Villach
What was the terminus of Vindobona (train) from 2009 to 2014?
Vindobona ( train ) The Vindobona is an international named passenger train which began service in 1957 between Berlin and Vienna via Dresden and Prague . In later years the route was extended to run from Hamburg via Berlin , Dresden , Prague , Brno and Vienna to Villach . It was named after the ancient settlement of Vindobona on the site of the modern city of Vienna . Labelled as a EuroCity train connection from 1993 , services discontinued in 2014 . Since December 2018 there is a daily direct Intercity-Express high-speed train between Vienna and Berlin via Linz , Passau and Erfurt . The name Vindobona is now used for Railjet trains between Prague and Graz via Vienna operated by České dráhy and Austrian Federal Railways ( ÖBB ) . This route has been again extended to Berlin from mid-2020 . Route . The service began on 13 January 1957 using diesel multiple units classified as Fernschnellzug ( FDt 50/51 ) running from Friedrichstraße station in East Berlin via Berlin Ostbahnhof , Elsterwerda , Dresden Hauptbahnhof , Prague hlavní nádraží and České Velenice/Gmünd to Wien Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof . The FDt trains had already begun running between Berlin and Prague in December 1950 , including a through coach connection to Vienna . In 1959 the connection was upgraded as Expresszug ( Ext 54/55 ) . From December 1957 the railcars had first and second class sections . The participating companies Deutsche Reichsbahn ( DR ) , Československé státní dráhy ( ČSD ) and Österreichische Bundesbahnen ( ÖBB ) operated one train pair daily , meeting in Czechoslovakia . The service was used primarily by West Berliners , diplomats and Scandinavians in transit through East Germany , connecting from the night trains from Copenhagen ( Ostsee-Express ) and Stockholm ( Saßnitz-Express ) via train ferry from Warnemünde and Sassnitz resp. , and shuttle trains from Zoologischer Garten station in West Berlin . In the dining car , passengers could pay using Deutschmark , East German mark , Czechoslovak koruna , and Austrian schilling . In Czechoslovakia trains originally ran on the historic Emperor Franz Joseph Railway line via Tábor to the border with Austria at České Velenice , later rerouted via the first Czech railway corridor to Brno and Břeclav . In the period of Normalization from 1969 onwards , domestic travel within Czechoslovakia was for some years completely forbidden , occasionally restricted to journeys between Děčín and Tábor . The original journey via Tábor took over 12 hours to complete from Berlin to Vienna . Later , the mainline via Brno became faster , and the train was rerouted , initially via Havlíčkův Brod and later via Pardubice and Česká Třebová along the Czech international corridor , shortening the journey to 9 hours . In 1975 , Wien Mitte station became the terminus due to construction at the Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof . Rolling stock . Rolling stock was alternately supplied by the railway companies for a period of two years : The DR used a refurbished pre-war DRG Class SVT 137 unit until 1960 , succeeded by MÁVAG 495.0 and 498.0 railcars operated by ČSD , and ÖBB 5145 ( Blue Lightning ) DMUs from 1962 to 1964 . In 1966 DR introduced its newly engineered VT 18.16 diesel-hydraulic express railcars , apparently rivalling with the West German DB Class VT 11.5 . Renamed Class 175 in 1970 , these prestigious trainsets became a flagship in the range of DR services . From 1969 to 1972 , ČSD operated its recently developed M 296.1 railcars with a top speed of . The Vindobona trains continued to be operated by DMUs until it became evident that they were no longer able to cope in terms of capacity . In 1979 they were replaced by a composition comprising an electric locomotive coupled with individual carriages . The trains then ran as Durchgangszug ( D 275/276 ) and from 1986 to 1988 services were united with the Hungaria Interexpress train to Bratislava and Budapest , including Hungarian State Railways ( MÁV ) railcars and Yugoslav Railways ( JŽ ) through coaches to Belgrade . In later years trains were hauled by DB Class 101 , ČD Class 371 and Class 380 , and ÖBB 1216 ( EuroSprinter ) locomotives . EuroCity . After the Revolutions of 1989 and the fall of the Iron Curtain , the railway connection gained new significance . A EuroCity ( EC ) service from Hamburg to Prague was already inaugurated in 1992 and in the following year , the Vindobona train also became categorised as EC 172/173 . The DR operations were taken over by Deutsche Bahn AG by 1994 . With the opening of Berlin Hauptbahnhof on 28 May 2006 , trains passed through Berlin via the new North–South mainline . As of 2010 , trains ran from Villach Hauptbahnhof to Hamburg-Altona via Klagenfurt , Vienna , Brno , Prague , Dresden and Berlin in about 16 hours . As of 14 December 2014 , the EC 172/173 Vindobona was replaced by the EC 172/173 Porta Bohemica from Hamburg-Altona to Budapest Keleti , connecting in Prague hlavní nádraží to a Railjet train service via the newly built Wien Hauptbahnhof to Graz Hauptbahnhof and vice versa . Since December 2018 there is a daily direct DB Intercity Express high-speed train ( ICE 92/93 Berolina ) from Berlin to Vienna via Erfurt , Nuremberg and Linz , as well as a ÖBB Nightjet train with sleeping car ( NJ 456/457 ) via Wrocław , Bohumín and Břeclav . The name Vindobona has then been reused for the Railjet line connecting Prague , Vienna and Graz ( RJ 256/257 ) . After delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic , this route has been extended to Berlin from 14 June 2020 ; thus , the historic train connection is reestablished .