International dividing trains

[DanielB]

I don't know if it's still done, but in Belgium/Netherlands I have heard on train announcements quoting the unit numbers for each destination (the unit numbers are clearly shown in passenger compartments) - very reassuring!

That's still done in the Netherlands. In addition the information is nowadays also shown on the information displays on the train and above the train composition on the departure boards.

 

[notverydeep]

I am currently at Arad, Romania on my way back to the UK from Bucharest. I am sat in my sleeping compartment aboard train IRN472 “Ister” to Budapest, but the rear three carriages have just been shunted off (by one of the class 8X small Faur B-B hydraulics). These will continue to Oradea as IRN1743 while my portion continues to Budapest. Since in theory everyone has a reservation no one should end up in the wrong place! Sadly they get the diesel (a CFR class 64), while out portion continues with its class 47 electric)…

 

[Pakenhamtrain]

Yesterday on the 0916 hours ex Southern Cross (Melbourne), approaching Ballarat in the rear (Maryborough) three-car VLocity set, the conductor came through and individually asked all passengers if they were going to Maryborough (or one of the three intermediate stations of Creswick, Clunes or Talbot).

Tickets had also been previously checked en route.

There were only about 25 passengers for stations beyond Ballarat on the Maryborough line, though many more used it en route to Ballarat. Both on the down and the up, it attached to the rear of a three-car VLocity going to or coming from Wendouree, a Ballarat suburb that is the official terminus of 'Ballarat' trains. While extremely risk averse, politically correct V/Line originally made passengers alight at Ballarat while sets coupled, in recent years we've been allowed to stay on board with a repeated PA warning there's a 'bump' when the trains couple.

The station PIDS (passenger information display screens - TV-like monitors) show (on the down) the destination being 'Wendouree' for the combined train, with a note about 'rear three cars go to Maryborough' or similar in a small font to the right. Not satisfactory as someone unfamiliar with V/Line such as an interstate or overseas visitor could easily miss the latter information.

Ballarat is still the only place one can stay on a Vline train during coupling.

The story is people got injured in the late 80s early 90s at Spencer Street when some trains were coupling up.

 

[newmilton]

A friend of mine who lived and worked for several years in Geneva was returning from Lyon on one occasion, and fell asleep on the train, unaware that it split at Bellegarde and he was in the wrong part. He woke up in Evian on the other side of the lake and, it being the last train of the day, had to call his wife to come and fetch him by car. She was not amused.

 

[AdamWW]

I am currently at Arad, Romania on my way back to the UK from Bucharest. I am sat in my sleeping compartment aboard train IRN472 “Ister” to Budapest, but the rear three carriages have just been shunted off (by one of the class 8X small Faur B-B hydraulics). These will continue to Oradea as IRN1743 while my portion continues to Budapest. Since in theory everyone has a reservation no one should end up in the wrong place! Sadly they get the diesel (a CFR class 64), while out portion continues with its class 47 electric)…

And Romania has trains that have more than just two portions.

Since reservations are compulsory and you are assigned a train and car number, there is usually no confusion.

Is that how it works now?

I haven't used Amtrak for a few years but in coach class I've never been given a car number beforehand, just a train number. Of course staff have often told me where I have to sit.

 

[jamesontheroad]

Here’s an old (2010) video of the splitting of the Montréal-Jonquière and Senneterre trains in rural northern Québec. This happens three times a week in each direction at Hervey Junction.

At the time, two F-40 locomotives lead the train between Montréal and Hervey. Since then the practice has changed to having the second F-40 in the middle of the train. This video from a few days ago shows the same station and the new process in the southbound direction.

 

[railfan99]

Here’s an old (2010) video of the splitting of the Montréal-Jonquière and Senneterre trains in rural northern Québec. This happens three times a week in each direction at Hervey Junction.

At the time, two F-40 locomotives lead the train between Montréal and Hervey. Since then the practice has changed to having the second F-40 in the middle of the train. This video from a few days ago shows the same station and the new process in the southbound direction.

Yes, I cxompletely forgot I went to Jonquiere in 2016.

A great journey, but on the way back in the combined train, it was hit by the Canadian equivalent of what Australians call a B-Double (articulated truck) at a level crossing with the train doing c.90kmh and (probably) the truck similar. Driver of latter claimed he didn't see the level crossing. Fortunately no serious injuries thanks to the excellent construction of these c.1950s carriages. Bus transfer to Montreal.

 

[eldomtom2]

I used to live in Kamakura in Japan. The JR Yokosuka line trains (which north of there, toward Tokyo, would be 15 carriages), would split just south of there at Zushi, with 4 carriages at the south end of the train sent going into a siding south of the station, with the main 11 carriages (which included the double deck green cars), carrying on toward Yokosuka. I believe it was due to the infrastructure south of there only supporting 11 carriages.

In the opposite direction, 4 carriages would join the trains, from the sidings.

And when trains are running every 8 minutes in both directions, that's quite a feat.

The same is done nearby at Kanazawa-bunko on the Keikyu line, with 4-car units being attached and detached from 8-car trains.

 

[BRX]

The portion swap is a regular "cranks move" as there's usually two shunting locomotives used for the portion swap. The same happens in the reverse direction with EC115 and EC130, although that is usually done by the train locomotives. It's actually a rather interesting operation, because as well as the shunts at the back of the train, EC114 also has a locomotive change at the front, with the PKP loco replaced by a CD Vectron.

Photo below shows CD shunter 794008 at Bohumín performing the EC131 to EC114 shunt on 4 May this year. EC131 can be seen in the adjacent platform.
View attachment 189284

I watched this being done last summer.

Still quite a lot of splitting/joining of domestic loco-hauled trains within the Czech Republic. Of course this used to be pretty routine across most of Europe.

Here's what still happens at Zábřeh na Moravě several times a day.

 

[CarrotPie]

Currently only one Pendolino, the 16:14 S 9 from Helsinki to Joensuu, divides at Kouvola and forms S 69 to Kajaani.

Until the December 2025 timetable change, S 35 (Helsinki 05:03 - Rovaniemi 14:41) used to divide at Seinäjoki to form S 55 to Vaasa - but only on Mondays. S 58 now terminates at Seinäjoki on Sunday nights (its journey to Helsinki has been replaced by S 32), so there's now a Pendolino available to form that service on Monday mornings instead of one having to be brought in especially.

The last attaching Pendolinos were killed off years ago because they were nigh on impossible to operate consistently.

Until 2017, we also used to have loco-hauled InterCity services run in multiple from Helsinki to Tampere or Kouvola, which produced the interesting sight of a loco in the middle of the train

Pendolinos had some reliability issues with their automatic couplers. They had both electrical and mechanical issues: the units wouldn't communicate with each other or the coupler wouldn't extend or retract, causing delays. All movable couplers were then replaced with fixed ones and are now better protected from the elements.

Just yesterday, they had to run S 9 as a single Pendo and run the second unit as S 1009 to Kouvola. Every month or two they can't manage to form S 9 with two Pendolinos, even though they have hours to do it at the depot.

Last year, they had to run S 9 as two separate trains for a fortnight following an incident where it accidentally became two separate trains en-route!