Talgo (Deutsche Bahn, 1994-2009)
The German Railways (DB) set Talgo - articulated trains of the company Patentes Talgo 1994-2009 one in the night travel.
In 2019, Deutsche Bahn ordered new Talgo 230 trains from the same manufacturer , which will be delivered by 2025 and used in long-distance transport under the working title ECx .
First test drives
From November 1988, the Deutsche Bundesbahn began extensive test runs with loaned Talgo sets from RENFE , including a high-speed run at 292 km / h on a high-speed line . Another spectacular test followed in December 1990 on the Munich-Freimann roller dynamometer , where it reached 500 km / h at the time (and thus the highest speed that has ever been measured there). After these tests were successful, the DB decided - as the first railway company after the Spanish RENFE - to use the Talgo technology commercially. In contrast to the Spanish model, however, Germany was only intended to be used in night travel.
Order
In June 1992, DB finally ordered a first batch of five Talgo Pendular 200 trains from Talgo for 124 million German marks . The trains delivered to Germany all belong to the sixth Talgo generation (counted from the Talgo prototype from 1942). The first delivery series comprised 112 cars ; production began in 1993, with the participation of German suppliers. For the summer timetable 1994 (first day of application May 29, 1994) the scheduled Talgo traffic in Germany was started. In the same year the subsidiary Talgo Deutschland GmbH was founded, which carried out the maintenance of the Talgo trains of the DB in Berlin.
DB vehicles
First delivery lot
Although the construction of the 112 wagons of the first delivery lot had already started in 1993, the five trains were not completed until immediately before the scheduled service began; they were accepted between May 6 and 27, 1994. Among these 112 cars were ten so-called "machine end cars" without passenger spaces, including five Dz 881 cars ( machine end car I ) and five Dz 882 cars ( machine end car II ). These two special wagons each form the structural end of a Talgo set; They are also used for air conditioning and energy supply for the non-powered Talgo train. However, they are not symmetrical, end car II is the only car on the train with two axles - all other cars, on the other hand, have only one axle and are hooked into the joint of their neighboring car. With the wagons of the first delivery lot, DB was able to create a maximum of five different sets.
Second delivery lot
In July 1995, the DB then ordered two more Talgo trains, this second delivery lot comprised a total of 38 cars (four of which were machine end cars). Both trains were put into service on August 22, 1996, increasing the total number of DBs from 112 to 150 Talgo cars (14 of which were machine end cars); from then on there were seven independent Talgo trains available. As a result of this increase, the night connection Munich - Hamburg could also be switched to ICN trains at the timetable change on September 29, 1996.
Dissolution of two sets
After the Hamburg – Stuttgart night train was discontinued on November 1, 2002, the DB permanently closed two of its seven Talgo trains due to a lack of further demand. From then on, some of the intermediate cars were used to reinforce the remaining five trains, the rest were parked - no further use has been found for these cars to this day.
Home
From the beginning, the maintenance of all existing Talgo wagons of the DB was concentrated in the Talgo factory in Berlin Warschauer Strasse , where the trains are still based today. Only the workshop there - operated in cooperation with Talgo Deutschland GmbH - is equipped for the maintenance of the articulated trains. Regardless of this, conventional night trains are also serviced there (which are also based there).
Technical data of the German Talgo cars
- Length: intermediate car 13,140 mm; Machine end car 12,170 mm
- Width: 2,942 mm
- Height: 3,365 mm
- Weight: varies between 12.6 t and 20.0 t depending on the type of wagon
- Floor height above the upper edge of the rail: 550 mm
Since the DB considered a top speed of 140 km / h to be sufficient for night travel, the braking equipment was geared towards these limits - the installation of magnetic rail brakes was thus not necessary. In the home workshop, the Talgo wagons can be used to create a maximum of 28-part trains (each consisting of two machine end wagons and 26 intermediate wagons); at the DB, however, a maximum of 24-part trains (with 22 intermediate cars) have been used so far.
