High-speed rail in Germany

The InterCityExpress (ICE) network map in Germany (maximum speed limit):

New lines, 300 km/h (186 mph)

New and upgraded lines, 250–280 km/h (155–174 mph)

Upgraded lines, 200–230 km/h (124–143 mph)

Conventional lines (selected), 160 km/h (100 mph)

Construction of the first high-speed rail in Germany began shortly after that of the French LGVs (lignes à grande vitesse, high-speed lines). However, legal battles caused significant delays, so that the German Intercity-Express (ICE) trains were deployed ten years after the TGV network was established. Germany has around 1,658 kilometers (1,030 miles) of high speed lines.[1]

## InterCityExpress

[edit]

Main article: Intercity-Express

The first regularly scheduled ICE trains ran on 2 June 1991 from Hamburg-Altona via Hamburg Hbf – Hannover Hbf – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Fulda – Frankfurt Hbf – Mannheim Hbf and Stuttgart Hbf toward München Hbf on the new ICE line 6. The ICE network is more tightly integrated with pre-existing lines and trains as a result of the different settlement structure in Germany,[clarification needed] which has almost twice the population density of France. ICE trains reached destinations in Austria and Switzerland soon after they entered service, taking advantage of the same voltage used in these countries. Starting in 2000, multisystem third-generation ICE trains entered the Netherlands and Belgium. The third generation of the ICE has a service speed of 330 km/h (205 mph) and has reached speeds up to 363 km/h (226 mph).

Admission of ICE trains onto French LGVs was applied for in 2001, and trial runs completed in 2005. Since June 2007, ICEs service Paris from Frankfurt and Saarbrücken via the LGV Est.

Unlike the Shinkansen in Japan, Germany has experienced a fatal accident on a high-speed service. In the Eschede train disaster of 1998, a first generation ICE experienced catastrophic wheel failure while travelling at 200 km/h (124 mph) near Eschede, following complaints of excessive vibration. Of 287 passengers aboard, 101 people died and 88 were injured in the resulting derailment, which was made worse by the train colliding with a road bridge and causing it to collapse. The accident was the result of faulty wheel design and, following the crash, all ICE wheels of that design were redesigned and replaced.

## International operators

[edit]

Thalys trains began running in Germany in 1997, from the Belgian HSL 3 to Aachen and Cologne using the Cologne–Aachen high-speed railway. TGV POS trains began running in Germany in 2007, to Karlsruhe and Stuttgart using the Mannheim–Stuttgart and Karlsruhe–Basel high-speed lines. Swiss SBB high-speed services using the New Pendolino from Frankfurt to Milan on the Karlsruhe–Basel line started in 2017.[2]

## Transrapid

[edit]

Germany has developed the Transrapid, a maglev train system. The Transrapid reaches speeds up to 550 km/h (342 mph). The Emsland test facility, with a total length of 31.5 km (19.6 mi), operated until 2011 when it was closed and in 2012 its demolition was approved.[3] In China, Shanghai Maglev Train, a maglev based on Transrapid technology built in collaboration with Siemens has been operational since March 2004.

## List of high-speed lines

[edit]

Line  | Operating speed (max)  | Length  | Construction

began

| Construction completed
or expected start of revenue services

|
|
|
|

Hanover–Würzburg high-speed railway |

* Normal:
* 250 km/h (155 mph)
* If delay (In tunnel also 250 km/h):
* 280 km/h (175 mph)

| 327 km (203 mi)  | 1973  | 1991
Mannheim–Stuttgart high-speed railway | 99 km (62 mi)  | 1976  | 1991
Hanover–Berlin high-speed railway |

* Majority:
* 250 km/h (155 mph)
* Parts of the line:
* 300 km/h (186 mph)
or 200 km/h (125 mph)

| 258 km (160 mi)  | 1992  | 1998
Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed rail line |

* Majority:
* 300 km/h (186 mph)
* Parts of the line:
* 200 km/h (125 mph)

| 180 km (112 mi)  | 1995  | 2002
Cologne–Aachen high-speed railway | 250 km/h (155 mph)  | 70 km (43 mi)  | 1997  | 2002
Nuremberg–Munich high-speed railway | 300 km/h (186 mph)  | 171 km (106 mi)  | 1998  | 2006–2013
Nuremberg–Erfurt high-speed railway | 191 km (119 mi)  | 1996  | 2017
Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway |

* Majority:
* 300 km/h (186 mph)
* Parts of the line:
* 200 km/h (125 mph)

| 121 km (75 mi)  | 1987  | 2015
Karlsruhe–Basel high-speed railway | 250 km/h (155 mph)  | 182 km (113 mi)  | 1987  | 1993–2031
Stuttgart–Wendlingen high-speed railway | 25 km (16 mi)  | 2012  | 2025 (expected)
Wendlingen–Ulm high-speed railway | 60 km (37 mi)  | 2012  | 2022
Third generation ICE running on the Nuremberg–Erfurt high-speed railway Bartelsgrabentalbrücke of the Hanover–Würzburg high-speed railway

### Upgraded line

[edit]

* Cologne–Aachen high-speed railway (upgraded line, 250 km/h)

