Transalpin
SBB-CFF-FFS | |
Route | |
---|---|
Termini | Zürich HB Graz Hbf |
Stops | 27 |
Average journey time | 9 h 34 min |
Service frequency | Daily |
Train number(s) | EC 163/164 |
On-board services | |
Class(es) | first and second class |
Disabled access | wheelchair space |
Seating arrangements | open, 6-seat compartments |
Catering facilities | dining car |
Baggage facilities | bicycle conveyance |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
Electrification | 15 kV AC, 16.7 Hz |
Operating speed | 200 km/h |
The Transalpin is a
The name of the train alludes to the fact that it crosses the Alps. Transalpin was also the Ancient Roman word meaning "behind the Alps", and referring to the region of that name in northern Switzerland.
Route
The train takes 9 h 34 min from Zürich to Graz (9 h 35 min in the other direction) and stops at
Train formation
In the timetable period 2014/2015 the EC Transalpin is composed of one first class
Between Zürich and Buchs, the train is usually pulled by a locomotive of SBB CFF FFS class Re 420. Between Buchs and Graz, a locomotive of ÖBB class 1016 or 1116 is used, with another locomotive of the same class added in front between Buchs and Innsbruck.
History
Service frequency | Daily | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Train number(s) | TS 11/12 TS 462/463 Ex 462/463 EC 62, 63 EC 162/ÖBB-EC 162 EC 163/ÖBB-EC 163 | ||||
Technical | |||||
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | ||||
Electrification | 15 kV AC, 16.7 Hz | ||||
|
The Transalpin was first introduced in 1958, it was operated by the
From 1 June 1958 until 13 June 2010, the Transalpin was a showpiece of the ÖBB and the SBB. Introduced the year after the Trans Europ Express (TEE) network was set up in 1957, it had both first- and second-class accommodation, and therefore did not meet the "first class only" requirements to be a TEE.
Throughout its history, the Transalpin ran daily in both directions. Until the 2000s, it was always one of the fastest railway connections, with the fewest intermediate stops, in its area of operation.
The initial train numbers of the Transalpin were TS 11/12, and its original route was Wien Westbf to Zürich HB. In 1959, the route was extended to Basel (SBB station). When it became a EuroCity train, in 1987, its train numbers became EC 62 westbound and EC 63 eastbound.[2]
To save time and the need for the train to reverse direction during its journey, the Transalpin did not stop at Salzburg Hauptbahnhof initially, but ran via the curve from Elixhausen to Salzburg-Gnigl, and stopped at Salzburg Aigen. Even today, this curve, which is now used mainly by goods trains, is known by the name Transalpin-Schleife (Transalpin curve).
In 1969, the route was changed. From then onwards, the Transalpin ran from the
In 1975, a writer for Fodor's travel guides described the Transalpin as "one of the best trains in Europe for mountain scenery".[6]
In 1980, a trip on the Transalpin from Zürich to Vienna was featured in "Changing Trains", the final episode in Series 1 of
When the EuroCity network was launched on 31 May 1987, the Transalpin was among the previously existing international express trains to be redesignated as EuroCity trains.[2]
In June 2010, the Transalpin was replaced by the "Railjet 162" and "Railjet 163", which run to approximately the same timetable.[3][8] In the timetable period 2013/2014, five pairs of Railjets connect Zürich and Vienna.
Route (historic)
In 2009/2010 the route of the Transalpin was as follows:
- Wien Westbf – Wien Hütteldorf (ÖBB EC 163 only) – St. Pölten Hbf – Linz Hbf – Salzburg Hbf – Innsbruck Hbf – Landeck-Zams – Bludenz – Feldkirch – Buchs – Sargans – Zürich HB
The train reversed its direction at Buchs SG. In the westbound EC 162, the
At times when there were interruptions on the Arlberg line due to railway construction work, or as a consequence of natural disasters – such as avalanches and debris flows, or between August and December 2005 after storm damage – the Transalpin was substantially diverted between Salzburg and Bregenz via München Hbf, the Munich–Buchloe and the Buchloe–Lindau railways.
Train formation (historic)
Initially, the Transalpin was operated by a four-member fleet of four-car
In 1965, the ÖBB replaced the Transalpin's Class 4130s with three six-car Class 4010 multiple units, which, again, had been procured specifically for the purpose.
In May 1977, the Class 4010s were replaced with a locomotive-hauled train formation (
On the first day of the new arrangement, 21 May, the Transalpin consisted of an
From the following day, 22 May 1977, the train, now operating as Ex 462/463, was made up of 12 ÖBB Z1 (Eurofima) coaches, one WRümh and three DB RIC coaches.
On the ascending
In the 1990s, an SBB-CFF-FFS first-class panorama car was added to the train. In some of the annual schedules, the train received an additional SBB Am or Apm first class coach and the restaurant was an internationally equipped SBB WRm of the EWIV family. Between 1995 and 2009, this train used the SBB WRm with pantograph, for plugging electricity directly on the 15 KV AC low frequency catenaries, during longs stops for change locomotives in Buchs SG and Zürich HBF (not electricity in others coaches during changing locomotives). This is the same operation in others stations, like Innsbruck when OBB conveys others coach, like POST luggage van (POST Gepäckwagen), or Measuring electrotechnical coach (Elektroteknische OBB Messwagen).
See also
- History of rail transport in Austria
- History of rail transport in Switzerland
- List of named passenger trains of Europe
References
Notes
- ^ Train composition EC 163 and EC 164 on vagonweb.cz
- ^ Thomas Cook Continental Timetable(May 31 - June 30, 1987 edition), pp. 472, 475. UK: Thomas Cook Publishing.
- ^ a b Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable (May 2010 edition), pp. 89, 583. UK: Thomas Cook Publishing.
- ^ Bufe (2009), p 44.
- ^ Thomas Cook Continental Timetable(June 1969 edition), p. 107; also pp. 322, 326–327. Thomas Cook Publishing.
- ^ Tennant, David D. (1975). "Planning Your Trip: Rail Travel in Europe". In Eugene Fodor; Robert C. Fisher (eds.). Fodor's Europe 1975. Fodor's Guides. New York: David McKay Company. p. 97.
- ^ Robson (1981), p. 180
- ^ Mauerer (2009), p 628.
- ^ Thomas Cook International Timetable (May 22–June 30, 1977 edition), p. 515. UK: Thomas Cook Publishing.
Bibliography
- Bufe, Siegfried (2009). "Salzburg – Bayern - Tirol" [Salzburg – Bavaria - Tyrol]. Eisenbahngeschichte (in German). 36: 44.
- Inderst, Markus; Gemeinböck, Franz (2009). Die ÖBB-Reihe 4010: Der elektrische Triebwagenzug "Transalpin II" [The ÖBB Class 4010: The Electric Multiple Unit "Transalpin II"]. KIRUBA classic 1/2009 (in German). Mittelstetten, Germany: KIRUBA Verlag. ISBN 9783981297706.
- Maurer, Josef. "Änderungen beim ÖBB-Verkehr über die Rosenheimer Schleife" [Alterations in ÖBB traffic over the Rosenheim Curve]. Eisenbahn-Revue International(in German) (12/2009): 628f.
- ISBN 0 563 17903 1.
- "Der "Transalpin" ist Geschichte" [The "Transalpin" is History]. Eisenbahn-Revue International (in German). 8-9/2010: 413.
External links
- Media related to Transalpin at Wikimedia Commons