Railteam B.V. is a closed company with limited liability ( B.V. ) based in Amsterdam , the Netherlands . It operates as an alliance of European railway companies in the field of international high-speed rail in Europe, modelled on the airline alliances and was founded in Brussels on 2 July 2007.
79-559: Taken together, the Railteam alliance has more than 1000 high-speed trains and 44 lounges. With the members of the Railteam alliance, passengers can reach over 100 European destinations on high-speed trains. Any railway company in Europe that meets the criteria of the alliance can become a member. There are full members of Railteam who hold shares in the company, as well as associate members. All participating railways act as strategic partners within
158-637: A de facto monopoly in its segment of the market as it operates hundreds of trains per day, while all competitors' long-distance services combined amount to no more than 10–15 trains per day. Additionally DB Fernverkehr operated a few long-distance coach services throughout Germany, called IC Bus , which since have been terminated. DB Regio AG is the subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn that operates passenger trains on short and medium distances in Germany. Unlike its long-distance counterpart, DB Fernverkehr , it does not operate trains on its own account. Traffic
237-450: A headphone jack which enables the passenger to listen to several on-board music and voice programmes as well as several radio stations. Some seats in the 1st class section (in some trains also in 2nd class) are equipped with video displays showing movies and pre-recorded infotainment programmes. Each train is equipped with special cars that feature in-train repeaters for improved mobile phone reception as well as designated quiet zones where
316-626: A line between Paris and Frankfurt/Stuttgart opened, jointly operated by ICE and SNCF 's TGV . A notable characteristic of the ICE trains is their colour design, which has been registered by the DB as an aesthetic model and hence is protected as intellectual property. The trains are painted in Pale Grey ( RAL 7035) with a Traffic Red (RAL 3020) stripe on the lower part of the vehicle. The continuous black band of windows and their oval door windows differentiate
395-562: A 26-storey office tower designed by Helmut Jahn at the eastern end of the Sony Centre and named Bahntower . As the lease was to expire in 2010, DB had announced plans to relocate to Berlin Hauptbahnhof , and in 2007 a proposal for a new headquarters by 3XN Architects won an architectural competition which also included Foster + Partners , Dominique Perrault and Auer + Weber . However, these plans were put on hold due to
474-505: A 6 km (3.7 mi) route between Nuremberg and Fürth . The Deutsche Reichsbahn operated from 1920 through the Weimar and Nazi eras until 1949, when it was split between East and West Germany into two successor entities, Deutsche Reichsbahn and Deutsche Bundesbahn , respectively. They remained separate throughout the Cold War era division of Germany, and joined after the 1989 fall of
553-639: A certification for running in Belgium and due to the competition of budget airlines the London service was cancelled. In 2020 Deutsche Bahn placed an order with Siemens for 30 trains, and options for another 60, of the Velaro design and based on the previously procured ICE Class 407. Referenced by Siemens as Velaro MS ("multi-system"), these trains are called ICE 3neo by Deutsche Bahn and classified as 408. The trains are designed for operation at 320 km/h and were deployed at
632-483: A consulting contract with Islamic Republic of Iran Railways ; both projects were abandoned after the United States imposed new sanctions against Iran and said firms doing business with Iran would be barred from doing business with the United States. The California High-Speed Rail Authority 's (CHSRA) board approved on 15 November 2017 an early train operator contract with DB Engineering & Consulting USA. The firm
711-533: A different label, for example "ABR" for trains operated by Abellio , though on platforms, trains and maps or timetables issued by the local transport authority overseeing regional train services, these abbreviations usually do not appear. DB offers two different pricing models for single or return tickets for routes that include long-distance trains: Ticket prices generally rise degressively over distance, particularly for Sparpreise and Supersparpreise. Therefore, putting connecting local trains or excursions planned for
