Motorail

A car train, abbreviated ARZ or AZ, is a train type of long-distance passenger traffic. These are special trains that are offered by certain railway companies on longer travel distances. Besides individuals, they carry into special car coaches and passenger cars or motorcycles of the passengers traveling.

Areas of application

Car trains are used for the transportation of rail passengers and their vehicles over long distances. Transport facilities are available for various types of vehicles ( motorcycles to RV ). In general, the trains have in addition to the normal passenger coaches on deck, sleeping and dining cars. Car trains connect the major cities usually overnight with popular holiday destinations, so you arrive at your destination rested the next morning. Chance also daily connections between urban centers were offered. With only a few stops a high cruising speed is reached. There are also regular trains that carry in a particular section Autotransportwagen. Depending on your operator and route to specific features of the application areas arise; For example, short-range for tunnel transport. In contrast to the car-train travelers do not stay sitting in their vehicles.

History of German car trains

In Germany car trains were introduced on 1 April 1930 as Auto- luggage - transport by the Deutsche Reichsbahn. In this case, the car was abandoned and transported in a separate train on conventional flat cars or Rungenwagen to the destination station. In the 1940s, plans for two-story, enclosed car carriers have been developed that have not been implemented by the circumstances of advanced World War II. However, the idea itself was already much older. At the beginning of the railway era, there were ideas to ship directly to coaches and train cars in order to save the change trains at the station; an idea, but not sat down.

1956 attacked the former German Federal Railroad on the concept of the car passenger train and built this special, two-story, enclosed car transport wagon type DPw4ümg - 56th These were equipped with an eccentric hub and were loaded in principle at each loading ramp with eight cars. On June 25, 1956, the first ARZ connection was offered " car trains " between Hamburg and Chiasso and operated four times a week. 1956 930 cars were thereby promoted.

In 1961, open double-decker Autoverladewagen type Offehss were 68 (later Laeqrss 545, three-axis dual carriage ) and in 1969 four-axle type DDm 915 built that are loaded via ramps forehead. Between the cars drive over bridges are present.

By 1973, the number of Autozugrelationen was increased to 163 connections. In the year of the first oil crisis ( 1973) with 185,500 vehicles transported a maximum value reached ..

The car train offer the German Federal Railroad in 1988 included a total of 2929 car trains and 484 D- trains with car transport. Thus, 93 compounds were developed, of which 26 are international intra- German (including Berlin) and 61. These 19 distribution terminals in the DB and a station in Berlin were operated. Abroad, 18 target stations were approached. 1987 used approximately 397,000 travelers with about 145,000 cars and motorcycles offer. Thus, the marginal costs were nearly covered.

As with other long-distance trains also contributed car trains names, for example AZ 1306/ 07 - " Black Forest ", AZ 1316/17 "Timm Kroeger " - AZ 1358/59 "Brandenburg Gate" or AZ 1384/85 " car dream ".

In the 1990s, connections to Greece and Turkey have been offered, such as 1994, the AE 13193 Cologne -Deutz ( low) to Istanbul (travel time 21h 50min ), AE 13273 Berlin Wannsee to Istanbul (travel time 27h 48min ) and AE 13291 " Optima Express Chalkidiki " from Munich to Thessaloniki East (journey time 29h 30min).

From 1996 until 2013, the German railway ran the trains under the name Auto Train and used for this purpose in addition to the couchette bunk sleeper types 171.X and 172.X and sleeping cars of type 173.1. Almost all international car train connections to the DB have a dining car. In the years 2007 and 2008, the web has greatly thinned in Germany its range of compounds. 2009, further compounds were abandoned again. In September 2013 DB AutoZug was merged with DB long-distance transport.

As of the summer timetable 2014 ( as of January 2014) will only be operated in the German domestic traffic routes Hamburg -Hildesheim -Munich and Hamburg -Hildesheim - Lörrach. Of these two compounds apart, car train is possible with Deutsche Bahn only to international destinations.

International offers

The number of car trains has been reduced for various reasons in recent years:

• With the privatization of railway companies is to focus on " core businesses " hand in hand, for which the car passenger trains are usually not counted.
• Car trains often have only a seasonal demand, thereby providing a more economical use of rolling stock is more difficult.
• The business of car trains is closely associated with the night trains that have been set by the railway company, in the hope that travelers new, fast days compounds would instead operate.

The densest network of car trains there and was in Europe:

• Belgium: car -train operation in 2003 set
• Finland: CarTrain
• France: Auto Train ( wide web)
• Greece: Agency operation
• UK: Moto Rail ( operational 1955-2005 )
• Italy: Viaggiare con car al seguito (also: Travelling with car on board) to 2011
• Netherlands: Moto Rail / Autotrein currently set active: autoslaaptrein ( three relations )
• Switzerland: car train ( SBB offers set )
• Serbia (Yugoslavia) Prevoz PRAĆENIH Automobila
• Slovakia: Autovlak
• Czech Republic: Autovlak
• Turkey: agency operation

Are or were there other offers on other continents:

• Australia: Moto rail, car trains on three axes: Indian Pacific, The Ghan, The Overland
• Canada: AutoTrain adjusted operating
• Chile: AutoTren / Transporte de auto móviles
• USA: Car Train

Terminals

The stations where loading facilities are kept available for the Auto Train, hot terminal station or terminal.

DB long-distance transport operates domestic terminals in the following stations: Berlin -Wannsee, Dusseldorf, Hamburg- Altona, Hildesheim, Lörrach, München-Ost and Neu Isenburg.

International terminals that can be used as a destination from Germany, are (as of January 2014):

• Villach, Vienna (West ) (Vienna only on the ÖBB bookable) ( Austria )
• Narbonne (France)
• Alessandria, Bolzano (Italy )

Other terminals that are operated in Europe:

• Feldkirch, Graz, Innsbruck, Lienz, Vienna (South) ( Austria )
• Geneva ( Geneva ) ( Switzerland )
• Auray, Biarritz, Bordeaux, Briancon, Brive, Fréjus ( St. Raphael ), Lyon, Marseille, Metz, Mulhouse, Nantes, Marseille St. Charles, Nice, Lille ( Seclin ), Paris, Strasbourg, Tarbes, Toulon, Toulouse (France )

Transport tariffs

The transport rates can query online. The pricing varies greatly depending on booking holidays and special offers. The fare for one person is usually included in the price ( except for vehicle -taking).

• Tariff study 2008 Dusseldorf -Villach, easy Distance: standard car from 9 € ( Appendix: special price offer " Quick -bird vehicle driving for 9.00 € " ) to 264 euros

• Tariff example Dusseldorf - 1963 Villach, easy Distance: VW Beetle 158 DM 181 DM Opel Kapitän