The word ''Rheinpfeil'' was used to name a number of

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 ...

s that ran in Germany between the 1950s and 1991. For much of that period, a train carrying the name ''Rheinpfeil'' also linked Germany with at least one neighbouring country. ''Rheinpfeil'' is a German word meaning "Rhine arrow", and alludes to the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

valley, which always formed part of the route of the train carrying that name. During its time as a

Trans Europe 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), the ''Rheinpfeils 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 ...

) included a "vista-dome car","Table 19: Rheinpfeil (Rhine Arrow)", '' Cooks Continental Timetable'' (February 1967 edition), p. 63; also p. 61. London: Thomas Cook & Son, Ltd. a rarity on European railways. Seating in the dome car was unreserved. As Eurocity, nr 8/9, conveyed two through DB 2 class carriages Hannover-Koln-Basel-Bern-Lotschberg Bergstrecke-Brig-Milano Porta Garibaldi-Florence-Rome, in summer 1990/1991, conveyed in EXP 324/5 Rome-Milan-Brig-Basel

Route

The core of the ''Rheinpfeils route was the

West Rhine Railway The West Rhine railway (German: ''Linke Rheinstrecke'', literally 'left (bank of the) Rhine route') is a famously picturesque, double-track electrified railway line running for 185 km from Cologne via Bonn, Koblenz, and Bingen to Mainz. I ...

, a section of line through the Rhine valley: *

Köln Hbf 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 million ...

– Bonn Hbf – Koblenz Hbf – Mainz Hbf The train continued southeast via

Frankfurt Hbf Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof, also called Frankfurt Central Station and Frankfurt Main Station, is the busiest railway station in the German state of Hesse. Because of its location near the middle of Germany and usage as a transport hub for ...

and Wurzburg Hbf to Munich until its route was changed in 1979 to run via

Mannheim Hbf Mannheim Hauptbahnhof (German language, German for ''Mannheim central station'') is a railway station in Mannheim in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is the second largest traffic hub in southwestern Germany after Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof ...

and

Karlsruhe Hbf Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof is a railway station in the German city of Karlsruhe. The station is classified as a Category 1 station, as it is a major hub where several railways connect. History Old station When the Baden Mainline was built betw ...

towards Switzerland. However, the northern and southern termini of the train, varied a great deal over the years.

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External links

{{EuroCity trains EuroCity Named passenger trains of Germany Named passenger trains of Switzerland Trans Europ Express Railway services introduced in 1952 Railway services discontinued in 1991

Route

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links