Train group (train)
In rail traffic, a train group is a combination of trains with the same route and the same cycle . Several train groups can form a line together. Train groups can serve the entire line or only parts of a line. The list of train groups contains the number of circulations and the train spacing (cycle) as well as the operating time.
The use of train groups was practiced at the beginning of the 20th century on the Berlin city, ring and suburban railway (later S-Bahn Berlin ). As an example, there were four train groups on the Stadtbahn in the 1910s:
- Potsdam – Erkner
- Grunewald – Mahlsdorf
- Nordring (used the Stadtbahn and Nordring)
- Südring (used the Stadtbahn and Südring).
The train groups were later transferred from steam operation to the electrical operation of the Berlin S-Bahn . During the Second World War, the train groups, designated either by numbers or letters, were displayed on the front windows. Despite their line-like character, train groups only have an internal meaning. It was not until the summer timetable in 1990 that the operator of the Berlin S-Bahn, the Deutsche Reichsbahn, published the train group names in the timetable. With the 1991 summer timetable, new line names were introduced, and the train groups have only been used internally since then. Several groups of trains can run on one line.
Example: S-Bahn train groups in West Berlin in 1979
| Train group | Radio name | route | Train stations | Routes traveled | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eagle | Frohnau ↔ Wannsee | 23 | Nordbahn , north-south tunnel , Wannseebahn | without stopping in East Berlin except Friedrichstrasse and Wollankstrasse |
| 1a | Eagle | Anhalter Bahnhof ↔ Wannsee | 14th | North-south tunnel, Wannseebahn | only in rush hour traffic |
| 2 | buzzard | Schönholz → Lichterfelde Süd → Heiligensee | 12 | Nordbahn, north-south tunnel, Anhalter Bahn , Kremmener Bahn | like train group 1, with ZGr. 3 coupled |
| 3 | Cobra | Heiligensee → Lichtenrade → Schönholz | 18th | Kremmener Bahn, north-south tunnel, Dresdener Bahn | like train group 1, with ZGr. 2 coupled |
| 5 | - | Zehlendorf ↔ Düppel | 3 | Trunk line | Two-man operation |
| A. | Anton | Gesundbrunnen ↔ Sonnenallee / Köllnische Heide | 19/19 | Ringbahn , connecting railway Baumschulenweg – Neukölln | every 10 minutes |
| B. | Berta | Beusselstrasse ↔ Gartenfeld | 4th | Ringbahn, Siemensbahn | at times every 10 minutes |
| C. | Caesar | Zoological Garden ↔ Sonnenallee | 14th | Stadtbahn , Ringbahn | only in rush hour traffic |
| E. | Emil | Spandau West ↔ Friedrichstrasse | 14th | Spandau suburban railway , light rail | only in rush hour traffic |
| H | Heinrich | Staaken ↔ Friedrichstrasse | 15th | Spandau suburban railway, light rail | |
| L. | Ludwig | Wannsee ↔ Friedrichstrasse | 11 | Wetzlarer Bahn , light rail | |
| N | North Pole | Beusselstrasse ↔ Spandau West | 5 | Hamburg Railway | every 30 minutes |