Trans Europ Express |
|
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Service type | International network of express trains |
| Status | Defunct |
| Locale | Western Europe |
| First service | 1957 |
| Last service | 28 May 1995[1] |
| Successor | Various, including EuroCity, InterCity, TGV and other systems |
| Former operator(s) | The national railways of several European countries |
| On-board services | |
| Class(es) | 1957–1991: First class only 1993–1995 (Paris–Brussels only): First and second class |
| Technical | |
| Electrification | Various different voltages, depending on country |
The Trans Europ Express, or Trans-Europe Express, is a former international railway service in Europe. At its maximum extent, in 1974, the network comprised 45 trains, connecting 130 different cities.[1]
Contents |
The Trans Europ Express (TEE) network was set up in 1957[2] following an idea of F.Q. den Hollander, president-director at that time of the Dutch railway company (NS).[1] It was a network jointly operated by the railways of West Germany (DB), France (SNCF), Switzerland (SBB-CFF-FFS), Italy (FS) and the Netherlands. Although some trains operated through Belgium from the beginning, the national railway company (NMBS/SNCB) joined only in 1964. Luxembourg (CFL) also joined at a later date.
The idea was for a network of fast and comfortable international trains that would be attractive to businessmen and other regular travellers.[2] All trains were first-class-only and required payment of a special supplement over the normal first-class ticket price, the amount of which depended on the distance covered.[2] Where possible, TEE trains' schedules were timed to allow a business traveller to make a round trip (return journey) within a single day and also have time for business activity at the destination.[2] Each train was named, and all were expresses, stopping only at the main cities. Some of the named trains had already existed for some years before creation of the TEE network and were simply newly designated as Trans-Europe Expresses in 1957 or later. For example, the Settebello had been in operation since 1953[2] and the Rheingold since 1951. The network was launched in 1957 with trains serving 13 different routes.[1]
Initially, the system was a completely diesel network. Because of the many different kinds of electrical specifications (voltages and current types - alternating current and direct current) used in the different countries it was thought at that time that use of diesel-hauled trains or diesel multiple-unit trainsets would greatly speed up border crossing. Moreover, at that time many border crossing sections were not yet electrified. The German DB built the streamlined DB Class VT 11.5, while the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and the Dutch NS developed the RAm / DE, both diesel trains.
However, the creation of the international TEE network provided impetus for the development of special electric trainsets and electric locomotives, capable of operating at two or more different voltages.[1] The DB used the 160 km/h E 10.12 and the 200 km/h DB Class 103, among other types. The SBB developed its RAe TEE II electric trainset, which was designed for four different railway electrification systems, and this type entered service in 1961. Belgian National Railways introduced its Class 15 locomotives (originally called Class 150) in 1962, capable of handling three different voltages, followed by the four-voltage Class 16 in 1966 and Class 18 in 1973.[1] Meanwhile, France's SNCF also developed and introduced ten quadruple-voltage locomotives, its Class CC 40100, between 1964 and 1970.[1]
By 1975, all but two (L'Arbalète and Bavaria) of the 43 TEE trains were electrically powered, and most were locomotive-hauled.[3]
Originally the idea was to promote only international routes as TEE routes. This idea was abandoned in 1965 with the introduction of the French le Mistral and the German Blauer Enzian. Later, TEE trains serving single countries were also introduced on other routes in France and Germany as well as in Italy, but most TEE routes continued to be international.
The network grew in the course of the years, adding three more countries: Spain (RENFE), Denmark (DSB) and Austria (ÖBB) until its height in 1974. However, of these three only RENFE became a TEE member; the other two countries had TEEs running through them but the rail administrations never were members. In the late 1970s, the TEE network comprised 39 different named trains, serving 31 routes.[2] A few routes had more than one TEE train concurrently; for example, the Paris–Brussels route had four TEEs, running at different times of the day.
From the late 1970s onward, gradually more and more Trans-Europe Express trains were replaced by other trains giving a similar kind of service but also carrying 2nd class. Business travellers used air travel more and more. In 1979 DB completely restructured the network with the coming of the new national InterCity services, resulting in successively fewer TEE services and more InterCity services in the course of time. The introduction of the TGV service in France in 1981, and its subsequent expansion, along with expansion of high-speed rail lines in other European countries led to still more TEEs' being replaced by domestic high-speed trains.
By 1984 most services were abandoned, leaving only some national services in (mostly) Italy and France and a very few international services. Most trains were replaced by a new international intercity network with the name EuroCity which provides both 1st and 2nd class service. The EuroCity network began operating on 31 May 1987, and with effect from that date the last remaining international Trans-Europe Express trains were redesignated or withdrawn,[4] except the Gottardo (reclassified as EuroCity in September 1988),[5] but the TEE designation continued in use for a few domestic trains operating entirely within France until 1 June 1991.
