Allersberg-Express was the brand name for the

RegionalBahn The ''Regionalbahn'' (; lit. Regional train; abbreviated ''RB'') is a train categories in Europe, type of Regional rail, local passenger train (stopping train) in Germany. It is similar to the Regionalzug (R) and Regio (Swiss railway train), R ...

train service between

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

and

Allersberg Allersberg () is a municipality in the district of Roth, in Bavaria, Germany. History Until the 19th century Allersberg was first documented in 1254 as "Alrsperch" (Alrsberg's parish center). It is based on the Bavarian personal name Alaher ...

in Bavaria in southern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, operated by

Deutsche Bahn (, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). DB was fou ...

. It started operations on 10 December 2006 and is one of the few regional trains to run on a German high-speed line. The total journey time was about fifteen minutes; the train was subject to the fare structure of the

Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg The (VGN; Transport Association Region Nuremberg) is the transit authority of the city of Nuremberg, the second largest city of the Germany, German state of Bavaria. Its jurisdiction covers the city and its surrounding area, responsible for the ...

. The Allersberg-Express was also called the ''R9 Express'' on VGN network web site. With the December 2020 schedule change, the Allersberg Express was retitled S5 of the

Nuremberg S-Bahn The Nuremberg S-Bahn () is an S-Bahn network covering the region of Nuremberg, Fürth and Erlangen which started operations in 1987 and is now integrated into the Greater Nuremberg Transport Association (Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg). Th ...

. It is now served with

Alstom Coradia Continental The Alstom Coradia is a family of diesel multiple units, electric multiple units, and unpowered rail cars for intercity and regional service manufactured by Alstom, with variants operating in Europe, North America, and Africa. Design The Cor ...

trainsets.

Service operation

The train operates as a shuttle service without any stops between the Nürnberg Hbf and Allersberg (Rothsee) stations. It utilises the

Nuremberg–Ingolstadt high-speed railway The Nuremberg–Ingolstadt high-speed railway is a high-speed railway running between the cities of Nuremberg and Ingolstadt in Bavaria, Germany. It branches off the Nuremberg–Regensburg railway and runs parallel to the Bundesautobahn 9, A9 Au ...

, where it can reach a maximum speed of 140 km/h (87 mph). The journey takes about 15 minutes in the 2012 schedule. Connections to seven regional bus lines are available at Allersberg station, as well as a

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...

facility with 286 parking bays and 112 bicycle racks.

Rolling stock

The train is usually operated with a Class 112 locomotive and three modernised ''n'' coaches (two Bndrz 451.9 coaches and a Bnrbdzf 480.3

driving van trailer A Driving Van Trailer (DVT) is a Great Britain, British purpose-built control car railway vehicle that allows the driver to operate with a locomotive in Push-pull train, push-pull formation from the opposite end of a train. A key benefit of o ...

). When the service was first established, a "sandwiched" train consist (112+Bn+Bn+Bnf+112) was used as the driving van trailer for the service did not have the necessary

LZB Linienzugbeeinflussung (or LZB) is a cab signalling and train protection system used on selected Deutsche Bundesbahn, German and Austrian Federal Railways, Austrian railway lines as well as on the AVE and some commuter rail lines in Rail transpo ...

equipment installed yet. Contrary to the usual coaches of this type, the Allersberg-Express coaches are equipped with an electronic passenger information system and pushbutton-operated exterior doors. The train offers 240 2nd class seats and 34 bicycle racks.

Technical Information

* On the open line, the train set runs with the

in-cab signalling, where available. Due to technical restrictions, however, the train cannot depart on LZB after reversing in Allersberg, as the earliest possible entry point to the LZB signalling is located on the open line north of the station, at km 23. For that reason, the train has to wait at Allersberg until the next conventional signal, which is located about 15 km down the line on the ''Reichswald'' branch, has cleared. If the Allersberg-Express allows an

ICE Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally oc ...

to pass, it therefore takes a minimum wait of four minutes before the train can depart. *The Allersberg-Express, with its top speed of 140 km/h (87 mph), is the only non-pressurised regional train which regularly passes

ICE 3 ICE 3 (standing for ''Intercity Express, Intercity-Express'') is a family of high-speed electric multiple unit trains operated by Deutsche Bahn. It currently includes classes 403, 407 and 408 which are additionally specified as ICE 3, New ICE 3 ...

trains running at their top speed of 300 km/h (186 mph). The service also is one of the few regional trains to perform a scheduled run on a German high-speed line, the other notable train being the

München-Nürnberg-Express The München-Nürnberg-Express (literally: ''Munich-Nuremberg Express'') is a RegionalExpress train service in the southern German state of Bavaria, connecting the two main cities of the state, Munich and Nuremberg. With its maximum speed of 20 ...

References

{{reflist Named DB Regio services High-speed rail in Germany