for the carriage of mail on roads. They were printed in the Bundesdruckerei Berlin.

Course book abroad

By the end of 2001, Deutsche Bahn published its own foreign course book (from 1995 foreign course book ). In addition to long-distance connections abroad, this included long-distance and regional connections for each country in the complete edition (Tables A1 to H7). The timetable tables had five-digit numbers with a "2" at the beginning. The country sorting was based on the international tables A1 to H7, starting with table A1 Niebüll – Tondern, and was continued for the neighboring countries according to the following grid: A - Scandinavia, B - Poland with Leningrad and Moscow, C - Czechoslovakia, D - Austria ( with connections from Vienna to Poland), the Balkan countries and the Italian Adriatic coast, E - Switzerland, Italy, F - France, Luxembourg, G - Belgium, Paris and London, H - the Netherlands and London.

The timetables in and with the former GDR were not listed (which, however, were included in the domestic complete edition with an extract as well as all transit trains to Berlin) and trains to the CIS. These were not included until the mid-1990s.

From the 2002 timetable year, the international course book was included in a licensed edition ( Thomas Cook international timetable) .

Trivia

The poet Eugen Roth amusingly sums up the essence of the course book in one work.

In his TV sketch literary criticism , the humorist Loriot played a journalist who “with the delicacy of an intellectual television producer” reviews the course book like a work of upscale literature.

See also

literature

  • Course book . In: Meyers . 6th edition. Volume 11, p.  869 .
  • Hans-Joachim Ritzau, Franz Garrecht: Course books - mirrors of their time (=  The railway scene yesterday - today . Volume 3 ). Verlag Ritzau, Pürgen 1994, ISBN 3-921304-91-1 .

Web links

Historical

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ International Union of Railways: Codex 411 Design, content and structure of the course books . 6th edition, 1978
  2. ↑ International Union of Railways - Railway Technical Publications: Rescission of the UIC Code 411. ( Memento of November 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), June 6, 2002, accessed on November 1, 2013.
  3. ↑ Beuth: DIN 66359: 1999-05 Title (German): Information in public passenger transport - Timetable books - Content, structure and design . Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  4. ↑ Eisenbahndirektion Mainz (ed.): Official Gazette of the Royal Prussian and Grand Ducal Hessian Railway Directorate in Mainz of April 6, 1912, No. 18. Announcement No. 226, p. 111: Discontinuation of the West German and South German course books and their replacement by pocket timetables; The same: Railway Directorate Mainz (ed.): Official Journal of the Royal Prussian and Grand Ducal Hessian Railway Directorate in Mainz of April 27, 1912, No. 22. Announcement No. 267, p. 158.
  5. ^ Alfred B. Gottwald: The "father of the official course book." Memory as Alfred Baumgarten. In: Dumjahn's yearbook for railway literature 2001 . P. 48ff.
  6. ^ Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (Ed.): Official Gazette of the Reichsbahndirektion Mainz of November 13, 1937, No. 58. Announcement No. 740, p. 350.
  7. ↑ Peter Sprickmann Kerkerinck: Is the DB passenger train information also useful for passengers traveling on private railways? In: Eisenbahn-Revue International . Issue 2/2006, ISSN  1421-2811 , p. 102 f.
  8. ↑ Validity of the last edition (in the slipcase ): December 14, 2008 - December 12, 2009.
  9. ^ Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung June 27, 2008: Deutsche Bahn will not have a timetable in future
  10. ↑ Last stop Internet
  11. ↑ Electronic course book
  12. ↑ route map
  13. ↑ DB timetable information on CD ( Memento from December 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  14. ↑ Deutsche Bahn timetable media
  15. ↑ Own course book for Bavaria. (No longer available online.) The Mobility Manager, December 9, 2008, archived from the original on March 21, 2013 ; Retrieved November 14, 2009 .
  16. ↑ Bayerische Eisenbahngesellschaft: Bayerische Eisenbahngesellschaft also publishes 2011 timetable book .
  17. ↑ News from http://www.pressetext.com/news/20141202014 , accessed on December 13, 2014.
  18. ↑ See the foreword to the Saxony-Anhalt course book, accessed on December 13, 2014.
  19. ↑ a b DB-Kursbuchkarten to be ordered in two versions at: https://bahnshop.de/sammeln-leidenschaften/eisenbahn-karten.html
  20. ^ Local transport company Baden-Württemberg: Course book Baden-Württemberg 2018: Regional connections and regional bus routes . VUD Medien, 2017, ISBN 978-3-943551-06-8 .
  21. ↑ a b Bavaria course book. Retrieved December 9, 2017 .
  22. ↑ Local traffic service Sachsen-Anhalt GmbH: Order the timetable book: Heavy local traffic in Saxony-Anhalt. Retrieved December 9, 2017 .
  23. ↑ Ordered the Thuringia timetable book
  24. ↑ Order the NRW timetable book - Mobility Portal NRW. Retrieved December 9, 2017 .
  25. ↑ RMV.DE - RMV timetable books. Retrieved December 9, 2017 .
  26. ↑ Electronic course book of Deutsche Bahn. Deutsche Bahn , accessed on June 14, 2019 .
  27. ↑ Deutsche Bahn course book. Retrieved December 9, 2017 .
  28. ↑ The DB regional bus companies offer the PDF download of the course book tables. An overview of the individual companies can be found, for example, at http://www.suedbadenbus.de/suedbadenbus/view/wir/partner_links.shtml
  29. ^ Eugen Roth: The course book
  30. ^ Loriot: literary criticism . In: Cartoon 21 , 1972.
  31. ^ Loriot: Loriot's dramatic works . Diogenes Verlag, Zurich 1981, ISBN 3-257-01004-4 , p. 257 .