Since the sleeping cars only have one door (on the aisle side), they exist in a left and a right version. These are alternately lined up in the train so that the aisle side changes in each car and boarding is possible in every second car.
Painting
As a special feature, the German Talgo articulated trains were painted in the product colors designed by the Deutsche Bundesbahn until the end of 2009 . This color concept was introduced in 1986 (and then carried over to the German Talgos in 1994), it was supposed to enable the different types of trains to be distinguished from the outside. Although the DB Talgo trains were initially called InterCityNight, they have the blue color code (which was actually intended for long-distance trains below the InterCity category in the concept of the product colors of the Deutsche Bundesbahn ). Apart from three other conventional night train wagons (bar wagons of the earlier “Luna” night train - type WGmh 854) and two sets of trains from the earlier long-distance express train (FD) “Königssee”, the blue color code was used exclusively for the former Interregio train type . On the two machine end cars and the restaurant car, the InterCityNight lettering (also in blue) used to be applied (between the window band and the roof edge). Since the abandonment of the ICN train type (and the associated restructuring of the DB night trains), each wagon has instead been given a small logo with the DB NachtZug word mark in red.
There were several Talgo cars with a different paint job for the planned traffic to Russia (see Discarded route to Russia ). The color of the window band has been changed to a darker blue, the area above and below bears the color of the other long-distance trains of the DB in light gray with a continuous red stripe below the window band.
In summer 2008, work began on repainting the cars in the new City Night Line color scheme. The newly painted cars are now light gray with traffic red window areas that do not extend to the ends of the car. After a few cars this repainting was stopped again.
Talgo missions in Germany
The new night trains were initially also marketed in Germany - based on the example of the Spanish “Trenhotel” trains - as “hotel trains”. As a special feature compared to the conventional DB night trains, they only consisted of sleeping cars and seating cars; However, couchette cars were not initially planned. The new trains had to stand out clearly from the comfort of conventional locomotive-hauled night trains, which is why DB created the InterCityNight (ICN) train type especially for Talgo hotel trains. This designation, which was used until around the beginning of 1999, was reserved exclusively for night trains driven with Talgo sets, only then were Talgo trains with conventional night trains grouped under one category (initially until December 8, 2007 as DB Night Train , from December 9, 2007 then as DB City Night Line ). It was not until a few years after their introduction that the German Talgo trains were equipped with berths. For this purpose, on the one hand, so-called "cabin couchettes" were purchased, and on the other, existing seating cars were converted accordingly. The term hotel train was no longer used by the DB in later years, after which it was referred to as a "Talgo type night train".
Presentation in the spring of 1994
Before the start of scheduled traffic for the 1994 summer timetable, DB wanted to present this type of train, which was still unfamiliar to Germany, to a wider audience at the Hanover Fair in April 1994. Because at that time not a single Talgo set was available (the first Talgo set of the DB was not accepted until May 6, 1994), Talgo sets were rented from the Spanish state railway Renfe for this purpose . These borrowed trains were then used in the special traffic to the Hanover Fair (including from Munich ) and in this way gave the passengers a foretaste of the upcoming scheduled Talgo operation at DB.
