Iris (train)


The Iris is an express train that links Brussels Midi/Zuid in Brussels, Belgium, with Chur station in Chur, Switzerland.
Introduced in 1974, the train is operated by the National Railway Company of Belgium, the Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois, the French National Railway Corporation and the Swiss Federal Railways. It is named after a flower, the Yellow Iris, which was widespread in the Zenne/Senne valley, where Brussels is located.
Initially, the Iris was a first-class-only Trans Europ Express. In 1981, it became a two-class InterCity, and on 31 May 1987, it was included in the then-new EuroCity network. , the Iris was one of two EuroCity train-pairs running daily between Brussels and Switzerland; the other was the Vauban.

History

The eastbound service was cut back to Brussels–Basel in December 2011; in December 2013 the latter was also cut back to start in Basel.
The service was slated to be cut in two in Strasbourg sometime in 2016, when a Brussels–Strasbourg TGV service will be introduced.