Advertising poster for the Edelweiss, 1928. | |||||
| Overview | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service type | CIWL luxury train (1928–1939) Express train (1945–1957) Trans Europ Express (TEE) (1957–1979) Express train (1979–1999) | ||||
| Status | Discontinued | ||||
| Locale | Netherlands Belgium Luxembourg France Switzerland | ||||
| First service | 15 June 1928 | ||||
| Last service | 29 May 1999 | ||||
| Successor | EC Jean Monnet | ||||
| Former operator(s) | CIWL NMBS/SNCB CFL SNCF SBB-CFF-FFS | ||||
| Route | |||||
| Start | Amsterdam CS / Brussels | ||||
| End | Luzern / Basel SBB / Zürich HB | ||||
| Service frequency | Daily | ||||
| Technical | |||||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) | ||||
| Electrification | 15 kV AC, 16.7 Hz (Basel SBB–Zürich HB) | ||||
| |||||
The Edelweiss was an international express train. For most of its existence, it linked the Netherlands with Switzerland, via Belgium, Luxembourg and France. Introduced in 1928, it was named after a mountain flower, the Edelweiss ( Leontopodium alpinum ), which is associated with alpinism and the Alps, and regarded as a symbol of Switzerland.
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.
Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different plant species and taxon that grow as a plant community in these alpine tundra. These include perennial grasses, sedges, forbs, cushion plants, mosses, and lichens. Alpine plants are adapted to the harsh conditions of the alpine environment, which include low temperatures, dryness, ultraviolet radiation, and a short growing season.
The Alps are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, separating Southern from Central and Western Europe and stretching approximately 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) across eight Alpine countries : France, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, and Slovenia. The mountains were formed over tens of millions of years as the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided. Extreme shortening caused by the event resulted in marine sedimentary rocks rising by thrusting and folding into high mountain peaks such as Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. Mont Blanc spans the French–Italian border, and at 4,810 m (15,781 ft) is the highest mountain in the Alps. The Alpine region area contains about a hundred peaks higher than 4,000 metres (13,000 ft).
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From its introduction until it was suspended in 1939 upon the outbreak of World War II, the Edelweiss was a luxury train operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (CIWL), and ran between Amsterdam CS in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Luzern station in Lucerne, Switzerland.
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.
Luxury trains are designed to offer a very comfortable ride and evoke an association with history and heritage. Operating in several countries, they are a premium travel option. Although some luxury trains promote tourism in destinations across a continent, others take passengers on a long, leisurely ride through a single country.
Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, also CIWL, Compagnie des Wagons-Lits, or just Wagons-Lits, is an international hotel and travel logistics company, particularly known for its on-train catering and sleeping car services, as well as being the historical operator of the Orient Express.
After the war, the Edelweiss was revived, initially as an ordinary express train between Brussels, Belgium, and Basel SBB in Basel, Switzerland. In 1957, it became one of the first of the first-class-only Trans Europ Express (TEE) trains, with its southern terminus moved from Basel further southeast, to Zürich HB in Zurich, Switzerland.
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is located in the central portion of the country and is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region. Brussels is the most densely populated and the richest region in Belgium in terms of GDP per capita. It covers 161 km2 (62 sq mi), a relatively small area compared to the two other regions, and has a population of 1.2 million. The metropolitan area of Brussels counts over 2.1 million people, which makes it the largest in Belgium. It is also part of a large conurbation extending towards Ghent, Antwerp, Leuven and Walloon Brabant, home to over 5 million people.
Basel SBB railway station is the central railway station in the city of Basel, Switzerland. Opened in 1854, and completely rebuilt in 1900–1907, it is Europe's busiest international border station. As its name suggests, Basel SBB is owned by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS). The other major railway station in Basel is Basel Badischer Bahnhof, which is on the north side of the Rhine from the city centre.
The Trans Europ Express, or Trans-Europe Express (TEE), is a former international first-class railway service in western and central Europe that was founded in 1957 and ceased in 1995. At the height of its operations, in 1974, the TEE network comprised 45 trains, connecting 130 different cities, from Spain in the west to Austria in the east, and from Denmark to Southern Italy.
In 1974, the northern terminus of the Edelweiss was moved south, from Amsterdam to Brussels. [1] On 27 May 1979, the Edelweiss was reclassified as a two-class express, [2] and on 6 April 1980 the train's Basel–Zurich section was dropped. [3] On 1 June 1997, the route was re-extended from Basel to Zurich, [4] but the Edelweiss was discontinued on 29 May 1999, replaced by the Jean Monnet , which ran on the former train's schedule between Brussels and Strasbourg only, not south of Strasbourg. [5]
The Jean Monnet was an express train that linked Brussels Midi/Zuid in Brussels, Belgium, with Strasbourg-Ville in Strasbourg, France, and later also with Bâle SNCF in Basel, Switzerland. Introduced in 1999, it was operated by the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB), the Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL), and the French National Railway Corporation (SNCF).
Strasbourg is the capital and largest city of the Grand Est region of France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located at the border with Germany in the historic region of Alsace, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin department. In 2016, the city proper had 279,284 inhabitants and both the Eurométropole de Strasbourg and the Arrondissement of Strasbourg had 491,409 inhabitants. Strasbourg's metropolitan area had a population of 785,839 in 2015, making it the ninth largest metro area in France and home to 13% of the Grand Est region's inhabitants. The transnational Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau had a population of 915,000 inhabitants in 2014.
