The ''Bavaria'' was an

express train An express train is a type of passenger train that makes a small number of stops between its origin and destination stations, usually major destinations, allowing faster service than local trains that stop at most or all of the stations alo ...

that linked

München Hbf Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, Germany, with

Zürich HB , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich () ...

in Zurich, Switzerland. Introduced in the 1950s, it ran through to

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

( Cornavin station) until 1969, when it was cut back to Zurich. The train was named on the basis that ''Bavaria'' is the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

equivalent to the German word ''Bayern'', the official name of the

federal state A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, of which Munich is the capital. It was operated by the

Deutsche Bundesbahn The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB (German Federal Railway) was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remaine ...

/ Deutsche Bahn (DB) and the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB-CFF-FFS). The route also included a single stop in Austria, at

Bregenz Bregenz (; gsw, label= Vorarlbergian, Breagaz ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switze ...

. The section between

Lindau Lindau (german: Lindau (Bodensee), ''Lindau am Bodensee''; ; Low Alemannic: ''Lindou'') is a major town and island on the eastern side of Lake Constance (''Bodensee'' in German) in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the county (''Landkreis' ...

, Germany, and St. Margrethen, Switzerland, is located mostly in Austria, but Swiss locomotives hauled the train over this section, most of which is part of the Vorarlberg line of

Austrian Federal Railways Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

. Originally and for several years, the ''Bavaria'' was a two-class ''

Schnellzug A ''Schnellzug'' is an express train in German-speaking countries, where it refers to trains that do not stop at all stations along a line. The term is used both generically and also as a specific train type. In Germany and Austria it is also ref ...

'' (D), running Munich – Zurich – Bern – Geneva. As of 1963, the train was carrying a full restaurant car on the Munich –

and St. Margrethen – Geneva portions,'' Cooks Continental Timetable'' (February 1963 edition), pp. 178, 309. London: Thomas Cook Publishing. but by 1968 the dining car on the German portion had been replaced by a

buffet car A buffet car is a passenger car of a train, where food and beverages can be bought at a counter and consumed.Trans Europ Express The Trans Europ Express, or Trans-Europe Express (TEE), was an 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 compri ...

(TEE), but the route was shortened in Switzerland, with the western terminus moved to Zurich. The TEE carried a restaurant car over the full route, Munich – Zurich, with service being provided by the Swiss Restaurant Car Company.''Thomas Cook Continental Timetable'', various issues. On 22 May 1977, the ''Bavaria'' reverted to being a two-class ''Schnellzug''.'' Thomas Cook International Timetable'' (May 22–June 30, 1977 edition), p. 6. Peterborough, UK: Thomas Cook Publishing. Seven years later, effective 3 June 1984, it was reclassified as an

InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...

(IC) train,'' Thomas Cook Continental Timetable'' (May 1–June 2, 1984 edition), pp. 392, 473. Peterborough, UK: Thomas Cook Publishing. and on 31 May 1987, it was included in the then-new EuroCity (EC) network.''Thomas Cook Continental Timetable'' (May 31–June 30, 1987 edition), pp. 472, 475. It ceased to be a named train at the end of 2002. On 9 February 1971, the ''Bavaria'' was involved in a serious derailment and collision in

Aitrang Aitrang is a municipality in the district of Ostallgäu in Bavaria in Germany. Geography Aitrang lies in the south Bavarian Region Allgäu. It encompasses districts of: Aitrang, Huttenwang, Wenglingen. Administrative responsibility also exte ...

, Bavaria, in which the train formation (

consist In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often know ...

) was destroyed, and 28 people lost their lives.

See also

References

Further reading