Inception in 1973, hauled by a
Class 103 The idea for Intercity services on the
Deutsche Bundesbahn network was first proposed in 1967, inspired by the success of
British Rail's
InterCity brand. After some planning, the proposal was approved in 1969, and the services were finally introduced in September 1971, after some delays in delivery of new coaching stock. The original network consisted of four lines, operating every two hours, and connecting the largest cities in
West Germany. At this time, Intercity trains were first-class only. The original lines were: •
Line 1 (red):
Hamburg-Altona – Bremen – Münster (Westf) – Dortmund – Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Heidelberg – Stuttgart – Ulm – Augsburg –
Munich •
Line 2 (blue):
Hannover – Bielefeld – Hamm – Dortmund – Hagen – Wuppertal-Elberfeld (– Solingen-Ohligs) – Cologne – Bonn – Koblenz – Wiesbaden – Frankfurt (Main) – Würzburg – Nuremberg – Augsburg –
Munich •
Line 3 (green):
Hamburg-Altona – Hannover – Göttingen – Fulda – Frankfurt (Main) – Mannheim – Karlsruhe – Freiburg (Breisgau) –
Basel •
Line 4 (gold):
Bremen – Hannover – Göttingen – Bebra – Fulda – Würzburg (– Ingolstadt) –
Munich Gradually, the Intercity network started to expand, and with the introduction of the
Class 103 locomotives, 200 km/h running was possible. Services were increased in frequency to hourly, and second class accommodation was provided – in 1979 this was promoted with the slogan "every hour, every class". Additionally, there is also another new line 5, running from Dortmund to Munich. It was opened since 2 May 1985. •
Line 1 (red): Hamburg-Altona – Bremen – Osnabrück – Münster (Westf) – Dortmund – Bochum – Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Köln – Bonn – Koblenz – Wiesbaden – Frankfurt (Main) •
Line 2 (brown): Hannover – Bielefeld – Hamm – Dortmund – Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Heidelberg – Stuttgart – Ulm – Augsburg – Munich •
Line 3 (green): Hamburg-Altona – Hannover – Göttingen – Fulda – Frankfurt (Main) – Mannheim – Karlsruhe – Freiburg (Breisgau) – Basel (–
Switzerland) •
Line 4 (gold): Hamburg-Altona – Hannover – Göttingen – Bebra – Fulda – Würzburg – Augsburg – München •
line 4a (grey): Oldenburg or Bremerhaven – Bremen – Hannover •
Line 5 (blue): Dortmund – Hagen – Wuppertal-Elberfeld (– Solingen-Ohligs) – Cologne – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – Frankfurt Airport – Frankfurt (Main) (– Aschaffenburg) – Würzburg – Nuremberg – Augsburg – Munich The InterCity for 3a is also part of the TransEuropExpress: •
Line 3a: Amsterdam – Utrecht – Oberhausen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Köln – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – (Mannheim – Karlsruhe – Freiburg (Breisgau) – Basel) or (Mannheim – Heidelberg – Stuttgart – Ulm – Augsburg – Munich – Salzburg) or (Frankfurt Airport – Frankfurt (Main) – Würzburg – Augsburg – Munich – Innsbruck) Some ICs switched between lines 4 and 5, 2 and 5 (Essen or Wuppertal), or 2 and 3 (Basel or Stuttgart).
