I was looking on their website for a possible day trip from Munich to Regensburg in April and saw that one of the trains is an "ALX" trai with no changes. I have never seen that type of train. Can someone please tell me what type that is? I couldn't find anything on their website about it.
Posted by
Washington DC
28078 posts
ALX trains are run by Alex, an independent rail company. I can't find an English version of that website.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
Actually, ALX started out years ago as the Allgäu Express, a private company (Swiss I believe) running regional trains on the Bahn's schecule between Switzerland and Munich under the privatization policy of the Bahn. They have since been absorbed into the Länderbahn system, of which Vogtlandbahn is also a subsidiary, and run trains to Prague as well.
There are quite a few privatized trains in Germany. Meridian is a privatized company running trains on the stretch between Munich and Salzburg and down to Kufstein, Agilis around Regensburg, Mittelrheinbahn (MRB) on the left bank of the Rhein between Mainz and Koblenz, VIA on the right bank, to name a few. They run regional trains along with the RB, RE, and IRE of the Bahn.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
My question, why do people keep calling it "DB Bahn"?
The name is DB which is an abbreviation for Deutsche Bahn (= German Railways), and that is the official name of the company. DB is also their logo, which appears on trains, stations and website https://www.bahn.de.
You don't say BA airline, or GM motors (you either say "GM" or "General Motors"). So where did this "DB Bahn" come from?
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33832 posts
Because, unlike thee and me, they are unlikely to speak German, they probably are unfamiliar with trains in general, and the huge machine that is the DB.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
"So where did this "DB Bahn" come from?"
Answer number 1: the same place that things like "HIV virus," "PIN number," and "ATM machine" come from. In other words, it's a common mistake in usage, and not just for this example. And yes, it drives some people crazy (I saw a play with a whole exchange about it), but it's not going to change anytime soon.
Answer number 2: as Nigel said, if you're an American and not familiar with the Deutsche Bahn, you don't know that that's what DB stands for. In another thread, you asked about the meaning of "alumni"; it's common usage in the US. No one jumped on you for not knowing this.
Posted by
Seattle
4637 posts
When I see DB I think either of Deutsche Bahn or D.B.Cooper.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
Chris, for many years that has bugged me too. It's DB or The Bahn. For many years, the title displayed on an the address bar said "DB Bahn", so I had a hard time fighting it.
Oh, if you go to http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en, the Bahn's schedule and fare webpage, the title is "DB Bahn - Travel Service" (sigh).
In Denver we have a grocery chain called Safeway. Their symbol is a big red 'S', so the title on their website displays "S Safeway", but we don't call the chain S Safeway.
I guess they use DB and Bahn because those are two names which people often use when referring to Deutsche Bahn.