EuroCity

locomotive pulling an EuroCity train consisting of Swiss and Germancoaches]

EuroCity, abbreviated EC, denotes an international train service within the European inter-city rail network. In contrast to trains with the "IC" (InterCity) label, "EC" trains are international trains that meet certain criteria described below. On one hand, EuroCity label replace older Trans Europ Express labeling for fast cross border trains in Europe. First EuroCity trains were introduced in 1987. During the pre-Schengen era, passport checks were conducted on EC trains while in motion, rather than while parked at a station or requiring the passengers to disembark, as was sometimes the case for non EC trains. A few require pre-reservation (though this is possible and recommended for all other trains) and in some countries a supplemental charge.

Criteria

*train through two or more countries (from the 1990s up to now the Austrian Railways ÖBB call their highest class domestic services EC or ÖBB-EC)
*all cars air-conditioned
*stop only at major cities
*stops for no more than five minutes, in special cases up to 15 minutes
*food and beverages available onboard (preferably from a dining car)
*conductors speak at least two languages, one of which must be English, French or German
*average speed (including stops) above 90 km/h, exceptions for mountainous terrain and train ferries
*daytime journey (start after 6 am, arrival earlier than midnight)

Names

Many of the EuroCity trains carry names continuing the practice started for the luxury trains of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of these names are the same that were carried by the earlier Trans-Europe Express trains that followed the same route, forexample "Lutetia" for Paris to Milano. The names are printed on brochures showing the times of arrival at various stops and details of the journey, which are placed on the seats.

