Through coach

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Passenger coach that starts on one train, and ends on another

title: "Through coach" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["rail-transport-operations", "passenger-railroad-cars"] description: "Passenger coach that starts on one train, and ends on another" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Through_coach" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Passenger coach that starts on one train, and ends on another ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/05_052a_Bf_Irún,_RENFE-Bmp,_SNCF-Bc.jpg" caption="bogie exchange]] at [[Irun railway station]], Spain, 1993." alt="A Paris–Algeciras through coach (at right) being shunted at Irun railway station, Spain, 1993."] ::

In rail terminology, a through coach is a passenger car (coach) that is re-marshalled during the course of its journey. It begins the journey attached to one train, and arrives at its destination attached to another train.

Through coaches save their transit passengers the need to change trains themselves. They also increase the number of direct links offered by the train operator(s).

Most frequently in the form of sleeping or couchette cars, through coaches have commonly been used for long-distance journeys, especially in continental Europe, although they are much less common now than they were in the early 1970s.

International

In 2010 and 2011, the through Basel – Moscow sleeping car (2,856 km in 37 hours and 11 minutes) was attached successively to the following trains:

from Basel SBB to Hannover Hbf: CNL 472 Aurora Basel SBB – Copenhagen;
from Hannover Hbf to Warszawa Wschodnia: EN 447 Amsterdam – Warszawa Wschodnia;
from Warszawa Wschodnia to Brest: Train 405 Bohumin – Brest
- bogie exchange at the international border because of a break of gauge from to gauge
from Brest to Moscow: Train D 22 Brest – Moscow.

Germany

For nearly 100 years, from 1926‒2025 through carriages have connected the main cities of Berlin, Frankfurt and Cologne, via Niebüll station and the , run by the , to the Dagebüll for direct transfer via ferry to the islands of Föhr and Amrum.

The last through carriage from Berlin to Dagebüll Mole ran in July 2025.

References

. (2010). ["Railway Operations - I: Train Services – Q. What are 'slip coaches' and 'through coaches'?"](http://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-ops.html).
(30 June 2011). "Letter from Europe: Train services of yesteryear". hidden europe.
[http://www.uic.org/IMG/pdf/reservierungsubersicht_der_db_ag_2010_2011.pdf DBAG Reservation List]{{dead link. (July 2017{{dead link). (July 2017)
"Train timetable". RW.by.
Neumann, Peter. (2025-07-25). "Letzte Fahrt von Berlin an die Nordsee: Warum eine Tradition nach 99 Jahren endet".

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