EuroCity Express, or short ECE, is a category of

Eurocity EuroCity (EC) is an international Train categories in Europe, train category and brand for European inter-city rail, inter-city trains that cross international borders and meet criteria covering comfort, speed, food service, and cleanliness. E ...

train marketed 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 ...

that runs on two routes as of 2021. It was created to classify a newly introduced international high speed train service in a higher category - equivalent to the

Intercity-Express Intercity Express (commonly known as ICE () and running under this Train categories in Europe, category) is a high-speed rail in Germany, high-speed rail system in Germany. It also serves destinations in Austria, France, Belgium, Switzerland an ...

- than the existing Eurocity, which is equivalent to the "second tier" domestic

Intercity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...

History

The train category was newly created with the timetable change on December 10, 2017, because the Frankfurt-Milan connection, operated with an

ETR 610 ETR may refer to: Transportation * ElettroTreno, a series of Italian high-speed trains * Echigo Tokimeki Railway, a railway operating company in Japan * Santa Rosa International Airport, serving Machala, Ecuador * Essex Terminal Railway, a short ...

of the

Swiss Federal Railways Swiss Federal Railways (, SBB; , CFF; , FFS) is the national railway company of Switzerland. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Bern. It used to be a State-owned enterprise, government institution, but since 1999 it has be ...

, offers

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 ...

-like travel times and comfort, according to Deutsche Bahn. Because the train would have been classified as an EC only in the second highest train category, the new EuroCity-Express category was created in line with the ICE, which is equivalent to the ICE in terms of fares. With the change of timetable on December 13, 2020, ECE trains operated by ETR 610 "Astoro" began service on the partially new electrified line between Munich and Zurich. In the medium term, the German Federal Minister of Transport, Andreas Scheuer, is aiming to integrate these connections into his concept of a " Trans-Europ-Express 2.0".

Services

Frankfurt–Milano

The first ECE line, introduced in 2017, runs from Frankfurt Central Station via Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Freiburg and Basel to Milano Centrale station. The train is only operated as ECE in Germany ( to ); in Switzerland and Italy, the train type is

EuroCity EuroCity (EC) is an international Train categories in Europe, train category and brand for European inter-city rail, inter-city trains that cross international borders and meet criteria covering comfort, speed, food service, and cleanliness. E ...

. In terms of the timetable, this is an extension of the EC – to the north. , the service operates as EC/ ECE85.

Munich–Zurich

The service between Munich and Zurich was launched with the timetable change in December 2020. In cooperation with

and

ÖBB The Austrian Federal Railways ( , formally or () and formerly the or ''BBÖ'' ), now commonly known as ÖBB (), is the national railway company of Austria, and the administrator of Liechtenstein's railways. The ÖBB group i ...

, six pairs of ECE trains are offered daily. The line's launch was made possible by the electrification of the Geltendorf-Lindau section of the

Buchloe–Lindau railway The Buchloe–Lindau railway is a double-track, largely non-electrified main line in the German state of Bavaria. It runs through the Allgäu from Buchloe to Lindau in Lake Constance via Kaufbeuren and Kempten. Together with the connecting Munich� ...

. Previously, four EuroCity train pairs ran daily on the connection, three of them via , as is the case now with the ECE, and one via Kempten Hbf. The latter route was eliminated with the changeover, as the line via Kempten has not been electrified. The section to Basel SBB is discontinued as well. While the former ECs went to the terminus station on the island of Lindau, the ECEs serve the long-distance through-station solely. , the service runs as EC/ ECE88.

Equipment

SBB's Alstom ETR 610 ("Astoro") are used: SBB RABe 503 022 was given a trinational design for the inauguration of the first ECE connection and was given the name

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

at Basel SBB station on November 17, 2017. SBB's Alstom ETR 610 trains with tilting technology are also in operation on the route between Munich and Zurich.

Rate system

In Germany, the train is priced at the ICE fare. In Italy, on the other hand, it is sold as a regular EuroCity. In Switzerland, there is in general no differentiation in fares according to train category. In cross-border traffic to Italy, a global fare also applies, with a seat reservation included in the fare.

References

{{reflist Deutsche Bahn Rail transport in Europe Rail transport brands High-speed trains of Germany High-speed rail in Germany High-speed rail in Switzerland High-speed trains of Austria EuroCity Transport and the European Union