790-584: A line speed of 300 km/h (190 mph). Since only 3rd generation ICE trains can travel at this speed, the ICE line 41 , formerly running from Essen Hbf via Duisburg Hbf – Frankfurt Südbf to Nürnberg Hbf , was extended over the Nuremberg-Ingolstadt high-speed rail line and today the service run is Oberhausen Hbf – Duisburg Hbf – Frankfurt Hbf – Nürnberg Hbf – Ingolstadt Hbf – München Hbf . The ICE 3 runs at speeds up to 320 km/h (200 mph) on
869-581: A local transport authority or tariff associations might brand the trains in a different way than DB does. For example, in the Nuremberg region, RE and RB trains are not differentiated, but called R instead. In some regions, such as Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg , private operators do use the RE and RB labels, in others, such as Saxony , they do not. In online and print information systems of DB, private trains officially labelled RB and RE by their operators, might get
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#1732868689199948-560: A long train, similar to the ICE ;1. Only from 24 May 1998 were the ICE 2 units fully equipped with driving van trailers and could be portioned on their run from Hamm via either Dortmund Hbf – Essen Hbf – Duisburg Hbf – Düsseldorf Hbf or Hagen Hbf – Wuppertal Hbf – Solingen-Ohligs . In late 1998, the Hanover–Berlin high-speed railway was opened as the third high-speed line in Germany, cutting travel time on line 10 (between Berlin and
1027-409: A network of about 15,000 kilometres. The full members include the following companies: The associate members include: The main hubs of the route network are Brussels-South , Lille/ Lille Europe , Paris , Cologne Hbf , Frankfurt Hbf , Stuttgart, Basel and Zurich. Europe's high-speed railways create added value for passengers by joining forces and continuously working to increase the capacity of
1106-637: A series of trials in 1985 using the InterCityExperimental (also called ICE-V) test train. The IC Experimental was used as a showcase train and for high-speed trials, setting a new world speed record at 406.9 km/h (253 mph) on 1 May 1988. The train was retired in 1996 and replaced with a new trial unit, called the ICE S . After extensive discussion between the Bundesbahn and the Ministry of Transport regarding onboard equipment, length and width of
1185-524: A so-called closed company with limited liability (besloten vennootschap, or B.V.) with its registered office in Amsterdam, comparable to a GmbH in Germany. The organisational structure is a mixture of normal company structure and project structure. The HOTNAT ( hop on the next available train ) protection is a commercial agreement between the Railteam members. In case of a missed train connection between their high speed trains , HOTNAT allows passengers to hop on
1264-438: A special conference compartment whilst the ICE 3 features a compartment suitable for small children. The ICE 3 and ICE T omit the usual train manager's compartment and have an open counter named "ServicePoint" instead. An electronic display above each seat indicates the locations between which the seat has been reserved. Passengers without reservations are permitted to take seats with a blank display or seats with no reservation on
1343-431: A state, and Interrail are also available. These Länder-Tickets offer group tickets, where up to five people can travel on a single ticket. Regular travellers usually use weekly, monthly or annual passes for their connection or region; day or sometimes weekend passes exist in local transport primarily. The price system applies to some international destinations from Germany similarly, when bought at Deutsche Bahn, but it
1422-824: Is a high-speed rail system in Germany . It also serves destinations in Austria, France, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands as part of cross-border services. It is the flagship of the German state railway, Deutsche Bahn . ICE fares are fixed for station-to-station connections, on the grounds that the trains have a higher level of comfort. Travelling at speeds up to 300 km/h (190 mph) within Germany and 320 km/h (200 mph) when in France, they are aimed at business travellers and long-distance commuters and marketed by Deutsche Bahn as an alternative to flights. The ICE 3 also has been
1501-590: Is a polycentric network. Connections are offered in either 30-minute, hourly or bi-hourly intervals. Furthermore, additional services run during peak times, and some services call at lesser stations during off-peak times. Unlike the French TGV or the Japanese Shinkansen systems, the vehicles, tracks and operations were not designed as an integrated whole; rather, the ICE system has been integrated into Germany's pre-existing system of railway lines instead. One of
