Colosseum (train)

*Colosseum*
	The TEE Colosseum arriving at Milano Centrale station in 1985
Overview
Service type	Trans Europ Express (TEE); (1984–1987); InterCity (IC); (1987–1989); EuroCity (EC); (1989–1997)
Locale	Germany ; Switzerland ; Italy
Predecessor	TEE Settebello
First service	3 June 1984
Last service	31 May 1997
Former operator(s)	Deutsche Bundesbahn ; Ferrovie dello Stato
Route
Start	Rome
End	Milan / Frankfurt am Main
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification	15 kV 16.7 Hz; (Germany & Switzerland); 3,000 V DC; (Italy)

Last updated March 21, 2019

The Colosseum was an express train initially linking Rome and Milan, later Frankfurt am Main. The train was named after the Amphitheatrum Flavium, renowned as the Colosseum.^[1]

Express trains are a form of rail service. Express trains make only a small number of stops, instead of stopping locally. In some cases, trains run express where there is overlapping local train service available, and run local at the tail ends of the line, where there is no supplemental local service. During overnight hours, or other times where it is practical, express trains may become local, but still running to where an express train would terminate.

Rome is the capital city and a special comune of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region. With 2,872,800 residents in 1,285 km² (496.1 sq mi), it is also the country's most populated comune. It is the fourth most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the centre of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4,355,725 residents, thus making it the most populous metropolitan city in Italy. Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of the Tiber. The Vatican City is an independent country inside the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city: for this reason Rome has been often defined as capital of two states.

Milan is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city in Italy after Rome, with the city proper having a population of 1,372,810 while its metropolitan area has a population of 3,244,365. Its continuously built-up urban area has a population estimated to be about 5,270,000 over 1,891 square kilometres. The wider Milan metropolitan area, known as Greater Milan, is a polycentric metropolitan region that extends over central Lombardy and eastern Piedmont and which counts an estimated total population of 7.5 million, making it by far the largest metropolitan area in Italy and the 54th largest in the world. Milan served as capital of the Western Roman Empire from 286 to 402 and the Duchy of Milan during the medieval period and early modern age.

Trans Europ Express

The Colosseum was the successor to the TEE Settebello on the same route and schedule. The ETR 300 rolling stock was replaced by locomotive-hauled coaches of the Gran Conforto class. Because the name Settebello was widely associated with the ETR 300 stock, the name of the Milan – Rome service was changed as well. On 3 June 1984 the service continued as TEE Colosseum (or Colosseo in Italian).^[2] The train was hauled by FS Class E.444 locomotives and used the Gran Conforto coaches that had been used in the TEE Adriatico until 2 June 1984. After three years of service the Colosseum was converted to a two-class InterCity.

The Settebello was a famous Italian high-speed express train that linked Milano Centrale in Milan with Roma Termini station in Rome, via Bologna and Florence. Introduced in 1953, it was operated by the Italian State Railways (FS) and used the distinctive ETR 300-type electric multiple unit trainsets, featuring observation lounges at the front and rear of the train. When introduced, it "set a standard of speed and luxurious travelling accommodation previously unknown in Italy [and] rivalling anything else on European rails." It was a Trans Europ Express (TEE) from 1974 until its withdrawal, in 1984.

The ETR 300, also known as "Settebello-type" for its use on the former Settebello train service, is a type of Italian fast electric multiple unit (EMU) trainset formerly operated by Ferrovie dello Stato. The letters ETR stood for elettrotreno rapido. Thanks to its aerodynamically low-drag profile, it boasted a maximum speed of 200 km/h (120 mph), with a power output of 2600 kW. Manufactured for FS by Breda, a total of only three trainsets were built, numbered ETR 301–303.

The FS E.444 is a class of Italian railways electric locomotives. They were introduced in the course of the 1960 until 1975. Starting from 1995, all E.444s were upgraded as E.444R.

EuroCity

On 28 May 1989 the route was extended farther north to Frankfurt am Main and, being international, the train qualified as EuroCity. The coaches for the EuroCity service were provided by Deutsche Bundesbahn. In 1991 the German InterCityExpress (ICE) started with the opening of the Hanover – Würzburg high-speed railway. This meant a reorganisation of the long-distance train services that affected the EuroCitys as well. Travellers to Frankfurt could use the ICE north of Basel, but the Rhine valley farther north did not yet have a high-speed service, and the number of EuroCitys there was increased. Travellers from Milan to Germany could use the EC Verdi but this train did not operate south of Milan. The Colosseum was shortened to the Rome – Basel portion, which continued in operation until 31 May 1997. On 1 June 1997 Cisalpino introduced ETR 470 tilting trains between Milan and Basel, which replaced the EC Colosseum.^[3]

EuroCity, abbreviated as EC, is a cross-border train category within the European inter-city rail network. In contrast to trains allocated to the lower-level "IC" (InterCity) category, EC trains are international services that meet 20 criteria covering comfort, speed, food service, and cleanliness. Each EC train is operated by more than one European Union or Swiss rail company, under a multilateral co-operative arrangement, and all EC trains link important European cities with each other.

The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remained the state railway of West Germany until after German reunification, when it was merged with the former East German Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR) to form Deutsche Bahn AG, which came into existence on 1 January 1994.

Basel is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine. Basel is Switzerland's third-most-populous city with about 180,000 inhabitants.

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<i>Mont Cenis</i> (train) trainservice in France and Italy (1957-2003)

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References

Works cited

Hajt, Jörg (2001). Das grosse TEE Buch (in German). Bonn/Königswinter: Heel Verlag. ISBN 3-89365-948-X.
Mertens, Maurice; Malaspina, Jean-Pierre (2007). La Légende des Trans Europ Express (in French). Vannes: LR Presse. ISBN 978-29-036514-5-9.

International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.

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[1] La Légende des TEE p. 400.

[2] Das grosse TEE Buch p. 120

[3] La Légende des TEE p. 401.

Overview
The TEE Colosseum arriving at Milano Centrale station in 1985
Service type	Trans Europ Express (TEE) (1984–1987) InterCity (IC) (1987–1989) EuroCity (EC) (1989–1997)
Locale	Germany Switzerland Italy
Predecessor	TEE Settebello
First service	3 June 1984 (1984-06-03)
Last service	31 May 1997 (1997-05-31)
Former operator(s)	Deutsche Bundesbahn Ferrovie dello Stato
Route
Start	Rome
End	Milan / Frankfurt am Main
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in)
Electrification	15 kV 16.7 Hz (Germany & Switzerland) 3,000 V DC (Italy)