May 29, 1994 to September 28, 1996
After all five sets were delivered on time, the planned four-day circuit could be operated from May 29, 1994 (first day of validity of the 1994 summer timetable). At that time, the Talgo trains replaced conventional, locomotive-hauled night trains. From then on, four Talgo trains were in use at the same time every night (the fifth set of the first delivery lot that was procured served as a reserve and was parked in Berlin):
| train | Departure station | Destination station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICN 1900 | Munich East | 22:44 | Berlin-Charlottenburg | 07:53 |
| ICN 1901 | Berlin-Charlottenburg | 22:03 | Munich East | 07:14 |
| ICN 1944 | Berlin-Charlottenburg | 22:30 | Bonn-Bad Godesberg | 08:10 |
| ICN 1945 | Bonn-Bad Godesberg | 21:58 | Berlin-Charlottenburg | 06:57 |
The four trains that were scheduled to be used from May 29, 1994 (including machine end cars) each consisted of 22 Talgo cars (unlike the replacement train, which consisted of 24 cars). At that time they were ranked as follows:
| number | genus | designation | Ordinance no. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 × | Dz 882 | Machine end wagon II | 4th |
| 11 × | WLAz 889 | Sleeping car | 5-15 |
| 1 × | WRz 887 | Restaurant and lounge cars | 16 |
| 1 × | WRkz 885 | Bistro and reception trolleys | 17th |
| 1 × | Bpcbz 883 | wheelchair-accessible seating car | 18th |
| 6 × | Bpcz 884 | Seating car | 19-22, 24-25 |
| 1 × | Dz 881 | Machine end car I | 26th |
Each InterCityNight train thus offered 110 beds (distributed in 55 double cabins, each with its own shower) and 200 seats in the so-called "comfort armchairs" (plus 30 additional seats in the restaurant car). When the InterCityNight started operating in 1994, couchette cars were not yet available. All four trains offered the option of taking cars with them; For this purpose, the two pairs of trains were additionally provided with DDm 915 car transport wagons (in the first timetable period these were three DDm 915s for the 1900/1901 train pair and two DDm 915s for the 1944/1945 train pair; in later years, however, the number of car transporters changed several times) . Car transport, however, was only possible to or from the Berlin-Wannsee car train terminal because the ICN terminus Berlin-Charlottenburg was not equipped with the appropriate loading facilities. In the direction of Berlin, the cars with the higher serial numbers were always at the head of the train (this was also related to the maintenance of the trains in the Heimatwerk, e.g. the sleeping cars or the double dining car were always in the same place in the hall, what the logistics and management simplified).
In the machine end car I (at that time serial number 26) there were also bicycle parking spaces that had to be reserved - at that time there were five. The number of bicycle spaces was later increased in two steps, initially to six (approx. 2003) and later to seven (approx. 2007) spaces.
September 29, 1996 to late 1998 / early 1999
With the delivery of the two additional sets in August 1996 (second delivery lot), the Talgo deployment at DB was expanded to a six-day schedule on September 29, 1996. At that time, the conventional night trains on the Munich - Hamburg night train connection were replaced by ICN Talgos. From then on, six trains were in use every night, the seventh set served as an operational reserve. Car transport was also offered on the new route, so all DB ICN trains continued to run with cars and bicycles. From September 29, 1996 (beginning of the winter timetable), the Talgos operated by DB as follows:
| train | Departure station | Destination station |
|---|---|---|
| ICN 1900 | Munich East | Berlin |
| ICN 1901 | Berlin | Munich East |
| ICN 1944 | Berlin | Bonn-Bad Godesberg |
| ICN 1945 | Bonn-Bad Godesberg | Berlin |
| ICN 1988 | Munich East | Hamburg-Altona |
| ICN 1989 | Hamburg-Altona | Munich East |
At the same time as the expansion of the company, the interior concept of the German Talgos was changed, because in the early years it had been shown that there was still strong demand for a comfort segment between seated and sleeping cars in German night traffic. On the constructive basis of the seating car with an open-plan compartment, the new category of the “cabin couchette car” was created (in the run-up to the expansion of the company to three routes). This night train comfort level was previously largely unknown in Western Europe, but it is widely used in Asia and in the successor states of the former Soviet Union . For this purpose, on the one hand, the seating cars of the first delivery lot were converted accordingly, on the other hand, new coaches were procured in the course of the second delivery lot, which were equipped as couchette cars from the start. Each of these cabin couchettes offers 20 berths (two on top of each other in a bunk bed arrangement). Contrary to earlier considerations with doors, they were only separated from the center aisle with curtains. The trains continued to run in 22 parts, however, the new comfort level was bought with a reduction in the number of sleeping places (- 9%) and, above all, fewer seats (- 45%).