1580-604: Is a semi-independent division of Deutsche Bahn that operates long-distance passenger trains in Germany. It was founded in 1999 in the second stage of the privatisation of German Federal Railways under the name of DB Reise & Touristik and renamed in 2003. DB Fernverkehr operates all Intercity Express and Intercity trains in Germany as well as in some neighboring countries and several EuroCity and EuroCityExpress trains throughout Europe . Unlike its sister companies DB Regio and DB Cargo , DB Fernverkehr still holds
1659-429: Is divided into various organizational units that perform their tasks with subsidiaries. DB Personenverkehr is the unit that manages passenger travel within Germany. Originally called Reise & Touristik ( English : Travel and Tourism), this group is responsible for the managing, servicing and running of German passenger services. This group is divided into DB Fernverkehr and DB Regio . DB Fernverkehr AG
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#17328686891991738-661: Is ordered and paid for by the Bundesländer (states) or their respective regional train operation supervisors. Some states have awarded long-term contracts to DB Regio (usually 10 to 15 years), in others, DB Regio's operations are decreasing, in North Rhine-Westphalia, their market share is expected to be lower than 50%. DB Regio rail services are divided into several regional companies: The bus services consist of 25 bus companies, which have subsidiary companies themselves. The Transport and Logistics division acted in
1817-593: Is owned by the Federal Republic. By the Constitution , the Federal Republic is required to retain (directly or indirectly) a majority of the infrastructure (the present DB Netze ) stocks. In 2008, it was agreed to "float" a portion of the business, meaning an end to the 100% share the German Federal Republic had in it, with a plan that 25% of the overall share would be sold to the private sector. However
1896-657: Is the U.S. arm of Deutsche Bahn AG. As early train operator, DB Engineering & Consulting will assist CHSRA with planning, designing and implementing the state's high-speed rail program. Deutsche Bahn purchased Arriva in August 2010 off the London Stock Exchange . To satisfy the European Commission , Arriva's German operations were rebranded Netinera and sold. As of July 2022, Arriva operated 15,700 buses and 800 railway vehicles in 14 European countries, mainly in
1975-687: Is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin , it is a joint-stock company ( AG ) and the largest railway company in the world. DB was founded after the merger between the Deutsche Bundesbahn and the East German Deutsche Reichsbahn in 1994 after the unification of Germany and has been operating ever since. Deutsche Bahn
2054-567: Is the second-largest transport company in Germany, after the German postal and logistics company Deutsche Post / DHL . DB provides both long-distance and regional transport, serving around 132 million long distance passengers and 1.6 billion regional passengers in 2022. In 2022, DB transported 222 million tons of cargo. The group is divided into several companies, including DB Fernverkehr (long-distance passenger), DB Regio (local passenger services) and DB Cargo (rail freight). The Group subsidiary DB Netz also operates large parts of
2133-660: Is what the GO in Infra GO stands for in German: ' G emeinwohl o rientierte.' DB Engineering & Consulting , which is responsible for construction supervision, construction planning and maintenance , is also assigned to this department without being part of a business area. Via its subsidiary DB Engineering & Consulting, DB signed a memorandum of understanding with Iranian rail operator Bonyad Eastern Railways (BonRail) in May 2017 and shortly after
2212-595: The BahnCard discount cards, which are available as BahnCard 25 (25% discount on Flexpreis and Sparpreis), BahnCard 50 (50% discount on Flexpreis and 25% discount on Sparpreis), and BahnCard 100 (unlimited travel on all Deutsche Bahn trains, a few private train companies and also in many local transport associations). Other special tickets, such as the Länder-Tickets ("state tickets"), which give unlimited journeys on local trains and in many transport associations within
2291-559: The Berlin Wall , and German reunification in 1990. On 1 January 1994 Deutsche Reichsbahn and Deutsche Bundesbahn were merged to form one company, Deutsche Bahn , the successor organisation to the Reichsbahn. At the same time, Deutsche Bahn adopted its current logo and DB abbreviation. Kurt Weidemann modernised the logo and typographer Erik Spiekermann designed a new corporate font known as DB Type . When Deutsche Bahn