Routes

(including a number of European trains with prefix EC, as of January 14 2007):
* EC 6/7 (Hamburg)-Dortmund-Chur
* EC 22 Vienna-Dortmund
* EC 23 Hamburg-Vienna
* EC 24/25 Budapest-Győr-Vienna-Frankfurt-Cologne-Dortmund (removed on December 9, 2007?)
* EC 30/31 "Allegro Johann Strauss" - Vienna-Villach-Venice
* EC 30/ [http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/traininfo.exe/en/441153/244845/610546/158222/80?ld=212.207&seqnr=5&ident=kj.012743207.1195764557&date=22.11.07&station_evaId=8002549&station_type=dep&currentReferrer=tp& 33] Copenhagen-Hamburg
* EC 30/31 "Allegro Johann Strauss" - Venice-Villach-Vienna
* EC 31/34 Copenhagen-Hamburg
* EC 32/35 Copenhagen-Hamburg
* EC 32/33 "Allegro Stadivari" - Venice-Villach-Vienna
* EC 37/38 Hamburg-Copenhagen
* EC 39 Hamburg-Copenhagen
* EC 40/41 "Berlin-Warszawa Express" Berlin-Warsaw
* EC 42/43 Budapest-Vienna
* EC 44/45 "Berlin-Warszawa Express" Warsaw-Berlin
* EC 46/47 "Berlin-Warszawa Express" Warsaw-Berlin
* EC 48/49 "Berlin-Warszawa Express" Poznań-Berlin
* EC 52/53 Frankfurt-Saarbrücken-Paris (removed on June 10, 2007, replaced by a TGV)
* EC 60/61 Munich-Stuttgart-Strasbourg
* EC 60/61 "Casanova" - Ljubljana - Venice (as of April 12, 2008, only runs as far as Sežana on the Slovenian border [ [http://www.slo-zeleznice.si/en/press_centre/news_and_notifications/361/ "News and notifications" - Slovenske železnice] Retrieved on 2008-04-22.] )
* EC 62/63 "Kálmán Imre" - Budapest-Győr-Vienna-Salzburg-Munich
* EC 64/65 Munich-Paris (removed on December 9, 2007, replaced by a TGV)
* EC 68/69 "Mozart" - Vienna-Munich
* EC 70/71 "Antonín Dvořák" – Vienna-Brno-Prague
* EC 72/73 "Johann Gregor Mendel" - Vienna-Prague
* EC 74/75 "Smetana" - Vienna-Prague
* EC 80/81 "Garda" - Verona Porta Nuova-Munich
* EC 82/83 "Paganini" - Verona Porta Nuova-Munich
* EC 84/85 "Michelangelo" - Rome-Munich
* EC 86/87 "Tiepolo" - Venice-Munich
* EC 90/91 "Vauban" – Brussels-Luxemburg-Strasburg-Basel SBB-Zürich
* EC 93-88/89-92 "Leonardo Da Vinci" - Milano Centrale-Munich
* EC 96/97 "Iris" – Brussels-Luxemburg-Strasburg-Basel SBB-Zürich-Chur
* EC 100/101 Chur-Hamburg
* EC 100/101 "Jože Plečnik" - Ljubljana-Graz-Linz-Prague
* EC 102 Chur-Kiel
* EC 102/103 "Polonia" Vienna-Warsaw
* EC 104/105 "Sobieski" Vienna-Ostrava-Katowice-Warsaw
* EC 105 "Cisalpino Lario" Biasca - Milano Centrale
* EC 106/107 "Praha" Warsaw-Katowice-Ostrava-Prague
* EC 106/119 "Cisalpino Tiziano" Milano Centrale-Chiasso-Basel
* EC 107/198 "Cisalpino Brianza" Milano Centrale-Bellinzona
* EC 108/109 "Comenius" – Kraków-Ostrava-Prague
* EC 108/117 "Cisalpino Verdi" - Milano Centrale-Chiasso-Basel
* EC 109/110 "Cisalpino Ticino" - Basel-Chiasso-Milano Centrale
* EC 111/114 "Cisalpino San Marco" - Venezia S.Lucia - Chiasso - Basel
* EC 112/113 - Klagenfurt-Munich
* EC 114/115 "Woerthersee"- Klagenfurt-Salzburg-Munich-Stuttgart-Frankfurt-Dortmund
* EC 115/116 "Mediolanum" - Basel-Chiasso-Milano Centrale
* EC 120/121 "Košičan" – Košice - Žilina - Púchov - Olomouc hl. n. - Prague hl. n.
* EC 125/126 "Cisalpino Lemano" - Geneva Airport-Milano Centrale
* EC 121/128 "Cisalpino Monteverdi" - Geneva Airport-Venice
* EC 120/127 "Cisalpino Vallese" - Milano Centrale-Geneva Airport
* EC 124/129 "Cisalpino Monte Rosa" - Milano Centrale-Geneva Airport
* EC 126/127 "Fatra" – Žilina-Prague
* EC 128/129 "Hradčany" - Žilina-Prague
* EC 130/131 "Moravia" - Budapest-Keleti pu.-Štúrovo-Bratislava-Kúty-Bohumín (at section Štúrovo-Kúty as Ex 130/131)
* EC 139-140/159-160 "Riviera Dei Fiori" - Nice Ville-Milano Centrale
* EC 140/141 "Detvan" - Zvolen-Ostrava
* EC 141-142/147-148 "Ligure" - Milano Centrale-Nice Ville
* EC 143-144/145-146 "Sanremo" - Milano Centrale-Nice Ville
* EC 150/151 "Emona" - Vienna-Graz-Ljubljana
* EC 156/157 "Zagreb" - Vienna-Graz-Zagreb
* EC 158/159 "Croatia" - Zagreb-Graz-Vienna
* EC 160/161 "Maria Theresia" - Vienna-Innsbruck-Zurich
* EC 162/163 "Transalpin" – Vienna-Innsbruck-Zurich-Basel SBB
* EC 164/165 "Kaiserin (Empress) Elizabeth" - Salzburg-Innsbruck-Zurich
* EC 170/171 "Hungaria" – Budapest-Bratislava-Brno-Prague-Dresden-Berlin
* EC 170/177 "Cisalpino Monte Ceneri" - Milano Centrale-Zurich
* EC 171/178 "Cisalpino Teodolinda" - Zurich-Milano C.
* EC 172/173 "Vindobona" – Vienna-Brno-Prague-Dresden-Berlin-Hamburg
* EC 172/179 "Cisalpino Insubria" - Milano C. - Zürich
* EC 173/174 "Cisalpino Canaletto" - Schaffhausen-Venice
* EC 174/175 "Ján Jesenius" Budapest-Bratislava-Brno-Prague-Dresden-Berlin-Hamburg
* EC 175 "Cisalpino Cinque Terre" - Schaffhausen-Livorno Centrale
* EC 176 "Cisalpino Cinque Terre" - Livorno Centrale-Zürich
* EC 176 - Prague-Dresden-Berlin-Hamburg
* EC 177 - Berlin-Wien
* EC 178/179 - Prague-Berlin
* EC 188/189 "Grödnertal (Val Gardena)" - Verona-Bolzano-Innsbruck-Munich
* EC 190/191 Munich-Zurich
* EC 192/193 Munich-Zurich
* EC 194/195 Munich-Zurich
* EC 196/197 Munich-Zurich
* EC 212/213 "Mimara" - Zagreb-Villach
* EC 230/231 Copenhagen-Hamburg
* EC 232/233 Copenhagen-Hamburg
* EC 240/241 "Wawel" – Kraków-Katowice-Wrocław-Berlin-Hamburg
* EC 278/279 "Jaroslav Hašek" – Budapest-Bratislava-Brno-Prague
* EC 295/296 "Jean Monnet" – Brussels-Luxemburg-Strasburg-Basel SBB
* EC 314/315 "Agram" - Zagreb-Ljubljana-Villach-Salzburg
* EC 370 – Vienna-Brno-Prague-Dresden-Berlin-Hamburg-Aarhus
* EC 371 - Arhus-Hamburg-Berlin-Dresden-Prague
* EC 386/387 Hamburg-Arhus
* EC 9240/9249 "Caravaggio" - Milano Centrale-Paris (TGV)
* EC 9241/9248 "Manzoni" - Paris-Milano Centrale (TGV)
* EC 9242/9247 "Dumas" - Milano Centrale-Paris (TGV)

Major routes in Central and Eastern Europe:
* IC "Avala" - Vienna-Győr-Budapest-Novi Sad-Belgrade
* "Beograd" - Budapest-Novi Sad-Belgrade
* "Citadella" - Budapest–Székesfehérvár–Veszprém–Zalaegerszeg–Murska Sobota– Ljubljana
* IC "Corvinus" - Vienna–Szombathely–Pécs
* "Dacia" - Vienna-Győr-Budapest-Szolnok-Békéscsaba-Arad-Sighişoara-Braşov-Bucharest
* "Ister" - Budapest-Szolnok-Békéscsaba-Arad-Brasov-Bucharest
* "Körös" - Budapest-Szolnok-Békéscsaba-Arad-Timişoara
* "Maestral" - Budapest-Székesfehérvár-Zagreb
* "Tisza" - Budapest-Szolnok-Debrecen-Nyíreghaza-Lviv-Kyiv-Moscow
* EN "Venezia" - Budapest-Székesféhervár-Zagreb-Ljubljana-Trieste-Venice
* EN "Wiener Walzer" - Budapest-Győr-Vienna-Salzburg-Innsbruck-Zurich
* Zagreb-Villach (Austria)
* "Bulgaria" - Moscow-Kiev-Bucharest-Sofia/Varna/Burgas
* "Corona" - Budapest-Oradea-Cluj-Napoca-Brasov
* "Prietenia" Bucharest-Iasi-Chisinau

References