From September 29, 1996, the German Talgo trains were lined up as follows (plus car transport wagons, the number of which however varied depending on the route):
| number | genus | designation | Ordinance no. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 × | Dz 882 | Machine end wagon II | 5 |
| 10 × | WLAz 889 | Sleeping car | 6-15 |
| 1 × | WRz 887 | Restaurant and lounge cars | 16 |
| 1 × | WRkz 885 | Bistro and reception trolleys | 17th |
| 1 × | Bpcbz 883 | wheelchair-accessible seating car | 18th |
| 3 × | Bpcz 884 | Seating car | 19-21 |
| 4 × | Bvcz 886 | Cabin couchettes | 22-25 |
| 1 × | Dz 881 | Machine end car I | 26th |
Thus every Talgo train of the DB (without restaurant / lounge)
- 100 beds (= 10 less than before)
- 110 seats (= 90 fewer than before)
- 80 berths
Late 1998 / early 1999 until October 31, 2002
At the end of 1998, the night train business was spun off from DB Fernverkehr and merged with the subsidiary DB AutoZug GmbH , which had existed since the beginning of 1997 . At the same time, the new type of train DB NachtZug (abbreviated: NZ) was created, a brand name that was to shape the entire DB night train business from then on. In this context, the InterCityNight type of train created especially for the Talgos in 1994 was abolished; the Talgos were henceforth combined with conventional locomotive-hauled night trains under the collective name NZ. Based on the type of train, it was no longer possible to recognize that it was a Talgo. In addition, the trains were given individual names (including Pluto and Meteor ) for better differentiation. Simultaneously with the change of name from ICN to NZ (at the turn of the year 1998/1999 and thus in the middle of the current timetable period), the night train connection between the old capital Bonn and the new capital Berlin was also discontinued (from then on no night traffic was offered on this route). Instead, a new Talgo connection was set up between Stuttgart and Hamburg (again as a replacement for a conventional night train), the car transport on this train took place from and to Kornwestheim , located on the northern city limits of Stuttgart. The train numbers, departure and arrival times given in the following table correspond to the end of this operating period (as of the 2002 summer timetable):
| train | Surname | Departure station | Destination station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ 1900 | Pluto | Munich East | 22:28 | Berlin-Lichtenberg | 07:36 |
| NZ 1901 | Pluto | Berlin-Lichtenberg | 21:51 | Munich East | 07:07 |
| NZ 1906 | Stuttgart Central Station | 20:54 | Hamburg-Altona | 07:24 | |
| NZ 1907 | Hamburg-Altona | 22:26 | Stuttgart Central Station | 09:01 | |
| NZ 1988 | meteor | Munich East | 22:32 | Hamburg-Altona | 08:05 |
| NZ 1989 | meteor | Hamburg-Altona | 21:48 | Munich East | 07:29 |
The train configuration was not changed in the course of the introduction of the new NZ train category. However, car transport on the new ICN route Stuttgart - Hamburg was given up again after a relatively short time, at the latest from the beginning of the winter timetable at the end of September 2000, this ICN train pair (as the only one of the three train pairs at the time) no longer carried any vehicles.
November 1, 2002 to December 8, 2007
Even before the regular timetable change on December 15, 2002, the night train connection between Stuttgart and Hamburg (NZ 1906/1907) - after only four years of Talgo operation - was switched back to conventional night train wagons on November 1, 2002 (before it was just about a One year later). Despite intensive marketing (including through the DB NachtZug24 service ), DB was unable to operate the Talgo trains economically on the Stuttgart route; the occupancy rate always remained far behind the two more successful lines to Munich. The limited flexibility of the long articulated trains turned out to be particularly problematic. But because all three lines were connected by a common circulation, the trains on the Stuttgart line could not be weakened (corresponding to the much lower demand) - this would only have been possible at Heimatwerk Berlin. Because the DB could not find an alternative route for the same reason, two of the seven trains were taken out of service. The Talgo circulation plan was thus reduced to four plantations from November 1, 2002, the scope of services corresponded again to that at the beginning of the Talgo deployment in 1994 (the fifth set again served as a reserve in Berlin):
| train | Surname | Departure station | Destination station |
|---|---|---|---|
| NZ 1900 | Pluto | Munich East | Berlin-Lichtenberg |
| NZ 1901 | Pluto | Berlin-Lichtenberg | Munich East |
| NZ 1988 | meteor | Munich East | Hamburg-Altona |
| NZ 1989 | meteor | Hamburg-Altona | Munich East |
The trains no longer needed on the Stuttgart train were then disbanded. Some of their intermediate wagons were used to reinforce the five sets that were still needed; the wagons that were no longer needed were parked in Berlin until further notice. The four sets used as planned were from then on in 24 pieces (previously 22 pieces), two sleeping cars (WLAz) were removed from them - two additional couchette cars (Bvcz) and two additional seating cars (Bpcz) were added to them. Furthermore, due to the regrouping, the serial numbers of the Talgo trains have also been shifted (previously cars 5 to 26 - then cars 7 to 30).