2370-534: The British Royal Train and also has interests in Eastern Europe . It is possible to obtain train times for any journey in Europe from Deutsche Bahn 's website. Trans-Eurasia Logistics is a joint venture with Russian Railways (RŽD) that operates container freight trains between Germany and China via Russia . The railway network in Germany dates back to 1835 when the first tracks were laid on
2449-507: The Intercity network and with IC tariffs. In 1993, the ICE line 6 's terminus was moved from Hamburg to Berlin (later, in 1998, via the Hanover-Berlin line and the former IC line 3 from Hamburg-Altona via Hannover Hbf – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Fulda – Frankfurt Hbf – Mannheim Hbf – Karlsruhe Hbf – Freiburg Hbf to Basel SBB was upgraded to ICE standards as a replacement). From 1997,
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2528-571: The LGV Est railway Strasbourg – Paris in France. A new generation ICE 3, Class 407 , is part of the Siemens Velaro family with the model designation Velaro D. It currently runs on many services in Germany and through to other countries like France. Initially this train type was meant to execute the planned Deutsche Bahn services through the Channel Tunnel to London. As the trains had not received
2607-633: The Ruhr valley ) by 2½ hours. The ICE 1 and ICE 2 trains' loading gauge exceeds that recommended by the international railway organisation UIC . Even though the trains were originally to be used only domestically, some units are licensed to run in Switzerland and Austria. Some ICE 1 units have been equipped with an additional smaller pantograph to be able to run on the different Swiss overhead wire geometry. All ICE 1 and ICE 2 trains are single-voltage 15 kV AC , which restricts their radius of operation largely to
2686-568: The United Kingdom over widespread cancellations of railway services and numerous delayed services operated by Deutsche Bahn in Britain, under its Northern brand. This resulted in Britain's Minister of Transport, Chris Grayling, setting up an enquiry into whether the Deutsche Bahn subsidiary had breached its contractual agreement to provide railway services in the north of England. He warned that if
2765-517: The Velaro by their manufacturer, Siemens . Just like the ICE 2, the ICE 3 and the ICE 3M were developed as short trains (when compared to an ICE 1), and are able to travel in a system where individual units run on different lines, then being coupled to travel together. Since the ICE 3 trains are the only ones able to run on the Köln-Frankfurt high-speed line with its 4.0% incline at
2844-631: The financial crisis of 2008 , and the Bahntower lease was extended. Construction of the new headquarters building was started in 2017 under the title " Cube Berlin " according to the designs by 3XN. Finished in February 2020, the Cube will house the legal offices of Deutsche Bahn, but not become the main headquarters. The second step of the Bahnreform (railway reform) was carried out in 1999. All rolling stock, track, personnel, and real assets were divided between
2923-468: The German railway infrastructure , making it the largest rail network in Europe. The company generates about half of its total revenue from operating rail transport , with the other half of the business comprising further transport and logistics businesses, as well as various service providers. The company generates further revenue through public transport contracts and support services for infrastructure maintenance and expansion. The Deutsche Bahn Group
3002-511: The German-speaking countries of Europe. ICE 2 trains can run at a top speed of 280 km/h (174 mph). To overcome the restrictions imposed on the ICE 1 and ICE 2, their successor, the ICE 3, was built to a smaller loading gauge to permit usability throughout the entire European standard gauge network, with the sole exception being the UK's domestic railway network. Unlike their predecessors,
3081-447: The ICE 2 and seven-car ICE T (Class 411) are equipped with a full restaurant car. The five-car ICE T (Class 415) and ICE 3 however, have been designed without a restaurant, they feature a bistro coach instead. Since 1 October 2006, smoking is prohibited in the bistro coaches, similar to the restaurant cars, which have always been non-smoking. All trains feature a toilet for disabled passengers and wheelchair spaces. The ICE 1 and ICE 2 have