In September 1993 certain former-TEE trains operating non-stop journeys between Brussels and Paris (or vice-versa), which had been converted to EuroCity and offered both first- and second-class cars, were rebranded as Trans-Europe Expresses, but remaining two-class trains. This was during a transition of Paris–Brussels express services to a new TGV alignment, and initially included the trains Brabant, Île de France, Rubens and Watteau, all four serving the route in both directions.[6] However, by 1995 the only TEE-branded trains remaining were the northbound Île de France (train 85) and southbound Watteau (train 88), the opposing-direction trains carrying the same names having already been converted to TGV stock (and designation), and these last two TEEs were replaced by TGV trains with effect from 29 May 1995, once again ending the formal use of the Trans-Europ Express name.[1] These few Paris–Brussels (or vice-versa) expresses, operated 1993-1995, were the only TEE-designated trains ever to carry second-class cars. A few trains continued to utilise TEE coaches until 1 June 1996, but the trains themselves were no longer classified as TEEs.[1]
| train number | Name | Routes | service start | service end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEE 92/93 | Adriatico | Milano C – Bari | 03-06-1973 | 30-05-1987 |
| TEE 8/9 | Albert Schweitzer | Dortmund – Strasbourg | 02-06-1980 | 27-05-1983 |
| TEE 78/79 | Ambrosiano | Milano – Roma | 26-05-1974 | 30-05-1987 |
| TEE 1/2 | Aquitaine | Paris Austerlitz – Bordeaux | 23-05-1971 | 30-05-1984 |
| TEE 7/8 (later 64/65) | Arbalète | Paris Est – Basel SBB – Zürich HB | 02-06-1957 | 26-05-1979 |
| TEE 88/89 | Aurora | Roma – Reggio di Calabria | 26-05-1974 | 31-05-1975 |
| TEE 14/15 | Bacchus | München – Dortmund | 28-05-1979 | 30-05-1980 |
| TEE 66/67 | Bavaria | Zürich HB – München | 28-09-1969 | 21-05-1977 |
| TEE 84/85 | Brabant | Paris Nord – Bruxelles Midi/Brussel Zuid – (Amsterdam CS) | 26-05-1963 | 02-06-1984 |
| TEE 90/91 | Blauer Enzian | Hamburg-Altona – München – (Klagenfurt)[note 1] | 30-05-1965 | 26-05-1979 |
| TEE 74/75 | Capitole (du matin) | Paris-Austerlitz – Toulouse-Matabiau (morning train) | 27-09-1970 | 23-05-1982 |
| TEE 76/77 | Capitole (du soir) | Paris-Austerlitz – Toulouse-Matabiau (evening train) | 27-05-1970 | 29-09-1984 |
| TEE 70-71/72-73 | Catalán-Talgo | Geneva-Cornavin – Barcelona | 01-06-1969 | 22-05-1982 |
| TEE 13/14 (later 23/22) | Cisalpin | Paris-Lyon – Milano Centrale – (Venezia)[note 2] | 01-07-1961 | 21-01-1984 |
| TEE 68/69 | Colosseum | Roma – Milano C | 03-06-1984 | 30-05-1987 |
| TEE 36/37 | Cycnus | Milano – Ventimiglia | 30-09-1973 | 27-05-1978 |
| TEE 42/43 | Diamant (I) | Dortmund – Antwerpen | 30-05-1965 | 29-05-1976 |
| TEE 80/81 | Diamant (II) | München – Hamburg-Altona | 27-05-1979 | 27-05-1981 |
| TEE 90/93 | Edelweiss | Amsterdam – Zürich HB | 02-06-1957 | 26-05-1979 |
| TEE 26/27 | Erasmus | München – Nürnberg – Den Haag | 03-06-1973 | 31-05-1980 |
| TEE 4/5 | L'Étendard | Paris Austerlitz – Bordeaux[note 3] | 26-08-1971 | 30-05-1984 |
| TEE 82/85 | L'Étoile du Nord | Paris Nord – Amsterdam CS | 02-06-1957 | 26-06-1984 |
| TEE 34/35 | Faidherbe | Paris Nord – Lille – Tourcoing | 02-10-1978 | 01-06-1991 |
| TEE 16/17 | Friedrich Schiller | Dortmund – Stuttgart | 27-05-1979 | 19-05-1982 |
| TEE 14/15 (later 18/19) | Gambrinus | Hamburg-Altona – Köln (Cologne) – München | 29-05-1978 | 27-05-1983 |
| TEE 36/37 | Gayant | Paris Nord – Lille – Tourcoing | 02-10-1978 | 30-05-1986 |
