Trans Europ Express

The Trans Europ Express, or Trans-Europe Express (TEE), is a former international first-class railway service in western and central Europe that was founded in 1957 and ceased in 1995. At the height of its operations, in 1974, the TEE network comprised 45 trains, connecting 130 different cities,[1] from Spain in the west to Austria in the east, and from Denmark to Southern Italy.

For other uses, see Trans Europ Express (disambiguation).

Trans Europ Express
Overview
Service typeInternational network of express trains
StatusDefunct
LocaleWestern Europe
First service1957
Last service28 May 1995[1]
SuccessorVarious, including EuroCity, InterCity, TGV, Thalys 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
ElectrificationVarious different voltages, depending on country

Origin

The network was set up in 1957[2] following an idea of F.Q. den Hollander, then president-director of the Dutch national railway company (NS).[1] TEE 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 passed through Belgium from the beginning, the Belgian national railway company (NMBS/SNCB) joined the program only in 1964. Luxembourg (CFL) also joined at a later date.

Swiss TEE trainset capable of operating at four different voltages

The idea was for a network of fast and comfortable transnational 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 major 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 (as a revival of a pre-World War II train). The network was launched in 1957 with trains serving 13 different routes.[1]

Rolling stock
German DB Class VT 11.5 diesel trainset that was used in TEE service until 1972,[1] pictured at Munich Hbf. in 1970

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.

An SNCF CC 40100 with the Brussels–Paris L'Oiseau Bleu TEE in 1979. By the 1970s most TEEs were locomotive-hauled, rather than self-propelled trainsets.

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 Type 150 locomotives (now called Class 15) in 1962, capable of handling three different voltages, followed by the four-voltage Type 160 (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]

Modification of service

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.

Growth
The TEE network at its maximum extent (1974)

The network grew in the course of the years, adding three more countries: Spain (RENFE), Denmark (DSB) and Austria (ÖBB). The system reached furthest 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 were never 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.

Contraction and end

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.

After 1984 most services were abandoned, leaving only some national services in (mostly) Italy and France and 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 in name, the TEE designation continued to be used for a few domestic trains operating entirely within France until 1 June 1991.

TEE in the DB Museum

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 coaches, 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 carriages (they were in effect EuroCity services). A few trains continued to utilise TEE branded coaches until 1 June 1996, but the trains themselves were no longer classified as TEEs.[1]

Cultural References

The railway service was the subject of a 1977 album by German electronic music group Kraftwerk, the music of which has been sampled multiple times and has thus engrained the railway reference in a variety of musical genres.

