Stephen Lee
On Moderation
- Joined
- 7 Jul 2019
- Messages
- 675
Anyone have ideas if the connection like EC Iris has been cancelled permanently? Seems like it is.
Perhaps I'm misrecalling but istr there was a plan to split the service with a TGV running Brussels-Strasbourg and the EC from there.Anyone have ideas if the connection like EC Iris has been cancelled permanently? Seems like it is.
I once dined in a Blue Restaurant car on one of the Brussels Basel workings- it was CIWL blue, with a big blue CIWL badge on the side, build circa 1940s/50s, quite a contrast with the orange and white 1980s liveried Eurofima stock which made up the rest of the train! Needless to say this was decades ago and not at all relevant to this thread but the blue restaurant car brought it to mind!Checked what few sources I have - the last Iris ran all the way between Brussels and Basel in 2016. There’s at least one YouTube video of it, all Belgian stock including a blue restaurant car I didn’t know that SNCB possessed.
As reinststing it would primarily benefit Luxembourg (and other intermediate cities) I can't see the Belgian government being very interested. The TGV covers the politically important market.The lastly installed belgian government, with an ecolo minister in charge of the railways, might change a few things. Though I'm not holding my breath.
There is still a daily pair between Amsterdam and Basle, indeed via Germany and Basel Bad station.(There were through trains from the Netherlands too, I went from AMS to Switzerland directly too, that was through Germany and Via Basle DB?, then into Basle SBB and beyond.)
Fairly certain the 3rd one was overnight or at least got into Basel around 0100 for connections to Italy (and disappeared along with the mid-afternoon Calais-Basel when the Tunnel opened...). Iris and Vauban were still running about 10 years ago, integrated into the Strasbourg-Bale SNCF 200km/h regional express timetable, as I did Mulhouse-Colmar on one.I think there used to be 3 trains running from Brussels to Switzerland, Iris, Vauban and I can not remember the name of the 3rd one. I think they all went to Basle and then some went onto Brig & Chur too. I did one of them some years ago, it went via Luxembourg, then part of France and into the SNCF platforms at Basle, where some carriage were removed, then we were shunted to the SBB platforms where were joined up to some Swiss carriages, then we carried on to Brig. It was a very interesting trip. I think now you have to do BRU-Koln-Switzerland. (There were through trains from the Netherlands too, I went from AMS to Switzerland directly too, that was through Germany and Via Basle DB?, then into Basle SBB and beyond.)
The two trains show in the Swiss timetable archive as being 1304 off Basel (EC90 "Vauban", 1136 from Zürich Hbf) and 1608 off Basel (EC96 "Iris", 1436 from Zürich Hbf). Interestingly both are shown as IR services within Switzerland as they didn't have the required catering facilities to be an IC/EC for Swiss standards.I went on a Basel - Luxembourg train consisting of SBB coaches and an SNCF BB15000 back in 2011, it departed about 3pm. What service might that have been?
Only did the train once and surprised at 18435 doing the shunt, the only diesel loco I've ever had in Switzerland!Up until the last couple of years they used to run through from within Switzerland, which would give a bonus drop of shunter haulage if travelling from Switzerland into France or beyond. The train would arrive at the SBB platforms at Basel behind a Swiss loco, which would then be removed. The replacement French train loco (normally a BB15000 or Sybic) would then be shunted on by an SBB shunter (whatever was capable of working across the voltage divide). The SBB shunter would then haul the train into the 25kV SNCF part of the station and be removed.
The Milan to Bruxelles used to throw up Belgian stock in the early-00s which was weird to see going through the Simplon!
Yes, that is what I did, in the opposite direction.The two trains show in the Swiss timetable archive as being 1304 off Basel (EC90 "Vauban", 1136 from Zürich Hbf) and 1608 off Basel (EC96 "Iris", 1436 from Zürich Hbf). Interestingly both are shown as IR services within Switzerland as they didn't have the required catering facilities to be an IC/EC for Swiss standards.
Up until the last couple of years they used to run through from within Switzerland, which would give a bonus drop of shunter haulage if travelling from Switzerland into France or beyond. The train would arrive at the SBB platforms at Basel behind a Swiss loco, which would then be removed. The replacement French train loco (normally a BB15000 or Sybic) would then be shunted on by an SBB shunter (whatever was capable of working across the voltage divide). The SBB shunter would then haul the train into the 25kV SNCF part of the station and be removed. In the latter years this would often be one of SBB's Stadler built dual-voltage Ee922 locos.
View attachment 86301
The only meaningful way to reestablish something similar would be a TGV Zurich - Basel - Strasbourg - Charles de Gaulle Airport - Lille - Brussels.
Such a service would actually serve several useful purposes, but as long as SNCF is what it is, it’s not going to happen.
But this is a massively round-about route, going via Lille. (On a map, at least - I realise that a lot of it is very fast.) And each segment already has a good service. I'd like to see a reinstatement of regular Brussels-Luxembourg-Strasbourg(-Basel) connections. It seems an obvious missing link in through services, and one I found useful years ago.
Belgian couchette cars used to go quite far abroad : extreme South of Italy, Oslo and Stockholm (with two ferries on the way), and Split, among others.
If I remember correctly and am not getting confused with other trips, for a brief period after the start of the Eurostar - or maybe a bit later - I was able to do Brockenhurst-Colmar with only two changes using the Jean Monnet for the last leg.
Fascinating stuff, looking back at it now. I do wish I'd kept some of those old Thomas Cook timetables when they became out of date; & some of the old national British Rail ones too for that matter!
In my travels, I have acquired a 1966 SNCF Chaix, which shows a large amount of intercontinental routes, a 1974 Cooks, which I purchased mailorder from the KWVR and Cooks / ERT 2013 & 2014. I think I got one those from those book swap stalls you see at some Railway Stations, you can often pick up these items from 2nd hand stalls at some heritage railways amongst other rail related items and even clothing, (I have seen BR & newer TOCs Shirts, ties, Sweaters, (I bought a couple of BR Navy Blue Pullovers and a Diamond one) in a number of locations) Also as mentioned look on ebay etc.Fascinating stuff, looking back at it now. I do wish I'd kept some of those old Thomas Cook timetables when they became out of date; & some of the old national British Rail ones too for that matter!