Coaching numbering on long distance Deutsche Bahn services

[ainsworth74]

I've been doing a number of journeys on long distance services with DB and I find myself puzzled by the coach numbering system. For instance I am currently in coach 28 and I have a journey tomorrow booked in coach 36! Neither this train, nor will the train tomorrow, have anywhere near that many carriages so why the huge numbers?

 

[Spoorslag '70]

Relatively simple: ICE2, 3 and -T units do run in multiple (mostly 2 units). The individual cars are assigned a certain "end number" e.g. 8 with a 2 before that for the first and a 3 for the second set. So coach 28 is coach 8 on the first set. ICE1 and 4 do not and thus have more logical numbers.
I am pretty sure that the twenties and thirties are to avoid confusion with ICs and long ICEs which use numbers in this series.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It's also to stop clashes during portion working, and has been done for years well before ICEs even existed. In the old days of long night services with multiple splits and joins, numbers were often 3-digit - probably each coach operating on a night service in the whole country had a unique number to avoid any issues.

 

[cactustwirly]

Basically the 1st number is the set number and the second digit is the coach number.
My single ICE3 in June had coach numbers in the 2x range.
The coach numbers are displayed on the coaches, and are easy to find.
The LCHS IC services have a numbering system I haven't worked out yet..

 

[AM9]

It's also to stop clashes during portion working, and has been done for years well before ICEs even existed. In the old days of long night services with multiple splits and joins, numbers were often 3-digit - probably each coach operating on a night service in the whole country had a unique number to avoid any issues.

This was a practice brought about particularly by the number of 'kopfbahnhöfe' (literally head stations, - terminii in UK railspeak) in many German cities. As trains had to reverse direction to continue their journey (and in steam days, often to change the loco), sleeper services often shed a few coaches at each stop and more were added at the loco end. The detached coaches could them proceed to a different destination, maybe withy other 'cast-off' sleeping cars. This meant that passengers needed to be very sure of their coach to avoid waking up somewhere completely unexpected.
I remember in 1963 on a school holiday to Germany and Austria, boarding a couchette at the rear of a long train at Wien Westbahnhof. We can recall looking out of the window several times in the night, and wondering why the train sometimes seemed to be going backwards. When we arrived at Ostend, the our coach was right at the front, but still travelling in the same direction that we had started in Vienna.
Since those days and the ever increasing use of Electric haulage, many cities changed these stations to more conventional through types.

 

[Spoorslag '70]

The LHCS ICs are pretty straightforward - for domestic trains at least:
The buffet (ARkimbz) is coach 11 and between first class and standard class with first class coaches counting up (skipping 13) and standard class counting down. For some trains, there might be additional standard class coaces behind first, usually contiuing the numbering.
The booked formations can be found on this wonderful website which has the "Wagenreihungen" (i.e. Coaching stock) and also booked traction ("Bespannungsübersicht").
Three-digit numbers are usually found on international trains and are pretty uniform across Europe, mostly around 261 as the restaurant car after pretty much the same principles as above.
As always: The exception is supposed to confirm the norm.

 

[AlexNL]

Thalys use the same numbering scheme on their services, as do many other operators.

The weirdest I've encountered so far is the DSB/DB EuroCity between Copenhagen and Hamburg. These services are operated using six coach trains, consisting of 2× DSB IC3 DMUs.

The coaches are numbered 71-72 and 81-82. The middle coach of these units, which does not have any bodyside doors, is not numbered!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Aren't the IC3s numbered as two coaches, with the split being in the middle of the doorless section?

 

[AlexNL]

Aren't the IC3s numbered as two coaches, with the split being in the middle of the doorless section?

Looking at the seat plans on the website of the man in seat 61, it looks like you're right. I didn't pay much attention to the exact coach numbering as I had a seat in coach 71.

I travelled in seat 62 by the way, seat 61 would've meant traveling backwards.

 

[ainsworth74]

Thanks for that everyone. Very interesting!

 

[Groningen]

Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UIC_classification_of_railway_coaches