 |
The Interregio-Express (IRE) is a local public transport railway service operated by the Deutsche Bahn which is only available in the German states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Berlin as well as in Switzerland (Basel Badischer Bahnhof, Schaffhausen). The IRE service was first introduced in the 2001 summer timetable, due to the increasing abolition of Interregio routes by DB's long-distance division (DB Fernverkehr). As a result, several German states ordered InterRegioExpress trains on the routes affected. In addition IRE trains were also introduced on routes that had not previously had an Interregio service (e. g. on the Stuttgart–Tübingen–Aulendorf and Ulm–Aalen routes).
Unlike the former Interregio trains, IRE trains were classified as local passenger trains and can therefore be used by passengers with local tickets (DB Fares product group C as well as tickets issued by Passenger Transport Executives). This led however to some passengers being confused, especially to begin with, because they frequently did not realise that they could use these trains with local tickets. Furthermore, the new train type was often wrongly referred to in the early days as an InterRegionalExpress or ironically as an InterRegioErsatz (InterRegio substitute). However, since then, the name Interregio-Express has established itself.