The ''Iris'' 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 alon ...
that linked
Brussels Midi/Zuid in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, Belgium, with
Chur station in
Chur, Switzerland.
Introduced in 1974,
["Summer services, 1974" (changes due to take effect). '']Thomas Cook Continental 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 ...
'' (March 29–April 25, 1974 edition), p. 465. Peterborough, UK: Thomas Cook Publishing. the train was operated by the
National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB), the
Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL), the French National Railway Corporation (
SNCF
The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffic ...
) and the
Swiss Federal Railways
Swiss Federal Railways (german: link=no, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, ''SBB''; french: link=no, Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, ''CFF''; it, Ferrovie federali svizzere, ''FFS'') is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usuall ...
(SBB-CFF-FFS). It was named after a flower, the Yellow Iris (''
Iris pseudacorus''), which was widespread in the
Zenne/Senne valley, where Brussels is located.
Initially, the ''Iris'' was a first-class-only
Trans Europ Express (TEE). In 1981, it became a two-class
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), and on 31 May 1987, it was included in the then-new
EuroCity
EuroCity, abbreviated as EC, is a cross-border train category within the European inter-city rail network. In contrast to trains allocated to the lower-level "IC" (InterCity) category, EC trains are international services that meet 20 criteri ...
(EC) network.
['']Thomas Cook Continental 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 ...
'' (May 31–June 30, 1987 edition), pp. 472, 475. Thomas Cook Publishing. , the ''Iris'' was one of two EuroCity train-pairs running daily between Brussels and Switzerland; the other was the ''
Vauban''.
[
]
History
The eastbound service was cut back to Brussels–Basel in December 2011; in December 2013 the latter was also cut back to start in Basel.
The service was discontinued on April 3 2016, alongside the introduction of a high-speed TGV service to Strasbourg.
See also
* History of rail transport in Belgium
* History of rail transport in Luxembourg :''This article is part of the history of rail transport by country series''
The history of rail transport in Luxembourg began in 1846 and continues to the present day.
Origins
The first negotiations for the creation of a railway on the territor ...
* History of rail transport in France :''This article is part of the History of rail transport series''
The history of rail transport in France dates from the first French railway in 1823 to present-day enterprises such as the AGV.
Beginnings
France was a sluggard in building rail ...
* History of rail transport in Switzerland
* List of EuroCity services
A list of EuroCity services, past and present. Routes are described from north-west to south-east. Unnamed services are listed alongside named services on similar routes.
Key
List of services
Notes
References
*Deutsche Bahn, Ihr Zug ...
* List of named passenger trains of Europe
This article contains lists of named passenger trains in Europe, listed by country. Listing by country does eliminate some EuroCity services from the list, but they are listed on the relevant EuroCity page for daytime trains and the EuroNight ...
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
External links
Rail.lu: Iris
– images of the train
{{EuroCity trains
EuroCity
International named passenger trains
Named passenger trains of Belgium
Named passenger trains of Luxembourg
Named passenger trains of France
Named passenger trains of Switzerland
Railway services introduced in 1974
Trans Europ Express