RegionalExpress
Encyclopedia
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Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(abbrev. RE) and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
(abbrev. REX).
It is best compared to a semi-fast train, as it calls at fewer stations than Regionalbahn
RegionalBahn
The Regionalbahn is a type of local passenger train in Germany.-Service:Regionalbahn trains usually call at all stations on a given line, with the exception of RB trains within S-Bahn networks, these may only call at selected stations...
or S-Bahn
S-Bahn
S-Bahn refers to an often combined city center and suburban railway system metro in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark...
trains, but stops more often than InterCity
Intercity (Deutsche Bahn)
Intercity is the second-highest train classification in Germany, after the ICE. Intercity services are loco-hauled express services, usually over long-distances. There are Intercity routes throughout Germany, and routes generally operate with a two-hour frequency, with multiple routes giving a more...
services. The majority of Regional-Express services are currently operated by DB Regio
DB Regio
DB Regio AG is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates short and medium distance passenger train services in Germany, and operates light and heavy rail infrastructure in the United Kingdom.-Germany:...
, though a few operators have received franchise rights on select lines from the federal states
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
. Several operators (for example Metronom between Bremen Hbf
Bremen Hauptbahnhof
is the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Bremen in northwestern Germany. It is the most important rail station for both the city and the state of Bremen; InterCityExpress, Intercity, EuroCity, CityNightLine and DB NachtZug services call at the station, which is situated to the Northeast of the city...
and Hamburg Hbf
Hamburg Hauptbahnhof
is the Hauptbahnhof for the German city of Hamburg. It was opened in 1906 to replace 4 terminal stations. Hamburg Hauptbahnhof is operated by DB Station&Service...
) currently operate trains that are similar to a Regional-Express service, but have decided to use their own names for the sake of brand awareness instead.
Regional-Express services are carried out with a variety of vehicles such as DMU
Diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...
s (of Class 612
DBAG Class 612
The DBAG Class 612 is a two car, diesel multiple unit operated by the Deutsche Bahn for fast regional rail services on unelectrified lines.-General Information:...
), EMUs (of Class 425
DBAG Class 425
The Classes 425 and 426 EMUs are a class of electric multiple units built by a consortium of Siemens, Bombardier and DWA and operated by DB Regio in Germany...
or 426) or, most commonly, electric or diesel locomotives with Silberling
Silberling
Silberling is the colloquial name for the n-coaches of the Deutsche Bundesbahn, a type of regional passenger coach of which more than 7,000 units were built from 1958 to 1981...
or double-deck cars, the latter often with new Class 146
TRAXX
Bombardier TRAXX is a modular product platform of electric and Diesel-electric mainline locomotives built by Bombardier Transportation, built in both freight and passenger variants...
engines. Many RE services run in hourly intervals, carrying line numbers and sometimes even names, varying from state to state.
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
and Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
that operate on the Nuremberg–Ingolstadt high-speed railway reach top speeds of 200 km/h. These services are operated with repainted InterCity
Intercity (Deutsche Bahn)
Intercity is the second-highest train classification in Germany, after the ICE. Intercity services are loco-hauled express services, usually over long-distances. There are Intercity routes throughout Germany, and routes generally operate with a two-hour frequency, with multiple routes giving a more...
cars and Class 101
DBAG Class 101
DBAG Class 101 is a class of three-phase electric locomotives built by Adtranz and operated by DB Fernverkehr in Germany. 145 locomotives were built between 1996 and 1999 to replace the 30-year old and aging Class 103 as the flagship of DB AG...
locomotives.