The ''Diamant'' 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 ...

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 ...

(DB), using different routes over the years. The name ''Diamant'',

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

for

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...

, refers to the city of Antwerp, which is the European centre of diamond trade and has a diamond district. The initial service started in 1962 as a first-class-only ''FernTriebwagen'' linking the West-German capital

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

with Antwerp, using a class diesel multiple unit (DMU).

Trans Europ Express

The ''Diamant'' was upgraded to

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) on 30 May 1965. The VT 08 was replaced by DB Class VT 11.5 DMUs formerly used in the TEE ''

Helvetia Helvetia () is the female national personification of Switzerland, officially ''Confoederatio Helvetica,'' the Swiss Confederation. The allegory is typically pictured in a flowing gown, with a spear and a shield emblazoned with the Swiss fl ...

'', after the latter was changed to an

electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or g ...

-hauled

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 ...

. The route in Germany was altered as well; the ''Diamant'' no longer stopped at Bonn and started/ended in Dortmund instead. In May 1966, only one year into the train's TEE era, its western terminus was changed from Antwerp to Brussels (South/Midi), disconnecting the "Diamond" (''Diamant'') from the place that had been the inspiration for its name. Many alterations in the route followed during the electrification works along the route, sometimes reaching as far east as

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. On 29 May 1976, the ''Diamant'' was withdrawn.'' Thomas Cook Continental Timetable'' (May 30–June 30, 1976 edition), p. 6. Peterborough, UK: Thomas Cook Publishing. The ''Diamant'' was reintroduced on 27 May 1979, again as a TEE but no longer an international service, instead taking over the

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 ...

–

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

section of the '' Blauer Enzian''. La Légende des TEE, p. 382. It operated on Mondays to Fridays only.'' Thomas Cook International Timetable'' (May 27–June 30, 1979 edition), pp. 6, 68. Thomas Cook Publishing. After two years this second ''Diamant'' was withdrawn from service.

InterCity

The third ''Diamant'' was a two-class DB Intercity service linking

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

with Stuttgart via

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

, from 29 May 1988 until 1 Juni 1991. Although normally a non-international service, the IC ''Diamant'' was extended to (and from) Innsbruck on Saturdays during some periods, including at least January through May 1991.''

Thomas Cook European Timetable The ''European Rail Timetable'', more commonly known by its former names, the ''Thomas Cook European Timetable'', the ''Thomas Cook Continental Timetable'' or simply ''Cook's Timetable'', is an international timetable of selected passenger rai ...

'' (April 1991 edition), pp. 386, 391, 419. Thomas Cook Publishing.

References

Works cited

* * * * {{Trans Europ Express trains International named passenger trains Named passenger trains of Belgium Named passenger trains of Germany Trans Europ Express Railway services introduced in 1962 Railway services discontinued in 1991