| TEE 50/51 | Goethe (I) | Frankfurt/Main – Paris Est | 31-05-1970 | 31-05-1975 |
| TEE 24/25 | Goethe (II) | Frankfurt/Main – Dortmund | 27-05-1978 | 27-05-1983 |
| TEE 58/59 | Gottardo | Zürich HB – Milano C | 01-07-1961 | 24-09-1988 |
| TEE 28/29 | Heinrich Heine | Frankfurt/Main – Dortmund | 27-05-1979 | 27-05-1983 |
| TEE 78/79 | Helvetia | Zürich HB – Frankfurt/Main – Hamburg-Altona | 02-06-1957 | 26-05-1979 |
| TEE 88/81 | L'Ile de France (I) | Paris Nord – Amsterdam CS (running only Paris–Brussels after 2 June 1984) | 02-06-1957 | 30-05-1987 |
| TEE 85/80 | L'Ile de France (II) | Paris Nord – Bruxelles Midi/Brussel Zuid | 09-1993 | 28-05-1995 |
| TEE 91/92 | Iris | Zürich – Bruxelles Midi/Brussel Zuid | 26-05-1974 | 30-05-1981 |
| TEE 30/31 | Jules Verne | Paris Montparnasse – Nantes | 28-09-1980 | 22-09-1989 |
| TEE 60/61 | Kléber | Paris Est – Strasbourg | 23-05-1971 | 23-09-1988 |
| TEE 24/25 | Lemano | Milano C – Geneva-Cornavin | 01-06-1958 | 22-05-1982 |
| TEE 45-46/47-48 | Ligure | Milano C – Avignon[note 4] | 12-09-1957 | 22-05-1982 |
| TEE 12/13 | Lyonnais | Paris-Lyon – Lyon Perrache | 09-02-1969 | 26-09-1976 |
| TEE 84/85 | Mediolanum | München – Milano C | 15-10-1957 | 02-06-1984 |
| TEE 86/79 | Memling | Paris Nord – Bruxelles Midi/Brussel Zuid | 29-09-1974 | 01-06-1984 |
| TEE 34/35 | Merkur | Stuttgart – Köln – København | 26-05-1974 | 27-05-1978 |
| TEE 10/11 | Le Mistral | Paris-Lyon – Marseille St. C – Nice-Ville | 30-05-1965 | 26-09-1981 |
| TEE 23/24 | Mont Cenis | Lyon-Perrache – Milano C | 02-06-1957 | 30-09-1972 |
| TEE 40/41 | Molière (ex Paris-Ruhr) | Paris Nord – Köln | 02-06-1957 | 25-05-1979 |
| TEE 80/89 | L'Oiseau Bleu | Paris Nord – Bruxelles Midi/Brussel Zuid | 02-06-1957 | 02-06-1984 |
| TEE 32/33 | Parsifal | Paris Nord – Dortmund – Hamburg-Altona | 29-09-1957 | 26-05-1979 |
| TEE 26/27 | Prinz Eugen (I) | Bremen – Passau – Wien Westbf. | 25-09-1971 | 29-05-1976 |
| TEE 26/27 | Prinz Eugen (II) | Hannover – Köln – Frankfurt/Main – Wien Westbf. | 30-05-1976 | 27-05-1978 |
| TEE 10/11 | Rembrandt | München – Stuttgart – Amsterdam CS | 28-05-1967 | 28-05-1983 |
| TEE 6/7 | Rheingold | Amsterdam CS – Geneva-Cornavin (train)[note 5] | 30-05-1965 | 30-05-1987 |
| TEE 16/17 | Rheingold | Amsterdam – Frankfurt – Nördlingen – München (coaches of a train)[note 6] | 23-05-1982 | 30-05-1987 |
| TEE 21/22 | Rheinpfeil | Dortmund – Frankfurt/Main – München | 30-05-1965 | 25-09-1971 |
| TEE 74/75 | Roland (I) | Bremen – Basel SBB – Milano C | 01-06-1969 | 26-05-1979 |
| TEE 90/91 | Roland (I) | Bremen – Frankfurt/Main – Stuttgart | 28-05-1979 | 29-05-1980 |
| TEE 78/79 | Rubens | Paris Nord – Bruxelles Midi/Brussel Zuid | 29-09-1974 | 27-05-1987 |
| TEE 16/17 | Rhodanien | Paris-Lyon – Marseille St. C | 23-05-1971 | 29-09-1978 |
| TEE 28/29 (later 20/21) | Saphir | Frankfurt/Main – Bruxelles Midi/Brussel Zuid | 02-06-1957 | 26-05-1979 |
| TEE 68/69 | Settebello | Roma – Milano C | 26-05-1974 | 02-06-1984 |
| TEE 62/63 | Stanislas | Paris Est – Strasbourg | 24-05-1971 | 25-09-1982 |
| TEE 83-86/87-88 | Ticino | Zürich HB – Milano C | 01-07-1961 | 25-05-1974 |
| TEE 22/23 | Van Beethoven (ex Rhein-Main) | Frankfurt/Main – Amsterdam CS | 02-06-1957 | 26-05-1979 |
| TEE 94/95 | Vesuvio | Milano C – Roma – Napoli | 30-09-1973 | 30-05-1987 |
| TEE 38/39 | Watteau (I) | Paris Nord – Lille – Tourcoing | 02-10-1978 | 01-06-1991 |
| TEE 89/88 | Watteau (II) | Paris Nord – Bruxelles Midi/Brussel Zuid | 09-1993 | 28-05-1995 |