3160-542: The ICE 3 units are built not as trains with separate passenger and power cars, but as electric multiple units with underfloor motors throughout. This also reduced the load per axle and enabled the ICE 3 to comply with the pertinent UIC standard. Initially two different classes were developed: the Class 403 (domestic ICE 3) and the Class 406 (ICE 3M), the M standing for Mehrsystem ( multi-system ). Later came Class 407 and Class 408. The trains were labelled and marketed as
3239-513: The ICEs from any other DB train. The ICE 1 and ICE 2 units originally had an Orient Red (RAL 3031) stripe, accompanied by a Pastel Violet stripe below (RAL 4009, 26 cm wide). These stripes were repainted with the current Traffic Red between 1998 and 2000, when all ICE units were being checked and repainted in anticipation of the EXPO 2000 . The "ICE" lettering uses the colour Agate Grey (RAL 7038),
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3318-437: The Railteam alliance and remain entrepreneurially independent. In this alliance, the high-speed trains Intercity Express , TGV , Eurostar , TGV Lyria , Thalys and Railjet are jointly operated. The transport network of the long-distance trains offered in Railteam covers about 100 cities in seven countries ( Belgium , Germany , France , United Kingdom , the Netherlands , Austria and Switzerland ), which are connected by
3397-495: The United Kingdom and Ireland. In 2019, Deutsche Bahn unsuccessfully tried to sell the business. In October 2023, Deutsche Bahn agreed on terms to sell Arriva to I Squared Capital , with the transaction scheduled to be completed in 2024. The sale was completed on 4 June 2024 at a reported price of £1.4bn. DB also has interests abroad, owning the United Kingdom's largest rail freight operator, DB Cargo UK , which also operates
3476-524: The allowed maximum speed of 300 km/h, they are used predominantly on services that utilise this line. In 2009 Deutsche Bahn ordered another 16 units – worth € 495 million – for international traffic, especially to France. The Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway , which opened in December 2015, is one of three lines in Germany (the others being the Nuremberg-Ingolstadt high-speed rail line and Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed rail line ) that are equipped for
3555-439: The audio and video entertainment systems were removed and electronic seat reservation indicators were added above the seats. The ICE 2 trains have been undergoing the same procedure since 2010. ICE 2 trains feature electric sockets at selected seats, ICE 3 and ICE T trains have sockets at nearly every seat. The ICE 3 and ICE T are similar in their interior design, but the other ICE types differ in their original design. The ICE 1,
3634-621: The bundling of many ICE lines in that region. When considering all traffic (freight, local and long-distance passenger), the busiest line carrying ICE traffic is the Munich–Augsburg line , carrying about 300 trains per day. The network's main backbone consists of six north–south lines: (Also applies to trains in the opposite directions, taken from 2024 network map) Furthermore, the network has three main east–west thoroughfares: Deutsche Bahn The Deutsche Bahn AG ( IPA: [ˈdɔʏtʃə ˈbaːn] ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG )
3713-526: The company came to an agreement with DSV of Denmark, a logistics company; in the agreement, DSV will acquire Schenker from Deutsche Bahn for $ 15.84 billion. Trains in Germany are classified by their stopping pattern, average speed and level of comfort provided: Just as ICE, EC and (few) IC cross European borders, train categories of other operators cross into Germany and are operated in cooperation with Deutsche Bahn: There are several other operators in Germany which sometimes offer other categories, also,
3792-490: The company was found to be in breach of its contractual agreements it could be banned from running railway services in the United Kingdom. The rail carrier reported a €1 billion half year net loss stemming from investments to repair its rail network, strikes and bad weather in July of 2024. As a result, Deutsche Bahn announced that they would shed 30,000 administrative jobs, roughly equal to 9% of their workforce. In September 2024,
3871-412: The contract for the ten car sets was modified in 2013 to expand the trainset length to twelve vehicles. The name ICx was used for the trains during the initial stages of the procurement; in late 2015 the trains were rebranded ICE 4 , at the unveiling of the first trainset, and given the class designation 412 by Deutsche Bahn. Two pre-production trainsets were manufactured and used for testing prior to
