Rheingold Express

Rheingold

Overview
Service type	Long-distance express Fernschnellzug (FD) (1928–1939) Fernzug (F) (1951–1965) Trans Europ Express (TEE) (1965–1987)
Status	Discontinued
Locale	Netherlands Germany Switzerland
First service	15 May 1928 (1928-05-15)
Last service	30 May 1987 (1987-05-30)
Successor	EC Rembrandt ()
Former operator(s)	NS DRG / DB SBB-CFF-FFS
Route
Start	Amsterdam CS / Hoek van Holland Haven
End	Basel SBB / Genève-Cornavin
Service frequency	Daily
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification	15 kV AC, 16.7 Hz (Germany / Switzerland) (1962–1987)
Route map Map showing the route of the TEE Rheingold in red, with other colors denoting routes over which first-class TEE Rheingold through coaches were conveyed by other trains.

Route map
Map showing the route of the TEE Rheingold in red, with other colors denoting routes over which first-class TEE Rheingold through coaches were conveyed by other trains.

The Rheingold (Rhinegold) was a famous train that operated between Hoek van Holland, near Rotterdam, and Geneva, Switzerland (or Basel before 1965), a distance of 1,067 kilometres (663 mi), until 1987. Another section of the train started in Amsterdam and was coupled to the Hoek cars in Utrecht. The Rheingold ran along the Rhine River via Arnhem, Netherlands, and Cologne, Germany, using special luxury coaches. It was named after Richard Wagner's Das Rheingold opera, which romanticized the Rhine. From 1965 until the train's discontinuation in 1987, the Rheingold was a first-class-only Trans Europ Express train.

Geneva (Gare de Cornavin) – Basel SBB – Freiburg – Baden-Baden – Karlsruhe – Mannheim – Mainz – Cologne – Düsseldorf – Duisburg – Utrecht and then in separate trains continuing (still as the Rheingold) to both Hoek van Holland and Amsterdam. At Hoek van Holland, the train had timed connections for ship service to and from Harwich, England. The Geneva–Basel section was added in 1965 and was discontinued in 1980/82 (see later section for details).