The ''Rhein–Main'' was an

express train An express train is a type of passenger train that makes few or no stops between its origin and destination stations, usually major destinations, providing faster service than local trains that stop at many or all of the stations along their ...

that linked

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

with

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

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 ...

and later with

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The train was named after the two rivers, the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

and the

Main Main may refer to: Geography *Main River (disambiguation), multiple rivers with the same name *Ma'in, an ancient kingdom in modern-day Yemen * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *Spanish Main, the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territ ...

, that join west of Frankfurt. For most of its life, it was a

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).

F-Zug

The ''Rhein–Main'' was launched in May 1953 as train number F 31 northbound and F 32 southbound. TEE Züge in Deutschland, p. 79. The service was operated by

Deutsche Bundesbahn Deutsche Bundesbahn (, ) or DB () was formed as the state railway of the newly established West Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remained the state railway of West Germany u ...

(German Federal Railways) with

diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

Trans Europ Express

On 2 June 1957, the ''Rhein–Main'' was one of the initial

TEE A tee is a stand used in sport to support and elevate a stationary ball prior to striking with a foot, club, or bat. Tees are used extensively in golf, tee-ball, baseball, American football, and rugby. Etymology The word tee is derived from t ...

services. The rolling stock was given TEE signage on front but the use of VT 08 continued for a few months, because the German TEE trainsets planned for it were not available for the ''Rhein–Main'' until 1 December 1957. Das grosse TEE Buch, p. 74 With the start of the TEE network the northern terminus was changed from Dortmund to

, and the

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

– Dortmund portion of the ''Rhein–Main'' became part of the '' TEE Saphir''. During the summer of 1958 and the winter of 1958–59 the ''Rhein–Main'' and ''Saphir'' ran coupled between Frankfurt and Cologne after the ''Saphir''s eastern terminus was changed from Dortmund to Frankfurt. After 31 May 1959, the ''Saphir'', using the east bank of the Rhine, and the ''Rhein–Main'' using the west bank of the Rhine calling at the West-German capital

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, ran as separate trains again. On 28 May 1967, the

Oberhausen–Arnhem railway The Oberhausen–Arnhem railway (also known in German as the ''Hollandstrecke'', meaning "Holland line") is a two-track, electrified main line railway running close to the lower Rhine from Oberhausen Hauptbahnhof, Oberhausen via Wesel railway stat ...

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...

works were completed and ''Rhein–Main's'' rolling stock was replaced by electric-locomotive-hauled trains. La Légende des TEE, p. 186. Because of poor loading figures on the evening service between Bonn and Frankfurt the southbound service was shortened to Bonn on 26 September 1971. The northbound route continued to start in Frankfurt. On 28 May 1972, the service was renamed '' TEE Van Beethoven''."Summer services, 1972" (changes taking effect). '' Cooks Continental Timetable'' (May 1–27, 1972 edition), p. 466. London: Thomas Cook Publishing.

References

Works cited

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhein-Main (train) International named passenger trains Named passenger trains of Germany Named passenger trains of the Netherlands Trans Europ Express Railway services introduced in 1953