3950-486: The current section. The maintenance schedule of the trains is divided into seven steps: Maintenance on the ICE trains is carried out in special ICE workshops located in Basel, Berlin, Cologne, Dortmund, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig and Munich. The train is worked upon at up to four levels at a time and fault reports are sent to the workshops in advance by the on-board computer system to minimize maintenance time. The ICE system
4029-432: The design for the now discontinued InterRegio trains in the mid-1980s. The first ICE trains were the trainsets of ICE 1 (power cars: Class 401), which came into service in 1989. The first regularly scheduled ICE trains ran from 2 June 1991 from Hamburg-Altona via Hamburg Hbf – Hannover Hbf – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Fulda – Frankfurt Hbf – Mannheim Hbf and Stuttgart Hbf toward München Hbf at hourly intervals on
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#17328686891994108-748: The development base for the Siemens Velaro family of trainsets which has subsequently been exported to RENFE in Spain ( AVE Class 103 ), which are certified to run at speeds up to 350 km/h (220 mph), as well as versions ordered by China for the Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway link ( CRH 3 ) and by Russia for the Moscow– Saint Petersburg and Moscow– Nizhny Novgorod routes ( Velaro RUS ) with further customers being Eurostar as well as Turkey and Egypt . The Deutsche Bundesbahn started
4187-520: The effects of this is that the ICE 3 trains can reach a speed of 300 km/h (186 mph) only on some stretches of line and cannot currently reach their maximum allowed speed of 330 km/h on German railway lines (though a speed of 320 km/h is reached by ICE 3 in France). The line most heavily utilised by ICE trains is the Mannheim–Frankfurt railway between Frankfurt and Mannheim due to
4266-455: The end of 2007, ICE-TD trains were put into revenue service for the lines between Hamburg and Copenhagen as well as Hamburg and Aarhus. A large part of the Danish railway network had not been electrified so DSB (Danish State Railways) used the diesel-powered trains. When DSB ordered the new IC4 train sets, the company did not anticipate the long delay with the delivery and the technical issues with
4345-464: The end of 2022 on routes that use the Cologne – Frankfurt high speed line which is designed for operation at 300 km/h. After a production time of only 12 months including trial runs the first train was presented to journalists in February of 2022. At that occasion the order was increased by 43 trainsets, with all 73 trains supposed to be in service by early 2029. In May of 2023 Deutsche Bahn announced that it
4424-663: The first train: As a first step towards unification, mutual recognition of the frequent traveller programmes with regard to access to the lounges at the stations of the member companies was completed. Thus, since 1 July 2007, holders of a DB BahnCard with bahn.comfort status and holders of an SBB 1st class general season ticket have been allowed to use the lounges of the participating companies. The individual members have set up differently designed programmes for their respective frequent travellers. These are: Intercity Express Intercity Express (commonly known as ICE ( German pronunciation: [iːtseːˈʔeː] ))
4503-521: The frame is painted in Quartz Grey (RAL 7039). The plastic platings in the interior all utilise the Pale Grey (RAL 7035) colour tone. Originally, the ICE 1 interior was designed in pastel tones with an emphasis on mint, following the DB colour scheme of the day. However, ICE 1 trains were refurbished in the mid-2000s and now follow the same design as the ICE 3, which makes heavy usage of indirect lighting and wooden furnishings. The distinctive ICE design
4582-408: The high-speed network and upgrade routes. The aim is to offer passengers seamless travel chains between many European cities, with shorter journey times and more frequent connections, as well as uniform service and quality standards. The development of a common network should thus offer a competitive alternative to car and plane for destinations within Europe. Railteam is a corporation under Dutch law,
4661-410: The introduction of the main series. Simultaneously with the ICE 3, Siemens developed trains with tilting technology, using much of the ICE 3 technical design. The class 411 (seven cars) and 415 (five cars) ICE T EMUs and class 605 ICE TD DMUs (four cars) were built with a similar interior and exterior design. They were specially designed for older railway lines not suitable for high speeds, for example