From the beginning of November 2002 the Talgos of the DB were arranged as follows (sorted by serial number, plus car transport wagons, the number of which, however, varied depending on the route):
| number | genus | designation | Ordinance no. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 × | Dz 882 | Machine end wagon II | 7th |
| 8 × | WLAz 889 | Sleeping car | 8-15 |
| 1 × | WRz 887 | Restaurant and lounge cars | 16 |
| 1 × | WRkz 885 | Bistro and reception trolleys | 17th |
| 1 × | Bpcbz 883 | wheelchair-accessible seating car | 18th |
| 5 × | Bpcz 884 | Seating car | 19-23 |
| 6 × | Bvcz 886 | Cabin couchettes | 24-29 |
| 1 × | Dz 881 | Machine end car I | 30th |
Thus every Talgo train of the DB (without restaurant / lounge)
- 170 seats (= 60 more than before)
- 120 berths (= 40 more than before)
- 80 beds (= 20 fewer than before)
December 9, 2007 to December 12, 2009
From November 1, 2002 (the connection to and from Stuttgart was discontinued), nothing had changed in terms of the routes or the composition of the DB Talgos trains, but since December 9, 2007, all DB night trains have been standardized as the DB City Night Line train type (abbreviated to CNL). The DB NachtZug (NZ) train type, which was introduced at the beginning of 1999, was completely abandoned at the same time (like the former Talgo ICN train type), and the train numbers also changed with the introduction of the new CNL train type. Furthermore, on December 9, 2007, the four trains were given a further train number in addition to their CNL train number, which also identified them as DB AutoZug, this was due to booking-related reasons (passengers with cars booked the trains using a different number than passengers without cars). The two Talgo train pairs Berlin – Munich and Hamburg – Munich were the last two Talgo trains of the DB that transported cars at the same time, but could also be used by travelers without a car. For all other DB trains, the two business areas of passenger transport and car train transport are now strictly separated. All four Talgo trains also carried three DDm 915 car transport cars during this timetable period. In Berlin, loading continued to take place in Berlin-Wannsee , because no loading and unloading of vehicles is possible at the new destination station in Berlin-Lichtenberg (just like in Berlin-Charlottenburg) . The two pairs of Talgo trains, whose names have since been changed to "Capella" and "Pyxis", ran the DB every night as follows:
| CNL number | Auto train number | Surname | Departure station | Destination station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNL 1200 | AZ 41200 | Capella | Munich East | 22:30 | Berlin-Lichtenberg | 08:13 |
| CNL 1201 | AZ 41201 | Capella | Berlin-Lichtenberg | 21:50 | Munich East | 07:06 |
| CNL 1288 | AZ 41288 | Pyxis | Munich East | 22:25 | Hamburg-Altona | 08:11 |
| CNL 1289 | AZ 41289 | Pyxis | Hamburg-Altona | 21:46 | Munich East | 07:28 |
End of deployment at Deutsche Bahn
With the 2008/2009 timetable period , the use of Talgo night trains at DB ended after 15 years for reasons of economy. The wagons were also parked because of the upcoming cost-intensive main inspections . After the trains could not be sold via the DB standstill management , the sets were scrapped in 2019.