Reunification and growth in 1995 in 2012 The network continued to evolve throughout the 1980s, and in the early 1990s it saw major changes. One major driving force for this was
German reunification, which saw the network expand across the former
East Germany, but also the opening of two high-speed lines in 1991:
Mannheim to Stuttgart and
Hannover to Würzburg. The
first generation ICEs were introduced around this time, and took over most services on the Hannover – Fulda corridor, while the remaining services expanded in all directions. The routes on 2 June 1991 were as follows: •
IC Line 1 (red): Hamburg-Altona – Bremen – Münster (Westf) – Dortmund – Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – Frankfurt (Main) Flughafen – Frankfurt (Main) – Aschaffenburg – Würzburg – Nürnberg – (Ingolstadt – Munich) or (Regensburg – Passau – Linz – Wien) (connecting to Austria) •
IC Line 1a (magenta): Wiesbaden – Frankfurt (Main) (every two hours) •
IC Line 2 (brown): (Dortmund – Bochum) or (Münster (Westf) – Recklinghausen – Gelsenkirchen) – Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Köln – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Heidelberg – Stuttgart – Ulm – Augsburg – Munich (eight EC train pairs via Salzburg to Budapest, Klagenfurt, Wien or Zagreb) •
IC Line 2a (magenta): Wiesbaden – Mainz •
IC Line 3 (green): Berlin – Potsdam – Magdeburg – Helmstedt – Braunschweig – Hildesheim – Göttingen – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Fulda – Frankfurt (Main) – Mannheim – Karlsruhe (every two hours, one EC train pair via Basel to Zürich) •
IC Line 4 (gold): Hamburg-Altona – Hannover – Göttingen – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Fulda – Würzburg – Augsburg – Munich (every two hours to Nuremberg) •
IC Line 5 (blue): (every two hours: Berlin – Potsdam – Magdeburg –) Braunschweig – Hannover– Bielefeld – Hamm – Dortmund – Hagen – Wuppertal – Solingen-Ohligs – Cologne – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Karlsruhe – Freiburg (Breisgau) – Basel (new EC pairs of trains to Brig, Chur, Geneva, Interlaken, Milan or Sestri Levante) •
EC Line 5a (lilac): Amsterdam – Utrecht – Emmerich – Oberhausen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Cologne (every two hours, two EC train pairs on
Line 5 to Chur and Interlaken) •
ICE Line 6 (orange): Hamburg-Altona – Hannover – Göttingen – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Fulda – Frankfurt (Main) – Mannheim – Stuttgart – Ulm – Augsburg – Munich •
IC Line 6a (grey): Oldenburg or Bremerhaven – Bremen – Hannover Meanwhile, a new type of express train – the
InterRegio – was created in the late-1980s, replacing the old
D-Zug services, providing semi-fast services to complement Intercity trains. The new changes on 31 May 1992 were as follows: •
IC Line 1 (red): from Nuremberg to Munich •
IC Line 3 (green): Hamburg-Altona – Hannover – Göttingen – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Fulda – Frankfurt – Mannheim – Karlsruhe (– Basel – Zürich) •
ICE Line 4 (yellow): either Bremen or Hamburg-Altona, to Nuremberg •
IC Line 6a (grey): every two hours Bremen – Hannover •
IC Line 8 (lime): Berlin – Flughafen Berlin-Schönefeld – Leipzig – Naumburg – Jena – Saalfeld – Probstzella – Lichtenfels – Bamberg – Erlangen – Nuremberg – Ingolstadt – Munich (every two hours) From 1996, IC line 8 was connected from Berlin to Hamburg, which together with IC line 7 between the two cities, which ran until 1998, created an hourly service. IC line 5 ran from 1997 via Hanover Magdeburg and Leipzig to Dresden instead of Berlin. as a result, the new ICE line 10 was established from Berlin to Cologne/Bonn. At the same time, the branch to Basel, which was previously served by IC line 5, was abandoned. The line now ended in Nuremberg. From 1998 the trains of ICE line 6 and ICE line 10 ran over the new Berlin–Hanover line.
Modern era The next major change to Intercity services came about in 2002, with the opening of the
Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed rail line largely to replace the
West Rhine Railway, a major trunk route for Intercity services. While previous
high speed lines in Germany had been designed for mixed usage, and could be used by Intercity trains, this line can only be operated by new
ICE 3 units. This, along with the introduction of another generation of ICEs, the
ICE T, saw large numbers of Intercity routes converted to
ICE. Meanwhile, the
InterRegio classification was abolished, and many of its services converted into Intercity routes. As a result, the character of Intercity has changed. Having been on an almost equal footing with the ICE, it is very much secondary. While it still provides a high quality of service, trains now stop more frequently, and are more commonly found on lesser routes. Most current IC trains convey fewer
first-class coaches, more
open seating as opposed to
compartments, and a Bistro Cafe (buffet car) instead of a
restaurant or no on-board catering at all, although this is as much a reflection of the changing habits of modern passengers than it is a change in the status of Intercity trains. Until 2023, Lines 30 and 31 –
Hamburg to
Frankfurt/
Stuttgart – were closest in character to a 'classic' Intercity train, but these have now been abolished, with sections of these services reallocated to lines such as 55. ==Current services==