4740-445: The later refurbishment. The ICE 3 trains feature touch screen terminals in some carriages, enabling travellers to print train timetables. The system is also located in the restaurant car of the ICE 2. The ICE 1 fleet saw a major overhaul between 2005 and 2008, supposed to extend the lifetime of the trains by another 15 to 20 years. Seats and the interior design were adapted to the ICE 3 design, electric sockets were added to every seat,
4819-532: The market with the business units DB Schenker and DB Cargo , which were combined under the umbrella of DB Schenker, and the Intermodal division, which operates in combined transport. In 2016, rail freight transport was separated from logistics and DB Schenker Rail was renamed DB Cargo . In cooperation with the logistics provider time:matters , DB also offers the transport of shipments weighing up to 20 kg on its EC/IC/ICE trains. The infrastructure division
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#17328686891994898-680: The name ICE-T to class 411/415, the T originally did not stand for tilting , but for Triebwagen (railcar), as DB's marketing department at first deemed the top speed too low for assignment of the InterCityExpress brand and therefore planned to refer to this class as IC-T (InterCity-Triebwagen). The trainsets of the T series were manufactured in 1999. The tilting system has been provided by Fiat Ferroviaria , now part of Alstom . ICE T trains can run at speeds of up to 230 km/h (143 mph). Deutsche Bahn ordered 20 units of ICE-T with diesel engines in 2001, called Class 605 ICE-TD. The ICE-TD
4977-552: The new ICE line 6 . The Hanover-Würzburg line and the Mannheim-Stuttgart line , which had both opened the same year, were hence integrated into the ICE network from the very beginning. Due to the lack of trainsets in 1991 and early 1992, the ICE line 4 ( Bremen Hbf – Hannover Hbf – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Fulda – Würzburg Hbf – Nürnberg Hbf – München Hbf ) could not start operating until 1 June 1992. Prior to that date, ICE trainsets were used when available and were integrated in
5056-465: The next available high-speed train without additional cost, even when travelling with two separate train tickets. HOTNAT is valid: However, there are restrictions to the HOTNAT protection. It is valid: The passenger must ask for a " hop on the next available train" stamp on the ticket or a form from the conductor (train manager) of the delayed or cancelled train, or from the staff at the service desk at
5135-414: The next morning on the same ticket is usually of advantage. Seat reservations are included only for first class tickets and seating capacity is not always assured, even for tickets valid on one particular connection only. Local trains (S, RB, RE, IRE) also accept tickets issued by local transport associations , which can also be used on buses, trams, and U-Bahn trains. DB offers concessionary fares with
5214-624: The onset of the financial crisis of 2007–08 saw this cancelled. In 2014, the Jewish community of Thessaloniki demanded that the Deutsche Bahn , which is the successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn , should reimburse the heirs of Greek Holocaust victims of Thessaloniki for train fares that they were forced to pay for their deportation from Thessaloniki to Auschwitz and Treblinka between March and August 1943. In June 2018 controversy grew in
5293-420: The station . It is not necessary to change the ticket or to rebook. Depending on seat availability, the passenger can sit in any available seat. This can mean standing up when the train is full. Besides HOTNAT, there are other protections for rail passengers to use the next possible train without additional costs when they miss a connecting train and lose their seat reservation due to a delay or cancellation of
5372-589: The subsidiaries of DBAG: DB Reise & Touristik AG (long-distance passenger service, later renamed DB Station & Service AG (operating the stations)). This new organisational scheme was introduced not least to implement European Community directive 91/440/EEC that requires open access operations on railway lines by companies other than those that own the rail infrastructure. In December 2007, DB reorganised again, bringing all passenger services into its DB Bahn arm, logistics under DB Schenker and infrastructure and operations under DB Netze . The DB
5451-504: The successor, the ICE ;2 trains pulled by Class 402 powerheads, was put into service. One of the goals of the ICE 2 was to improve load balancing by building smaller train units which could be coupled or detached as needed. These trainsets were used on the ICE line 10 Berlin-Cologne/Bonn. However, since the driving van trailers of the trains were still awaiting approval, the DB joined two portions (with one powerhead each) to form