### Partially new line

[edit]

Part of these routes are new constructions that run along or close to the existing, or previous, route:

* Hanover–Berlin high-speed railway (partially new line, 250 km/h on the new section, 160 and 200 km/h on the existing sections)
* Nuremberg–Erfurt high-speed railway (partially new line, 300 km/h)

### Fully new line

[edit]

Completely new construction projects:

* Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed rail line (new line, 300 km/h)
* Hanover–Würzburg high-speed railway (new line, 280 km/h)
* Mannheim–Stuttgart high-speed railway (new line, 280 km/h)
* Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway (new line, 300 km/h)
* Nuremberg-Ingolstadt high-speed railway (new line, 300 km/h)
* Wendlingen–Ulm high-speed railway (new line, 250 km/h)

### Lines not yet completed

[edit]

* Karlsruhe–Basel high-speed railway (new line, 250 km/h, incomplete, sections under construction)
* Stuttgart–Wendlingen high-speed railway (new line, 250 km/h, under construction)
* Vogelfluglinie (partially new line, partially being upgraded)
* Lübeck–Hamburg railway (German part of Vogelfluglinie, to be upgraded to reach 200 km/h)
* Lübeck–Puttgarden railway (German part of Vogelfluglinie, to be electrified[4] to reach 200 km/h up from the current 160 km/h,[5] under construction)
* Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link (tunnel part, will replace the Rødby–Puttgarden ferry, 200 km/h, under construction, completion expected in 2028)[6]
* Sydbanen (Danish part, new tracks to be laid by 2021, to be electrified to reach 200 km/h by 2024, under construction)[7]
* Copenhagen–Ringsted Line (Danish part, opened on 31 May 2019, currently operating at 180 km/h, upgrading to 250 km/h in 2023)
* Hanau-Gelnhausen high-speed railway (upgraded line, 230 km/h, under construction)[8]

### Lines planned

[edit]

* Frankfurt–Mannheim high-speed railway (new line, 300 km/h, in planning)
* Hanover-Bielefeld high-speed railway (new line, 300 km/h, in planning)
* Bielefeld-Hamm high-speed railway (upgraded line, 300 km/h, in planning)[9]
* Nuremberg-Würzburg high-speed railway (new line, 300 km/h, in planning)
* Hanover-Hamburg high-speed railway/Hanover-Bremen high-speed railway (Y-shaped, partially new line, 160 and 300 km/h on new sections, 160 km/h on an existing section, in planning)
* Ulm-Augsburg high-speed railway (new line, 265 km/h,[10] in planning)[11]
* Gelnhausen-Fulda high-speed rail (new line, 250 km/h, in planning)

## Travel times

[edit]

DB Intercity Express travel times between major stations1, 2

| Amsterdam | Berlin | Brussels | Cologne | Dortmund | Düsseldorf | Frankfurt | Hamburg | Innsbruck | Munich | Paris | Stuttgart | Vienna | Zürich
Amsterdam Centraal |  | — | — | 2h 37min | — | 2h 11min | 3h 55min | — | — | — | — | — | — | —
Berlin Hbf 4 | — |  | — | 4h 17min | 3h 25min | 4h 14min | 3h 52min3 | 1h 42min | — | 3h 58min3 | — | 5h 04min | 7h 43min | —
Brussels Midi/Zuid | — | — |  | 1h 50min | — | — | 3h 05min | — | — | — | — | — | — | —
Cologne/Köln Hbf 4 | 2h 37min | 4h 17min | 1h 50min |  | 1h 10min | 21min | 1h 01min3 | 3h 38min3 | — | 4h 32min | — | 2h 13min | 8h 52min | —
Dortmund Hbf | — | 3h 28min | — | 1h 17min |  | 49min | 2h 26min3 | 2h 49min | 11h 12min | 5h 35min | — | 3h 29min | 10h 07min | —
Düsseldorf Hbf | 2h 11min | 4h 14min | — | 21min | 48min |  | 1h 26min | 3h 06min | — | 4h 41min | — | 2h 28min | — | —
Frankfurt (Main) Hbf 4 | 3h 55min | 3h 39min3 | 3h 05min | 1h 04min3 | 2h 35min | 1h 26min |  | 3h 20min3 | — | 3h 09min | 3h 38min3 | 1h 18min3 | 6h 24min | 3h 53min
Hamburg Hbf 4 | — | 1h 42min | — | 3h 35min3 | 2h 47min | 3h 06min | 3h 20min3 |  | — | 5h 31min | — | 4h 59min | — | 7h 35min
Innsbruck Hbf | — | 7h 15min | — | 9h 48min | — | 10h 13min | 5h28min | — |  | 1h 49min | — | 4h 03min | — | —
München Hbf | — | 3h 55min3 | — | 4h 32min | 5h 28min | 4h 44min | 3h 09min | 5h 31min | 1h 44min5 |  | 5h 34min | 2h 12min | 3h 56min | 3h 32min5
Paris Gare de l'Est | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3h 47min3 | — | — | 5h 34min |  | 3h 09min | — | —
Stuttgart Hbf | — | 5h 04min | — | 2h 13min | 3h 25min | 2h 28min | 1h 17min3 | 4h 59min | 6h 17min | 2h 12min | 3h 09min |  | — | —
Vienna/Wien Hbf | — | 7h 40min | — | 8h 50min | 10h 06min | — | 6h 21min | — | — | — | — | — |  | —
Zürich HB | — | 8h 39min | — | — | — | — | 3h 53min | 7h 35min | — | 3h 32min5 | — | — | — |

