Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
Zwischentakt
English translation:
double the service frequency
Added to glossary by
Lynda Hepburn
Aug 21, 2012 10:03
11 yrs ago
German term
Zwischentakt
German to English
Tech/Engineering
Transport / Transportation / Shipping
Timetables
"Die Züge des 10-Minuten-Zwischentaktes fahren genau zwischen den Zügen des 20-Minu-ten-Stammtaktes."
Finding suitable translations for DE words which contain "-takt" in the transport timetable context seems rather difficult. I've found that "Stammtakt" can be translated as "regular interval timetable", but what would we call "Zwischentakt" i.e. a train which comes along in between the regular interval trains? I'm not at all convinced about using "intermediate".
Has anyone got better suggestions?
Thanks.
Finding suitable translations for DE words which contain "-takt" in the transport timetable context seems rather difficult. I've found that "Stammtakt" can be translated as "regular interval timetable", but what would we call "Zwischentakt" i.e. a train which comes along in between the regular interval trains? I'm not at all convinced about using "intermediate".
Has anyone got better suggestions?
Thanks.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 | double the service frequency |
David Moore (X)
|
| 4 | cycle (times) |
Larry Kalb
|
| 4 | intervening gaps/intervals (please read on) (clockface timetables) |
polyglot45
|
| 3 | slot .........interval |
Ramey Rieger (X)
|
Proposed translations
7 hrs
Selected
double the service frequency
Linda, as you are located in the UK, I'd guess you need a UK-English term. Since I worked on the railways (British) for almost 30 years, I reject all claims that "regular interval service" is not a "proper" term, and also that "clockface" is an "official term of any sort.
"Regular interval services" were introduced in a big way by the Southern Railway before WWII, when most of its suburban lines, and many of its main lines (though many would chuckle at the thought of a main line less the 90 miles long!!!) were electrified.
"Clockface" is probably an import from the USA; I certainly never heard it used on BR at least until the 1990s in connection with timetables. It was an informal description of a long shift worked (Hello, you on a clock-facer again? - i.e., a shift which lasted twelve hours).
How I suggest you handle this is to write:
"The additional trains double the frequency to give a ten-minute service (during the time of day in question)". And you don't need to mention "interval" at all.
That is really a full explanation, and it really covers the verbosity of the German text - but then - the Germans do love to go into detail, don't they...
In point of fact, the German as it stands doesn't make sense, as it is badly worded. As you see...
"Regular interval services" were introduced in a big way by the Southern Railway before WWII, when most of its suburban lines, and many of its main lines (though many would chuckle at the thought of a main line less the 90 miles long!!!) were electrified.
"Clockface" is probably an import from the USA; I certainly never heard it used on BR at least until the 1990s in connection with timetables. It was an informal description of a long shift worked (Hello, you on a clock-facer again? - i.e., a shift which lasted twelve hours).
How I suggest you handle this is to write:
"The additional trains double the frequency to give a ten-minute service (during the time of day in question)". And you don't need to mention "interval" at all.
That is really a full explanation, and it really covers the verbosity of the German text - but then - the Germans do love to go into detail, don't they...
In point of fact, the German as it stands doesn't make sense, as it is badly worded. As you see...
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
polyglot45
: hate to disagree but at international level and in EU documents, clockface is the current term - you may not like it and it may not be the term you were used to but I can't help that:/ I agree with you over Eurospeak but you can't stop progress (!)
16 hrs
|
|
Okay, then it'll come down to the target audience - I don't expect Johnny public to understand "clockface timetable" as immediately as my idea, do you? In any case, clockface is a really stupid term IMO - but then aren't so many in Eurospeak (my opinion).
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you for providing an insider's expertise. I went with something very similar to your suggestion. You are right, the German actually does not make it clear that the extra trains are not every 10 minutes but combine to produce a 10-minute service."
56 mins
slot .........interval
how I would do it
Example sentence:
Trains slotted at 10 minute intervals are timed precisely between trains slotted at 20 minute intervals.
4 hrs
cycle (times)
I worked in public transportation for nine years in the US and I remember specific terms that we used for certain routes or circuits. I would say 'ten-minute cycle' in comparison to the regular circuits of twenty minutes.