Further missions
From September 2010, EuHoTra Germany AG (European Hotel Train) wanted to use a Talgo articulated train as a luxury hotel train on rail cruises in Central Europe. However, it was not used and insolvency proceedings were opened in December 2012 for the company's assets .
In June 2011, a set of the Talgo train was used for an excursion by the German Bundestag motorcycle group. The train ran once as a special train from Berlin-Wannsee to Munich East and back. From 2012 the sets were owned by HEROS Helvetic Rolling Stock GmbH and were for sale or rent. In December 2014, DB offered the train for sale via the online portal at a minimum bid price of EUR 7.5 million (plus VAT), without a general inspection.
Discarded stakes
Discarded route to Spain
After the pair of night trains between Stuttgart and Hamburg was converted to conventional rolling stock at the beginning of November 2002, the DB planned to use the two vacant sets to build a direct night train connection between Frankfurt (Main) and Barcelona . This route was supposed to go into operation on May 1, 2003, but the high costs of converting the corresponding units to lane change operation and increasing competition from low-cost airlines prevented this project. Even a modified plan, according to which the train should only be guided to Portbou while avoiding the change of gauge to Spanish broad gauge , was unable to provide sufficient coverage of the operating costs. The reason for this was coordination problems with the French state railway SNCF and the French network operator RFF; in particular, it was not possible to agree on the train path fees to be paid.
Discarded route to Russia
After the failure of the connection to Spain , the DB concentrated on a planned connection between Berlin and Russia and the Baltic States . It was hoped that traffic to the various successor states of the former Soviet Union would open up new market opportunities, despite the associated re-gauging. As early as the spring of 2004 (May 25th to 27th), a six-part Talgo set was presented to Kaliningrad , which consisted of the following components (plus two other conventional passenger coaches):
| number | genus | designation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 × | Dz 881 | Machine end car I |
| 1 × | WRkz 885 | Bistro and reception trolleys |
| 1 × | WRz 887 | Restaurant and lounge cars |
| 2 × | WLAz 889 | Sleeping car |
| 1 × | Dz 882 | Machine end wagon II |
The cars used were repainted especially for this presentation trip and then presented themselves in a different design (dark blue ribbon with a red decorative stripe between the lower edge of the window and the lower edge of the car). The plan was to have a tourist train made of Talgo wagons run regularly from Berlin via Kaliningrad to Saint Petersburg from early summer 2005 - in cooperation with the Polish state railway PKP and the Russian state railway RZD . This train was supposed to run once a week in each direction (with a train set used), the gauge would have been changed to Russian broad gauge in Dzierzynska near Kaliningrad. Further stopovers on the way to Saint Petersburg would have been the Lithuanian capital Vilnius and the Latvian capital Riga . After the planned opening date of this connection had initially been postponed several times (the last planning status was to introduce the relation to the 2008 summer season), this second project of further use of the surplus Talgo wagons had finally failed.
Web links
- Talgo night trains Description on the manufacturer's website
- Interactive panorama from the comfort couchette DB Talgo 6 (Quicktime or Flash required)
- Photo gallery Talgo night train on bahninfo.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Talgo: This is what Deutsche Bahn's new Eurocity trains look like. Handelsblatt Online , March 13, 2019, accessed on March 15, 2019 .
- ^ Deutsche Bahn is planning to reduce its night train service for the major timetable change in December. (No longer available online.) In: Der Mobiltätsmanager 9/2009. August 18, 2009, archived from the original on January 17, 2018 ; Retrieved May 25, 2014 .
- ↑ See website of EuHoTra Germany AG. (No longer available online.) August 16, 2010, archived from the original on July 31, 2010 ; Retrieved August 16, 2010 .
- ↑ EuHoTra Germany AG, Insolvency Announcements, companyhouse.de
- ↑ EuHoTra Germany AG - European Hotel Train on bahnadressen.net
- ↑ See posts in the forum Drehscheibe Online. June 14, 2011, accessed June 14, 2011 .
- ↑ Information about the Hotel Train Set built by "Talgo". (PDF; 1.1 MB) June 19, 2012, accessed September 25, 2012 .