5530-408: The train and the number of trainsets required, a first batch of 41 units was ordered in 1988. The order was extended to 60 units in 1990, with German reunification in mind. However, not all trains could be delivered in time. The ICE network was officially inaugurated on 29 May 1991 with several vehicles converging on the newly built station Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe from different directions. In 2007,
5609-566: The train sets. To compensate for the shortage of available trains, DSB leased the ICE-TD while the delivery and technical issues with IC4 were being addressed. The operating cost was much lower due to the lower fuel tax in Denmark. After the issues with IC4 were resolved, the ICE-TD fleet was removed from revenue service and stored. Deutsche Bahn retired the entire ICE TD fleet in 2018. While every car in an ICE train has its own unique registration number,
5688-400: The trains usually remain coupled as fixed trainsets for several years. For easier reference, each has been assigned a trainset number that is printed over each bogie of every car. These numbers usually correspond with the registration numbers of the powerheads or cab cars. The ICE trains adhere to a high standard of technology: all cars are fully air-conditioned and nearly every seat features
5767-464: The twisting lines in Thuringia . ICE-TD has diesel traction. ICE-T and ICE-TD can be operated jointly, but this is not done routinely. A total of 60 class 411 and 11 class 415 have been built so far (units built after 2004 belong to the modified second generation ICE-T2 batch). Both classes work reliably. Austria's ÖBB purchased three units in 2007, operating them jointly with DB. Even though DB assigned
5846-408: The use of mobile phones is discouraged. The newer ICE 3 trains also have larger digital displays in all coaches, displaying, among other things, Deutsche Bahn advertising, the predicted arrival time at the next destination and the current speed of the train. The ICE 1 was originally equipped with a passenger information system based on BTX , however this system was eventually taped over and removed in
5925-460: Was calling the last 17 trains from the option, bringing the total order up to 90 trains. Procurement of ICx trainsets started c. 2008 as replacements for locomotive hauled InterCity and EuroCity train services - the scope was later expanded to include replacements for ICE 1 and ICE 2 trainsets. In 2011 Siemens was awarded the contract for 130 seven car intercity train replacements, and 90 ten car ICE train replacements, plus further options -
6004-494: Was developed by a team of designers around Alexander Neumeister in the early 1980s and first used on the InterCityExperimental (ICE V). The team around Neumeister then designed the ICE 1, ICE 2, and ICE 3/T/TD. The interior of the trains was designed by Jens Peters working for BPR-Design in Stuttgart . Among others, he was responsible for the heightened roof in the restaurant car and the special lighting. The same team also developed
6083-472: Was divided into the DB Netz (rail infrastructure), DB Station&Service (stations and services) and DB Energie (Energy) business units. At the end of December 2023, DB Netz merged with DB Station&Service to create DB InfraGO AG. The new company is intended to reduce poor communication between the two previously separate infrastructure firms and to be more 'oriented towards the common good.' In fact, that
6162-676: Was formed in January 1994, it became a joint stock-company, and was designed to operate the railways of both the former East and West Germany after unification in October 1990 as a single, uniform, and private company. There are three main periods of development in this unified German railway: its formation, its early years (1994–1999), and the period from 1999 to the present. Originally, DBAG had its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main but moved to Potsdamer Platz in central Berlin in 1996, where it occupies
6241-551: Was intended for certain routes without electric overhead cables such as Dresden-Munich and Munich-Zürich lines. However, the Class 605 trains (ICE-TD) experienced many technical issues and unanticipated escalation in operating cost due to the diesel fuel being fully taxed in Germany. They were taken off revenue service shortly after delivery. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup , the ICE-TD trains were pressed temporarily into supplementary service for transporting fans between cities in Germany. At
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