Interexpress

Last updated
Interexpress
Overview
Service typeInternational network of express trains
StatusDefunct
Locale Czechoslovakia
GDR
Hungary
Poland
First service1986
Last service1991
SuccessorVarious, including EuroCity
Former operator(s) ČSD
DR
MÁV
PKP
On-board services
Class(es) First and second class

Interexpress (abbreviated as "IEx") is a former international train category. The word Interexpress is a short form version of the German language term Internationaler Express (English: International Express) and its foreign language equivalents.

Contents

Interexpress services operated between 1986 and 1991 as express trains between Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic (GDR), Hungary and Poland.

Express train a train which travels fast and makes few stops

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.

Czechoslovakia 1918–1992 country in Central Europe, predecessor of the Czech Republic and Slovakia

Czechoslovakia, or Czecho-Slovakia, was a sovereign state in Central Europe that existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until its peaceful dissolution into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on 1 January 1993.

Hungary Country in Central Europe

Hungary is a country in Central Europe. Spanning 93,030 square kilometres (35,920 sq mi) in the Carpathian Basin, it borders Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Austria to the northwest, Romania to the east, Serbia to the south, Croatia to the southwest, and Slovenia to the west. With about 10 million inhabitants, Hungary is a medium-sized member state of the European Union. The official language is Hungarian, which is the most widely spoken Uralic language in the world. Hungary's capital and largest city is Budapest. Other major urban areas include Debrecen, Szeged, Miskolc, Pécs and Győr.

History

In the mid 1980s, the State railways of Czechoslovakia (Československé státní dráhy (ČSD)), the GDR (Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR)), Hungary (Magyar Államvasutak (MÁV)) and Poland (Polskie Koleje Państwowe (PKP)) decided to introduce the Interexpress train category for high value passenger train traffic between these four countries.

In 1986, a few Schnellzug -category trains were converted into IEx trains. This conversion anticipated by one year the equivalent transformation of international express train traffic by the Western European rail operators, which introduced their own new EuroCity system only in 1987.

Schnellzug

A Schnellzug is an express train in German-speaking countries, where it refers to trains that do not stop at all stations along a line. The term is used both generically and also as a specific train type. In Germany and Austria it is also referred to colloquially as a D-Zug, a short form of Durchgangszug, and express train services were often given numbers preceded by the letter D. The similar term, snälltåg, was used in Sweden until January 1980.

EuroCity train in Europe

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.

Following the political changes in central Europe in 1989/1990, there was no longer any demand for an isolated train service offering for international travellers. In 1991, the IEx trains were therefore either discontinued, or converted to EuroCity trains or Schnellzug category services.

Trains

The following trains operated as Interexpresses:

IExNameRoute
IEx 1/2SilesiaPraha hl.n. – Warszawa Wschodnia
IEx 9/10PolonezMoscow (Belorussky station) - Warszawa Zachodnia
IEx 36/37BáthoryBudapest – Warszawa
IEx 72/73Metropol [1] Berlin-Lichtenberg – Praha-Holešovice – Budapest
IEx 74/75 Hungaria [2] Berlin-Lichtenberg – Praha-Holešovice – Budapest
IEx 76/77 Primator Berlin–Lichtenberg – Praha
IEx 78/79 Progress Berlin–Lichtenberg – Praha
IEx 242/243 Berolina Berlin Hauptbahnhof – Warszawa Wschodnia

The Báthory and the Metropol were overnight trains that also included sleeping and couchette cars.

Sleeping car railway passenger car with private sleeping berths

The sleeping car or sleeper is a railway passenger car that can accommodate all its passengers in beds of one kind or another, primarily for the purpose of making nighttime travel more restful. George Pullman was the American inventor of the sleeper car.

Couchette car Railroad car conveying non-private sleeping accommodation

A couchette car is a railway carriage conveying non or semi-private sleeping accommodation.

Some of the IEx trains included through coaches at least occasionally; examples were the Metropol (to Vienna), and the Berolina (from Paris). In 1986/87 and 1987/88, the Hungaria ran coupled together with the D374/375 Vindobona to Vienna, and in summer included through coaches from Malmö in Sweden.

Through coach

In rail terminology, a through coach is a passenger car (coach) that is re-marshalled during the course of its journey. It begins the journey attached to one train, and arrives at its destination attached to another train.

<i>Berolina</i> (train) train between Warsaw and Berlin

Berolina was a named passenger train between Warsaw and Berlin via Frankfurt (Oder). Introduced in 1959, it went through a number of iterations, including a short period without a name. Part of the Interexpress network as IEx 242/243 from 1986, it became categorised as EuroCity trains 42 and 43 in 1992. The service was finally replaced by the Berlin-Warszawa-Express in 2002.

<i>Hungaria</i> (train) An express train between Budapest and Berlin

Hungaria is a EuroCity train which runs between Budapest Keleti and Berlin Hauptbahnhof, currently running with coaches of MÁV. It is numbered as EC 172-173 and runs daily, mainly with MÁV owned rolling stocks.

The Progress operated as an IEx train only in 1986/87 and 1987/88 and then reverted to its previous classification. Its IEx formation (consist) included special air-conditioned Komfortwagen in a red-white livery.

The fares charged for travel in IEx trains were in accordance with the normal Schnellzug tariffs. Seat reservations were compulsory for all passengers.

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Vindobona (train) train

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<i>Bavaria</i> (train) former train on the Trans-Europ-Express connection Zurich-Munich

The Bavaria was an express train that linked München Hbf in Munich, Germany, with Zürich HB in Zurich, Switzerland. Introduced in the 1950s, it ran through to Geneva until 1969, when it was cut back to Zurich. The train was named on the basis that Bavaria is the Latin equivalent to the German word Bayern, the official name of the federal state of Bavaria, of which Munich is the capital. It was operated by the Deutsche Bundesbahn / Deutsche Bahn (DB) and the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB-CFF-FFS). The route also included a single stop in Austria, at Bregenz. The 24 km (15 mi) section between Lindau, Germany, and St. Margrethen, Switzerland, is located mostly in Austria, but Swiss locomotives hauled the train over this section, most of which is part of the Vorarlberg line of Austrian Federal Railways.

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Szolnok railway station

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References

Notes

  1. ↑ The Metropol continued to operate as a EuroNight from Budapest Keleti pályaudvar to Berlin-Wannsee.
  2. ↑ The Hungaria continues to operate as a EuroCity from Budapest-Keleti to Hamburg.

Bibliography

  • Bogula, Rico (2007). Internationale Schnellzüge in der DDR[International Express Trains in the GDR]. Freiburg i.B.: EK-Verlag. ISBN   978-3-88255-720-6.(in German)

This article is based upon a translation of the German language version as at March 2013.

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