List of the TEE trains
Train number Name Service start Service end
TEE 92/93Adriatico Milano C – Bari3 June 197330 May 1987
TEE 8/9Albert Schweitzer Dortmund – Strasbourg2 June 198027 May 1983
TEE 78/79Ambrosiano Milano – Roma26 May 197430 May 1987
TEE 1/2Aquitaine Paris Austerlitz – Bordeaux23 May 197130 May 1984
TEE 7/8 (later 64/65)Arbalète Paris Est – Basel SBB – Zürich HB2 June 195726 May 1979
TEE 88/89Aurora Roma – Reggio di Calabria26 May 197431 May 1975
TEE 14/15Bacchus München – Dortmund28 May 197930 May 1980
TEE 66/67Bavaria Zürich HB – München28 September 196921 May 1977
TEE 84/85Brabant Paris Nord – Bruxelles Midi/Brussel Zuid – (Amsterdam CS)26 May 19632 June 1984
TEE 90/91Blauer Enzian Hamburg-Altona – München – (Klagenfurt)[note 1]30 May 196526 May 1979
TEE 74/75Le Capitole (du matin) Paris-Austerlitz – Toulouse-Matabiau (morning train)27 September 197023 May 1982
TEE 76/77Le Capitole (du soir) Paris-Austerlitz – Toulouse-Matabiau (evening train)27 May 197029 September 1984
TEE 70-71/72-73Catalan Talgo Geneva-Cornavin – Barcelona1 June 196922 May 1982
TEE 13/14 (later 23/22)Cisalpin Paris-Lyon – Milano Centrale – (Venezia)[note 2]1 July 196121 January 1984
TEE 68/69Colosseum Roma – Milano C3 June 198430 May 1987
TEE 36/37Cycnus Milano – Ventimiglia30 September 197327 May 1978
TEE 42/43Diamant (I) Dortmund – Antwerpen30 May 196529 May 1976
TEE 80/81Diamant (II) München – Hamburg-Altona27 May 197927 May 1981
TEE 90/93Edelweiss Amsterdam – Zürich HB2 June 195726 May 1979
TEE 26/27Erasmus München – Nürnberg – Den Haag3 June 197331 May 1980
TEE 4/5Étendard Paris Austerlitz – Bordeaux[note 3]26 August 197130 May 1984
TEE 82/85Étoile du Nord Paris Nord – Amsterdam CS2 June 195726 June 1984
TEE 34/35Faidherbe Paris Nord – Lille – Tourcoing2 October 19781 June 1991
TEE 16/17Friedrich Schiller Dortmund – Stuttgart27 May 197919 May 1982
TEE 14/15 (later 18/19)Gambrinus Hamburg-Altona – Köln (Cologne) – München29 May 197827 May 1983
TEE 36/37Gayant Paris Nord – Lille – Tourcoing2 October 197830 May 1986
TEE 50/51Goethe (I) Frankfurt/Main – Paris Est31 May 197031 May 1975
TEE 24/25Goethe (II) Frankfurt/Main – Dortmund27 May 197927 May 1983
TEE 58/59Gottardo Zürich HB – Milano C1 July 196124 September 1988
TEE 28/29Heinrich Heine Frankfurt/Main – Dortmund27 May 197927 May 1983
TEE 78/79Helvetia Zürich HB – Frankfurt/Main – Hamburg-Altona2 June 195726 May 1979
TEE 88/81L'Ile de France (I) Paris Nord – Amsterdam CS (only Paris–Brussels after 2 June 1984)2 June 195730 May 1987
TEE 85/80L'Ile de France (II) Paris Nord – Bruxelles Midi/Brussel Zuid09-199328 May 1995
TEE 91/92Iris Zürich – Bruxelles Midi/Brussel Zuid26 May 197430 May 1981
TEE 30/31Jules Verne Paris Montparnasse – Nantes28 September 198022 September 1989
TEE 60/61Kléber Paris Est – Strasbourg23 May 197123 September 1988
TEE 24/25Lemano Milano C – Geneva-Cornavin1 June 195822 May 1982
TEE 45-46/47-48Ligure Milano C – Avignon[note 4]12 September 195722 May 1982
TEE 12/13Le Lyonnais Paris-Lyon – Lyon Perrache9 February 196926 September 1976
TEE 84/85Mediolanum München – Milano C15 October 19572 June 1984
TEE 86/79Memling Paris Nord – Bruxelles Midi/Brussel Zuid29 September 19741 June 1984
TEE 34/35Merkur Stuttgart – Köln – København26 May 197427 May 1978
TEE 10/11Le Mistral Paris-Lyon – Marseille St. C – Nice-Ville30 May 196526 September 1981
TEE 23/24Mont Cenis Lyon-Perrache – Milano C2 June 195730 September 1972
TEE 40/41Molière (ex-Paris–Ruhr) Paris Nord – Köln2 June 195725 May 1979
TEE 80/89L'Oiseau Bleu Paris Nord – Bruxelles Midi/Brussel Zuid2 June 19572 June 1984
TEE 32/33Parsifal Paris Nord – Dortmund – Hamburg-Altona29 September 195726 May 1979
TEE 26/27Prinz Eugen (I) Bremen – Passau – Wien Westbf.25 September 197129 May 1976
TEE 26/27Prinz Eugen (II) Hannover – Köln – Frankfurt/Main – Wien Westbf.30 May 197627 May 1978
TEE 10/11Rembrandt München – Stuttgart – Amsterdam CS28 May 196728 May 1983
TEE 6/7Rheingold Amsterdam CS – Geneva-Cornavin (train)[note 5]30 May 196530 May 1987
TEE 16/17Rheingold Amsterdam – Frankfurt – Nördlingen – München (coaches)[note 6]23 May 198230 May 1987
TEE 21/22Rheinpfeil Dortmund – Frankfurt/Main – München30 May 196525 September 1971
TEE 74/75Roland (I) Bremen – Basel SBB – Milano C1 June 196926 May 1979
TEE 90/91Roland (II) Bremen – Frankfurt/Main – Stuttgart28 May 197929 May 1980
TEE 78/79Rubens Paris Nord – Bruxelles Midi/Brussel Zuid29 September 197427 May 1987
TEE 16/17Le Rhodanien Paris-Lyon – Marseille St. C23 May 197129 September 1978
TEE 28/29 (later 20/21)Saphir Frankfurt/Main – Bruxelles Midi/Brussel Zuid2 June 195726 May 1979
TEE 68/69Settebello Roma – Milano C26 May 19742 June 1984
TEE 62/63Stanislas Paris Est – Strasbourg24 May 197125 September 1982
TEE 83-86/87-88Ticino Zürich HB – Milano C1 July 196125 May 1974
TEE 22/23Van Beethoven (ex-Rhein–Main) Frankfurt/Main – Amsterdam CS2 June 195726 May 1979
TEE 94/95Vesuvio Milano C – Roma – Napoli30 September 197330 May 1987
TEE 38/39Watteau (I) Paris Nord – Lille – Tourcoing2 October 19781 June 1991
TEE 89/88Watteau (II) Paris Nord – Bruxelles Midi/Brussel Zuid09-199328 May 1995
Notes
  1. Route section between München and Klagenfurt operated 1969–1979, in summer and winter timetable periods only, last operating on 1 April 1979.
  2. Route section between Milano and Venezia operated in summer only, 1974 through 1979.
  3. Extended to Irun and from Hendaye, summer 1973 through summer 1975.
  4. Original western terminus was at Marseille (and train number 151/156 or 27/28); extended to Avignon in 1969.
  5. Bern–Geneva section discontinued 6 April 1980, reinstated autumn 1980 as winter-only service; Basel–Geneva section discontinued 1982. However, during certain times of year both before 1982 and continuing after, the train carried through coaches to Chur and (until 1985) Milano, which were attached to ordinary express trains south of Basel.
  6. Rheingold’s München variant operated only in summer until 1985, then year-round until withdrawn; extended to/from Salzburg during the summer timetable periods in 1985 and 1986.
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See also