23 mins
polyglot45
Native in English
Native in: English 
, French
Works in: English to French, French to English, German to French, and 4 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
54
intervening gaps/intervals (please read on) (clockface timetables)
Die Züge des 10-Minuten-Zwischentaktes fahren genau zwischen den Zügen des 20-Minu-ten-Stammtaktes
Trains worked at ten-minute intervals slot in right in the middle of the gaps/intervals between those worked at twenty-minute intervals
In "railway speak", the principle of clockface timetables is that trains run every hour at the same number of minutes past the hour AND at regular intervals (for example hourly at - say- ten past the hour = 12.10, 13.10, 14.10.., or half-hourly at - say - 12.10 and 12.40, 13.10 and 13.40... and so on). So passengers just have to know the frequency and the minutes of train departures, since for the rest they will be the same from one hour to the next...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 29 mins (2012-08-21 10:33:15 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Clock-face scheduling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clock-face_scheduling
A clock-face schedule is a timetable, where public means of transport run in consistent intervals. The number of departures per time is the frequency of the ...
I don't entirely agree with the term "clock-face schedule" but the text does describe the principle...
The following is better:
[PDF]
Industry Insider
www.railmagazine.com/downloadfile.asp?file=12
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View
my career that clockface timetables were seen to offer solutions to what was ... The clockface timetable attempted to bring certainty to a journey in that a regular
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day43 mins (2012-08-22 10:47:27 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Schedule of Policies
www.somerset.gov.uk/irj/.../Policy D... - Traduire cette page
Format de fichier: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Version HTML
A review of timetables highlighted a number of problems associated with irregular intervals between services, caused by the lack of clock face timetables and ...
1. Passenger News in Brief - Railway Gazette
www.railwaygazette.com/.../passenger-n...En 1 Jun 2002 – Finnish State Railways is to introduce a clock-face timetable on its routes from Helsinki to Turku, Tampere and Kouvola and cut journey times ...
Trains worked at ten-minute intervals slot in right in the middle of the gaps/intervals between those worked at twenty-minute intervals
In "railway speak", the principle of clockface timetables is that trains run every hour at the same number of minutes past the hour AND at regular intervals (for example hourly at - say- ten past the hour = 12.10, 13.10, 14.10.., or half-hourly at - say - 12.10 and 12.40, 13.10 and 13.40... and so on). So passengers just have to know the frequency and the minutes of train departures, since for the rest they will be the same from one hour to the next...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 29 mins (2012-08-21 10:33:15 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Clock-face scheduling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clock-face_scheduling
A clock-face schedule is a timetable, where public means of transport run in consistent intervals. The number of departures per time is the frequency of the ...
I don't entirely agree with the term "clock-face schedule" but the text does describe the principle...
The following is better:
[PDF]
Industry Insider
www.railmagazine.com/downloadfile.asp?file=12
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View
my career that clockface timetables were seen to offer solutions to what was ... The clockface timetable attempted to bring certainty to a journey in that a regular
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day43 mins (2012-08-22 10:47:27 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Schedule of Policies
www.somerset.gov.uk/irj/.../Policy D... - Traduire cette page
Format de fichier: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Version HTML
A review of timetables highlighted a number of problems associated with irregular intervals between services, caused by the lack of clock face timetables and ...
1. Passenger News in Brief - Railway Gazette
www.railwaygazette.com/.../passenger-n...En 1 Jun 2002 – Finnish State Railways is to introduce a clock-face timetable on its routes from Helsinki to Turku, Tampere and Kouvola and cut journey times ...
Discussion
Clearly, in this instance, they have a clockface timetable based on departures every 20 minutes but, in some cases (rush hour???), they double the service by slotting extra trains in at 10-minute intervals placing these extra trains right in the middle of the gap between the 20-minute-interval trains. Hope that is clear enough? Not an easy concept to explain
Are you saying that "Stammtakt" = clock-face scheduling?
Maybe you don't have to stay glued to the original text.
Something like "There will be additional trains in 10 minute intervals in addition to the regular trains in 20 minute intervals."