Mediolanum (train)

Mediolanum

The Mediolanum consisted of FS Class ALn 442-448 railcars from 1957 to 1969.
Overview
Service type	Trans Europ Express (TEE) (1957–1984) InterCity (IC) (1984–1987), (2001–2004) EuroCity (EC) (2004–)
Locale	Germany Austria Italy Switzerland
First service	15 October 1957 (1957-10-15)
Former operator(s)	DB / FS / ÖBB / SBB-CFF-FFS / FS / Cisalpino
Route
Start	München Hbf / Dortmund Hbf / Basel SBB
End	Milano C
Service frequency	Daily
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification	15 kV AC, 16.7 Hz (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) 3 kV DC (Italy)
Route map Map showing in red the route of the Mediolanum during its entire time as a TEE (1957–84). Shown in grey are the other TEE trains existing in mid-1957.

Route map
Map showing in red the route of the Mediolanum during its entire time as a TEE (1957–84). Shown in grey are the other TEE trains existing in mid-1957.

The word Mediolanum has been used to name three distinct international express trains that have run to and from Milano Centrale in Milan, Italy since 1957. The focus of these trains on the city now known as Milan reflects the fact that Mediolanum is the Latin word for ancient Milan.

The first Mediolanum was a first-class-only Trans Europ Express (TEE). It linked München Hbf in Munich, Germany, with Milano Centrale, via the Brenner railway. Introduced in 1957, it was operated by the Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB), the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and the Italian State Railways (FS).

On 3 June 1984, the train was downgraded from a TEE to a two-class InterCity, but was extended north from Munich to Dortmund (Hbf), in place of an IC train previously named Nymphenburg, on the same schedule as the latter had used. Now operating between Dortmund and Milan via Munich and the Brenner line, this second Mediolanum was operated by the same three operators, but only until 1987, when it was replaced by the EuroCity Leonardo da Vinci, running on the same route and schedule.

In 2001, Mediolanum was revived as the name of an InterCity, this time for train IC 253/254 between Basel SBB in Basel, Switzerland, and Milano Centrale. The third Mediolanum was operated by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB-CFF-FFS) and FS until 2004, when it was reclassified as a EuroCity and its operation transferred to Cisalpino.