The ''Colosseum'' 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 ...

initially linking

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, later

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

. The train was named after the Amphitheatrum Flavium, renowned as the

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world t ...

Trans Europ Express

The ''Colosseum'' was the successor to the TEE ''Settebello'' on the same route and schedule. The ETR 300 rolling stock was replaced by locomotive-hauled coaches of the Gran Conforto class. Because the name ''Settebello'' was widely associated with the ETR 300 stock, the name of the Milan – Rome service was changed as well. On 3 June 1984 the service continued as TEE ''Colosseum'' (or Colosseo in Italian). The train was hauled by

FS Class E.444 The FS E.444 is a class of Italian railways electric locomotives. They were introduced in the course of the 1960s until 1975. Starting from 1989, all E.444s were upgraded as E.444R. The locomotives are nicknamed ''Tartaruga'' (tortoise). The ori ...

locomotives and used the Gran Conforto coaches that had been used in the TEE ''Adriatico'' until 2 June 1984. After three years of service as a TEE the ''Colosseum'' was converted to a two-class InterCity.

EuroCity

On 28 May 1989 the route was extended farther north to

and, being international, the train qualified as EuroCity. The coaches for the EuroCity service were provided by

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 ...

. In 1991 the German InterCityExpress (ICE) started with the opening of the Hanover – Würzburg high-speed railway. This meant a reorganisation of the long-distance train services that affected the EuroCitys as well. Travellers to Frankfurt could use the ICE north of

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

, but the Rhine valley farther north did not yet have a high-speed service, and the number of EuroCitys there was increased. Travellers from Milan to Germany could use the EC ''Verdi'' but this train did not operate south of Milan. The ''Colosseum'' was shortened to the Rome – Basel portion, which continued in operation until 31 May 1997. On 1 June 1997

Cisalpino Cisalpino AG () was a railway company, referred to as CIS in timetables, operating international trains between Switzerland and Italy connecting Basel, Schaffhausen, Zürich, Geneva, Milan, Venice, Trieste, Livorno, and Florence. The company ...

introduced ETR 470 tilting trains between

and

, which replaced the EC ''Colosseum''. La Légende des TEE p. 401.

References

Works cited

* * {{EuroCity trains International named passenger trains Named passenger trains of Germany Named passenger trains of Switzerland Named passenger trains of Italy Trans Europ Express EuroCity Railway services introduced in 1984 Railway services discontinued in 1997