The Iris was an express train that linked Brussels Midi/Zuid in Brussels, Belgium, with Chur station in Chur, Switzerland.
![]() TEE Iris departing from Zürich HB, 1979. | |||||
Overview | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Service type | Trans Europ Express (TEE) (1974–1981) InterCity (IC) (1981–1987) EuroCity (EC) (since 1987) | ||||
Status | Withdrawn | ||||
Locale | Belgium Luxembourg France Switzerland | ||||
First service | 28 May 1974 (1974-05-28) | ||||
Last service | 2 April 2016 (2016-04-02) | ||||
Current operator(s) | NMBS/SNCB CFL SNCF SBB-CFF-FFS | ||||
Route | |||||
Termini | Brussels Midi/Zuid Chur / Basel SBB | ||||
Service frequency | Daily | ||||
Train number(s) | EC 96/97 | ||||
Technical | |||||
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | ||||
Electrification | 15 kV AC, 16.7 Hz (Switzerland) | ||||
|
Introduced in 1974,[1] the train was operated by the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB), the Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL), the French National Railway Corporation (SNCF) and the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB-CFF-FFS). It was named after a flower, the Yellow Iris (Iris pseudacorus), which was widespread in the Zenne/Senne valley, where Brussels is located.
Initially, the Iris was a first-class-only Trans Europ Express (TEE). In 1981, it became a two-class InterCity (IC), and on 31 May 1987, it was included in the then-new EuroCity (EC) network.[2] As of 2015[update], the Iris was one of two EuroCity train-pairs running daily between Brussels and Switzerland; the other was the Vauban.[3]
The eastbound service was cut back to Brussels–Basel in December 2011; in December 2013 the latter was also cut back to start in Basel.
The service was discontinued on April 3 2016, alongside the introduction of a high-speed TGV service to Strasbourg.[4]
Media related to Iris at Wikimedia Commons
| |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
International |
| ||||||
Domestic |
|
Named EuroCity trains | |
---|---|
| |
|