References

Notes
  1. Haydock, David (June–July 1996). "The Second Demise of the TEE". Today's Railways, p. 22–24. Platform 5 Publishing (UK). ISSN 1354-2753.
  2. Nock, O.S. (1978). World Atlas of Railways. New York: Mayflower Books (original publisher: Artists House, London, UK). ISBN 0-8317-9500-X.
  3. Thomas Cook Continental Timetable (June 1–30, 1975 edition), p. 69. Peterborough, England: Thomas Cook Publishing.
  4. Thomas Cook Continental Timetable (May 1–30, 1987 edition), p. 51. Thomas Cook Publishing. ISSN 0952-620X.
  5. Thomas Cook European Timetable (April 1988 edition), p. 69. Thomas Cook Publishing.
  6. Thomas Cook European Timetable (July 1994 edition), p. 69. Thomas Cook Publishing.

Bibliography
  • Malaspina, Jean-Pierre (2005). Des TEE aux TGV [TEE to TGV]. Trains d'Europe (in French). 1. Paris: La Vie du Rail. ISBN 2915034486.
  • Malaspina, Jean-Pierre; Mertens, Maurice (2007). TEE: la légende des Trans-Europ-Express [TEE: The Legend of the Trans Europ Express]. Auray: LR Presse. ISBN 978-29-03651-45-9. (in French)
  • Malaspina, Jean-Pierre; Mertens, Maurice (2008). TEE: la leggenda dei Trans-Europ-Express [TEE: The Legend of the Trans Europ Express]. Salò: ETR – Editrice Trasporti su Rotaie. ISBN 978-88-85068-31-5. (in Italian)
  • Mertens, Maurice; Malaspina, Jean-Pierre; von Mitzlaff, Berndt (2009). TEE - Die Geschichte des Trans-Europ-Express [TEE - The History of the Trans Europ Express]. Düsseldorf: Alba Publikation. ISBN 978-3-87094-199-4. (in German)


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