EuroCity
The train type Euro City (EC), in Germany € City, is in the international long-distance passenger trains in Europe.
History
On 31 May 1987, the paths of the European Community, Austria and Switzerland founded, initially with 64 trains the EC network. The EC trains are successors of the Trans - Europ - Express which traveled from 1957 to 1987. The main difference is that a TEA only the first class, EC, however, leads first and second class. The comfort level in first grade is comparable. Some years there was also EC- called night trains from sleeping car or couchette. It later emerged the train type Euro Night. A related with the EC train type is the Intercity, which is used by several European railways in domestic traffic. Partial EC and IC run in a common clock traffic, such as in Germany.
1991 the number of Euro - City trains was increased from 76 to 102.
In the 1990s, a number of tracks of the former Eastern Bloc also led an EC trains. On the other hand, go to Spain no longer EC; the few cross-border trains run as Talgo ( day) or Elipsos ( night). Many former EC were converted after the construction of high-speed lines in high-speed trains such as the Thalys on the routes from Paris via Brussels to Cologne and Amsterdam. The trains between Berlin and Amsterdam Schiphol are referred to as IC, so that in the Netherlands take no EC trains more.
Quality criteria
With the introduction of the EC- traffic uniform quality criteria were introduced for all participating railways, which were also monitored by the International Union of Railways UIC.
- Cross-border train route
- Air-conditioned cars first and second class
- Stop only in major cities
- Holding time up to 5 minutes for operational reasons in exceptional cases up to 15 minutes
- Border controls while driving, only short stays in border stations
- Food and drink available on board ( possible dining car )
- Accompanying staff with skills in at least two languages, including German, English or French
- Average cruising speed ( including for any period ) at least 90 km / h ( with the exception of mountain railways and train routings with train ferries )
- There are special criteria for punctuality EC - often tardy trains can lose the train type EC
- Each pair of trains will have a name of a geographical
- Daily traffic (leaving after 6:00, arriving before 00:00 )
These criteria are now partly interpreted differently by different paths: Some Railways' EC also domestically. Car of the second class without air conditioning were initially intended only for a transitional period, but these have held up in some countries to this day.
Sometimes there are instead of a full restaurant car buffet only compartments or even just snacks from a trolley ( minibar).
Unlike other paths, the German railway has abolished most trains name since 2003.
Stiftung Warentest evaluated from 23 September to 31 October 2007 (excluding strike days ), 6-0 clock, the times of arrival of Euro -city trains at their terminal stations in ten major German cities. From 1582 studied trains 48 percent four or more minutes late.
The German railway rejected the outcome of the survey and spoke of a total punctuality in the passenger of " well over 90 percent " in 2007, without mentioning concrete numbers.
Rolling stock
The rolling stock for EC has mainly the following features:
- Air-conditioned
- RIC - capable
- Top speed 200 km / h
- Compartments with 6 seats in the 1st and 2nd class; Compartment length about 2.3 m ( 1st class) and 1.9 m ( 2nd class)
- Großraumwagen with seat assembly 2 1 ( first class ) or 2 2 ( 2nd class)
ČD, MÁV, partly also the ÖBB and SBB have purchased specifically new car for EC trains. The voice command and hand are now using EC- cars, which were still procured by JŽ before their allocation for EC.
Use Most other railways participating in the EC system for EC the same vehicle types such as IC trains. An example of cars that meet these criteria prior to the introduction of the train type EC, are the Eurofima wagon several European railways.
Sometimes were and are used in EC older cars that do not always meet the quality criteria. The oldest EC- cars were dining car CIWL that are 1955 emerged from the war-damaged old cars of the 1920s and 1985 - now owned by NMBS / SNCB - with a nostalgic interior and paint in Eurofima orange were worked up, this ran until the mid-1990s in the EC Vauban and iris. Mid -1990s, 50 -year-old domestic light steel dining cars were used in contradiction to the quality criteria on the Euro City's Zurich - Munich, in the absence of modern dining car.
Some tracks also set multiple units as an EC. An example of this is the MF of the DSB on the route Hamburg -Lübeck - Copenhagen ( Vogelfluglinie ). The ÖBB and SBB 4010 RABe EC were used in the past as EC. The TGV between France and Switzerland ran first as EC (now Lyria ). Since the timetable change 2010, the former Cisalpino trains as Euro City.
Another special case was the Catalan - Talgo Geneva -Barcelona, a former TEA, which was operated using a Talgo III RD of 1968 ( with track changes on the French- Spanish border ). Later, the train route was shortened to Montpellier- Barcelona, now the train runs under the name Talgo ( not EC), also the Mare Nostrum was introduced from Montpellier to Cartagena, which is operated with a more modern Talgo pendular- set. The night trains Paris -Madrid Talgo and Barcelona Talgo were operated in the late 1980s as EC - night.
Cisalpino
In the summer of 2004, the SBB and Trenitalia handed over the management of their joint Intercity Canaletto ( Zurich HB - Venezia Santa Lucia) and Cinque Terre ( Schaffhausen / Zurich HB - La Spezia) their joint subsidiary Cisalpino, which in addition to the train set now also trains with conventional car led material. While driving trains still ran under the name Cisalpino, the conventional trains were given the status of a Euro City. For these two traits was vice injected separately SBB rolling stock in Cisalpino colors.
Timetable change 2005 Cisalpino took over all cross- border links between Switzerland and Italy on the axes Geneva Italy, Basel and Zurich -Lötschberg- Italy - Italy. The Cisalpino figured continue under the name of the operating company. Each train was given a name ( EC Cisalpino ... ). In the course of the Intercity Riviera dei Fiori connection Basel SBB Gotthard Milano Centrale -Nice has been discontinued and instead run as EC Cisalpino San Marco in Venice. After Milan perverted some of these trains to Venice or Livorno.
2008 / IC operation on the Gotthard was converted to InterCity tilting train and Cisalpino on the EC. The Euro City's Basel -Lötschberg- Italy - Italy and Geneva were also all to Cisalpinos. The compounds Basel -Gotthard - Italy were reduced to one, which should run from the summer of 2009, from all the others were ICN. All connections to Geneva to Venice were cut to Milano Centrale. Only Cisalpino also be used on the Lötschberg and Simplon axis for the operation to Italy, all other end in Brig Because of technical problems with the ETR 610 train movements which were mostly isolated in Domodossola or Lugano at the latest. The planned route of the train Basel -Gotthard - Italy could not be realized because the ETR 610 are not permitted on the Gotthard.
In December 2009, the SBB and Trenitalia dissolved the Cisalpino. Since then run every former Cisalpino as Euro City. The trainsets were divided among the former Cisalpino owners and perform the EC mode still.
EC trains in Central Europe
* The EC Wawel wore in 2011, the Zuglaufnummer EC 248/ 249
Accidents
- On 8 August 2008, it came with the EC 108 Comenius from Krakow to Prague at about 10.45 clock at Studénka (district Nový Jičín ) in the northeast of the Czech Republic in a serious accident with at least six dead and many seriously injured passengers, as just before the train passes a repair in located motorway bridge onto the tracks fell, bounced off the train in the wreckage of the bridge and derailed. The engineer was able to initiate an emergency braking at the cruising speed of over 130 km / h. He survived in the engine room of the locomotive.