Vindobona (train)
Vindobona is the name of an international train that currently runs from Hamburg to Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Brno and Vienna to Villach. " Vindobona " is the Latin name for the city of Vienna. The train route is now operated by the railway companies as Euro City like Jan Jessenius. Other trains running on the track and the train numbers are still to this day, are the meridian and the Hungaria.
Train route
Was first used in 1957 as the route of the train speed railcars FDt 50/51 Berlin Ostbahnhof via Dresden, Prague and Vienna - Gmünd to FJB. Predecessors were FDt Trains Berlin - Prague from December 1950 and a fast train with coaches to Vienna.
The trains were mostly used by West Berliners, diplomats and Scandinavians transiting the GDR. These features were in Berlin following the overnight trains from Copenhagen ( Ostsee- Express) and Stockholm ( Sassnitz - Express) over the railway ferries Warnemünde -. Gedser and Sassnitz - Trelleborg Starting in 1962, there were shuttle services to and from Berlin Zoologischer Garten in what was then West Berlin. For several years, were only allowed foreigners (so no GDR citizens and not citizens of the Federal Republic of ) use this train.
Railcars use
From the start, diesel railcars were used for the Vindobona. The participating railroads German Reichsbahn (DR ), Czechoslovak State Railways ( ČSD ) and Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB ) agreed, in each case to provide the railcars every two years and with Natural balance. The first set asked the DR with prewar railcar types of Hamburg and Leipzig. From 1960 to 1962 presented the ČSD railcars, but mostly the full - MÁVAG railcars of series M and 495.0 M 498.0 were used. From 1962 to 1964 continued the ÖBB her a blue flash, which was extended specifically for this application with an intermediate car. Until 1966 was again the ČSD turn.
When the DR in 1966 again was responsible for Triebwagengestellung, she used her new high-speed railcars VT 18:16. From 1969 to 1972, the ČSD presented the trainsets and sat her new Type M 296.1 with the top speed 120 km / h for one. The subsequent use of the DR- speed railcars VT 18:16 lasted until 1979. ÖBB had now no suitable railcars for this connection more and had to do a foreign exchange equalization payments to DR.
The express Vindobona was adapted by the VT 18:16 a flagship for the DR and was to upgrade the country internationally. Although at times vehicles of other railroads that participated were used, marked the diesel-hydraulic railcar of Görlitz design this train route so that today the VT 18:16 equated with Vindobona by many.
Some of these train sets were obtained museum.
Locomotive-hauled trains
The ÖBB increased the pressure on the DR - because of the compensation to the GDR - so that the European passenger train timetable Conference 1978 in Edinburgh decided to convert the Vindobona in a locomotive-hauled train timetable from 1979. He now went as D- train D 275/76, sometimes combined with the Inter Express " Hungaria " (Berlin - Bratislava - Budapest). The cars were henceforth provided by all three participating railroads. In the limit Veseli nad Lužnicí section - Gmünd / northeast. the train to 1980 was promoted by steam locomotives. The train also ended not in Vienna FJB, but at Wien-Mitte. Most car drove but only up to Budapest or Prague. At times, there were coaches from Berlin Zoo. As a curious travel experience was the ČSD dining car with 4 different currencies on the menu (D - Mark, Mark of the GDR, Czechoslovak crowns and Austrian shillings ).
A new, underwent Vindobona after the political changes in Germany. From 1990, he was converted to newest rolling stock of the DR, there came the types Amz210, Bmz236 and WRmz136 used. Despite the established in 1992 Euro City line Hamburg - Berlin - Prague the Vindobona remained in this two -hour intervals for lack of air-conditioned first - class cars, the train type fast as D 375/376.
The path between Prague and Vienna was no longer conducted on the Franz- Josef -Bahn, but via Břeclav ( Lundenburg ) and Hohenau on the Austrian Northern Railway to Vienna South Station ( eastern part ). Thus, the entire route of the train was electric to navigate. The ÖBB will ensure to their Břeclav a dual-system locomotives of the 1014 and 1146. Between Prague and Dresden uses the ČD multi-system locomotives of the series 371. Between Dresden and Hamburg runs with the train locomotives DB Class 101, which reached the train between Berlin and Hamburg, the maximum cruising speed of 200 km / hr.
Euro City
With the reorganization of the international traffic between Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria of Vindobona was promoted to Euro City 175/176 1993. The air-conditioned cars were the ÖBB. 2001, the path from Berlin to Hamburg -Altona as EC 172/173 has been extended. The car order was transferred to the German railway. Since the completion of the Berlin Central Station in the summer of 2006, the train will no longer have the light rail, but on the north-south mainline.
As of December 2006, the EC 172/173 Vindobona was planned from cars of all three participating railroads with a Czech restaurant car and was one of the " most colorful " passenger trains in Germany. In 2009, only the compartment car, 1st class of the Deutsche Bahn was provided by the 10 cars, however. As of December 2009, there was the train of German and Austrian car, the dining car was run by Deutsche Bahn. Since December 2010 ÖBB outweighs the proportion, the dining car is managed by è -express. As of December 2011, the Vindobona is run as early as the 1990s with a pure ÖBB- set.
2009 took the train for its 1140 km long stretch 11 hours and 48 minutes. As the train in Prague was passed over the station Praha- Holešovice, he did not change his path to his direction, began and ended at but two terminal stations. In Dresden Main Station and in Praha - Holešovice yet locomotive changes took place due to changing current systems. Until the full approval of the ÖBB 1216 in the Czech power the locomotive was changed in Břeclav. The planning, in 2009, at least between Vienna and Dresden throughout with a multi-system locomotive ÖBB series 1216 ( Manufacturer Siemens) or the competing ČD series 380 ( Škoda ) to drive and save the change locomotives in the Czech Republic, has not been realized. Similarly, for years talking to operate the train route to the multi-system trains Pendolino ČD, but this change was not taken place so far.
Since the timetable change in December 2009, the Vindobona travels back to the Prague's main railway station, change there for the direction of travel and the route of the train was extended beyond Vienna to Villach. In Vienna the train at stations Simmering and Meidling holds, this change was made because of the closure of the South Station and the building of the main station. The total driving time is thus about 16 hours. Between Hamburg and Dresden the train by a locomotive of the DB Class 101, between Dresden and Prague is hl.n. of the ČD - series 371 and between Praha hl.n. and Villach covered by ÖBB series 1216.
The train stops in 2011 between the major cities still in Klagenfurt, Sankt Veit an der Glan, Leoben, Bruck an der Mur, (Wiener Neustadt railway station) - (Vienna Meidling ) - Simmering - Břeclav, (Brno), Pardubice, Kolin, (Prague), Ústí nad Labem, Decin, Bad Schandau, (Dresden, Berlin [- south cross, central station, - Spandau ] ), Wittenberg, Ludwig lust and Büchenberg. In Hamburg, the train stops at stations Bergedorf, Central Station, Dammtorbahnhof and Altona.