Overview First generation 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 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 operation until 1 June 1992. Prior to that date, ICE trainsets were used when available and were integrated in 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).
Second generation From 1997, 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 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 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 the German-speaking countries of Europe. ICE 2 trains can run at a top speed of 280 km/h (174 mph).
Third generation at InnoTrans 2010, after handover of first train to DB. These trains have been designated The New ICE 3. 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, 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 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 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 a line speed of . 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 on 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 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 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 was calling the last 17 trains from the option, bringing the total order up to 90 trains.
Fourth generation 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 - 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 the introduction of the main series.
ICE T and ICE TD 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 the twisting lines in
Thuringia. ICE-TD has diesel traction. ICE-T and ICE-TD could have be operated jointly, but this has not been done routinely.
ICE T 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 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). In April 2025, Deutsche Bahn announced the gradual retirement of the 5-car Class 415 from June 2025.
ICE TD Deutsche Bahn ordered 20 units of ICE-T with diesel engines in 2001, called Class 605 ICE-TD. The ICE-TD 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 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 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.
Differences in train layouts Livery 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 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), 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 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 the design for the now discontinued
InterRegio trains in the mid-1980s.
Trainset numbers While every car in an ICE train has its own unique registration number, 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. at
Brussels-South railway station Interior equipment The ICE trains adhere to a high standard of technology: all cars are fully air-conditioned and nearly every seat features 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 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, but this system was eventually taped over and removed in 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, 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, 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, featuring 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 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 the current section.
Maintenance The maintenance schedule of the trains is divided into seven steps: • Every 4,000 kilometres, an inspection taking about 1½ hours is undertaken. The waste collection tanks are emptied and fresh water tanks are refilled. Acute defects (e.g. malfunctioning doors) are rectified. Safety tests are also conducted. These include checking the
pantograph pressure, cleaning and checking for fissures in the rooftop insulators, inspecting transformers and checking the pantograph's current collector for wear. The wheels are also checked in this inspection. • Every 20,000 kilometres, a 2½ hour inspection is conducted, called
Nachschau. In this inspection, the brakes, the
Linienzugbeeinflussung systems and the anti-lock brakes are checked. • After 80,000 kilometres, the train undergoes the
Inspektionsstufe 1. During the two modules, each lasting eight hours, the brakes receive a thorough check, as well as the air conditioning and the kitchen equipment. The batteries are checked, as well as the seats and the passenger information system. • Once the train has reached 240,000 kilometres, the
Inspektionsstufe 2 mandates a check of the
electric motors, the
bearings and the
driveshafts of the
bogies and the couplers. This inspection is usually carried out in two modules taking eight hours each. • About once a year (when reaching 480,000 km), the
Inspektionsstufe 3 takes place, at three times eight hours each. In addition to the other checkup phases, it includes checks on the
pneumatics systems, and the transformer cooling. Maintenance work is performed inside the passenger compartment. • The
1st Revision is carried out after 1.2 million km. It includes a thorough check of all components of the train and is carried out in two five-day segments. • The seventh and final step is the
2nd Revision, which happens when reaching 2.4 million kilometres. The
bogies are exchanged for new ones and many components of the train are disassembled and checked. This step also takes two five-day segments. 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. == Lines in operation ==