Standards of Time:
BST
(British Summer Time): GMT+1 [Note: Summer time (Daylight Savings Time)
in effect through all of 1970 until October 31, 1971.]
CET
(Central European Time): GMT+1
MSK
(Moscow Time): GMT+3
Note for No.
1116 at Ostend: Departs 16.57 [4:57 p.m.] from Sept. 26.
Note for No.
235 at Paris: Departs 15.30 [3:30 p.m.] from Sept. 26.
Note for No.
D105 at Berlin: "Passengers for East Berlin must alight at Berlin
(Friedrichstrasse)."
Note for No.
D106 at Berlin: "Passengers from East Berlin must join at Berlin
(Friedrichstrasse)."
Note for No.
105 at Berlin (Ost): "Departs 8.28 (8:28 a.m.) from Sept. 26."
INTERNATIONAL
EXPRESS TRAINS
OST-WEST EXPRESS
Daily:
Sleeping
Cars—
(1st & 2nd Class) (U.S.S.R.) Paris-Moscow and v.v.
(1st & 2nd Class) (U.S.S.R.) Ostend-Moscow and v.v.
[Note: From Sept. 26, the Ostend-Moscow sleeper will run on Tuesdays
and Fridays, and the Moscow-Ostend sleeper on Tuesdays and Saturdays.]
Through
carriages—
(1st and 2nd Class) Ostend-Warsaw and v.v.
(1st and 2nd Class) Paris-Warsaw and v.v.
(1st and 2nd Class) Berlin-Warsaw and v.v.
Buffet/Cafeteria
Car (Polish)—Berlin-Warsaw and v.v.
Light
Refreshments Available—Aulnoye-Paris.
Restaurant
Car (U.S.S.R.) Brest-Moscow and v.v.
Wednesdays and Sundays:
Sleeping
Cars—(1st & 2nd Class) (U.S.S.R.) Köln-Moscow.
[Note: Runs in Train D1041/1105 from Köln to Brest, departing Köln
10:18 p.m., arriving Warsaw 5:10 p.m. (day 2) and Brest 11:54 p.m.]
Mondays and Fridays:
Sleeping
Cars—(1st & 2nd Class) (U.S.S.R.) Moscow-Köln.
[Note: Runs in Train D1106/D1040 from Brest to Köln, departing Brest
9:45 a.m. of day 2, arriving Berlin 10:34 p.m. of day 2 and Köln 7:21
a.m. of day 3.]
Daily to September 25 [1971]:
Couchettes—(2nd
Class) (East German) Ostend-Berlin and v.v.
Daily, June 25-Sept. 3
[1971]:
Buffet/Cafeteria
Car Ostend-Aachen-(Koblenz).
Daily, June 27-Sept. 5
[1971]:
Buffet/Cafeteria
Car (Koblenz)-Aachen-Ostend.
![Train 1117-D241-D105-105-16 [Ostend-Moscow]: 35 stops, 44:40, 39.7 MPH](speeds/ostwest197105a.gif)
![Train 15-106-D106-D240-1116 [Moscow-Ostend]: 34 stops, 43:48, 40.5 MPH](speeds/ostwest197105b.gif)
![Train 235-241-D241-D105-105-16 [Paris-Moscow]: 38 stops, 46:24, 40.1 MPH](speeds/ostwest197105c.gif)
![Train 15-106-D106-D240-240-234 [Moscow-Paris]: 38 stops, 45:39, 40.7 MPH](speeds/ostwest197105d.gif)
Correspondent Bob Parsons from the UK recommended this train, which he tells me was promoted by the USSR to gain direct rail access to Western European capitals. He notes that it was operated to Western European standards, both in construction and in fare charges. It was not operated with the usual Soviet ("soft" and "hard" class) equipment, but with rolling stock quite comparable to standard European first and second class accommodations. The car trucks, or "bogies", were changed during the extended stop at the Russian border in order to make the switch from standard gauge to the Russian 5 foot broad gauge while passengers remained on board. Mr. Parsons notes, of a 1978 trip, "The cars were quite comfortable with lace curtains in the windows. Unlike the SNCF conductor on my Austrian journeys the conductors for these cars were Russian—but spoke both English and German. Crossing the frontier at Helmstedt was not bad during that time—about 10 minutes there and a further 5 minutes at Marienborn in East Germany after which the train ran non-stop to Berlin Zoo station in West Berlin. The train waited some time there before crossing into East Berlin to stop at Berlin Fredrichstrasse station arriving some 5 minutes later."