1 German category 1 stations and comparable international destinations of 250.000 passengers per day or more
2 only direct connections shown; travel times as of the DB 2018 timetable
3 ICE Sprinter
4 additional or alternative ICE stops for Berlin at: Berlin Südkreuz, Berlin-Gesundbrunnen, Berlin-Spandau and Berlin Ostbf
for Cologne (Köln) at: Köln Messe/Deutz and Köln/Bonn Flughafen Fbf
for Frankfurt at: Frankfurt (Main) Flughafen Fbf
and Hamburg at: HH-Altona, HH Dammtor and HH-Harburg
5 EuroCity-Express Service

## References

[edit]

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Rail travel in Germany.

1. ^ "Europe's High-Speed Rail Leaders". The Globalist. 8 September 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
2. ^ Doll, Nikolaus (17 October 2017). "Warum Deutsche Bahn jetzt einen ECE auf dem Gleise schickt" (in German). Die Welt. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
3. ^ "Transrapid-Teststrecke vor dem Abriss, NDR (in German)". Archived from the original on 2012-07-06. Retrieved 2017-10-10.
4. ^ Denis Bowers (15 June 2018). "Danish parliament approves DKr 11bn rolling stock purchase". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
5. ^ Gernot Knödler (18 June 2020). "Klatsche für Fehmarnbelt-Querung". Die Tageszeitung (in German). Retrieved 26 June 2020.
6. ^ David Burroughs (7 February 2020). "Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link rail consultancy contract awarded". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
7. ^ "Faser i arbejdet" (in Danish). Banedanmark. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
8. ^ "Ausbaustrecke (ABS) Hanau–Gelnhausen" (in German). Deutsche Bahn. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
9. ^ "Infrastrukturliste Deutschlandtakt" (in German). Deutsche Bahn. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
10. ^ Bahnprojekt Ulm-Augsburg (2024-06-27). Bahnprojekt Ulm–Augsburg: Ihre Fragen zur Vorschlagsvariante. Retrieved 2024-07-04 - via YouTube.
11. ^ "Bahnprojekt Ulm-Augsburg" (in German). Deutsche Bahn. Retrieved 27 March 2022.

* v
* t
* e

High-speed rail

Part of rail transport

Technologies|

* Conventional
* Hovertrain
* Hyperloop/Vactrain
* Maglev

High-speed trains|

| 350 km/h
(217 mph)
or more|

* China Railway CR400AF, CR400BF
* Transrapid
* Shinkansen Series L0

|

300–349 km/h
(186–217 mph)|

* Renfe Class 100, 101, 102, 103
* Alstom AGV
* China Railway Hexie CRH2C, 3C, 380A / MTR CRH380A, 380B, 380C, 380D
* ETR 500
* ETR 400
* Eurostar e300; e320
* ICE 3
* KTX-I, II (Sancheon), KTX-Cheongryong
* Oaris
* PBKA
* Shinkansen Series 500, N700, N700S, E5/H5, E6, E8
* AVRIL
* TGV Sud-Est (refurbished), Atlantique, Réseau (PBA), Duplex, POS, 2N2, M (Avelia Horizon)
* TCDD HT80000
* THSR 700T
* Siemens Velaro

250–299 km/h
(155–186 mph)|

* Avelia Liberty
* China Star, DJF2, China Railway Hexie CRH1A, 1B, 1E, 2A, 2B, 2E, 2G, 3A, 5A, 5E, 5G, China Railway Fuxing CR300AF, CR300BF
* ICE 1, 2, 4 (ICx)
* KTX-Eum
* New Pendolino
* Renfe Class 120, 121, 130
* Sapsan
* SBB RABe 501, RABe 503
* Shinkansen Series 200, 300, 700, 800, E2, E3, E7/W7
* TCDD HT65000
* TGV Sud-Est (original), La Poste
* V250

200–249 km/h
(124–155 mph)|

* Acela
* ACS-64
* Adelante
* APT
* China Railway DJJ1, China Railway Hexie CRH6, China Railway Fuxing CR200J
* ER200
* HHP-8
* IC4
* ICNG
* InterCity 125, 225
* ICE T, TD, ICE L
* Javelin
* NSB Class 71 (Flytoget)
* NSB Class 73
* NSB Class 74
* Pendolino
* Railjet
* Regina
* Shinkansen series 0, 100, 400, E1, E4
* SBB RABDe 500
* Re 460
* SC-44
* SCB-40
* X 2000, SJ X40
* Z-TER (Z 21500)
* Sokol
* British Rail Classes 800, 801, 802, 803, 805, 807, 810
* Talgo XXI
* Voyager/Meridian
* X3

Experimental and prototype high-speed trains (category)

High-speed railway line|

* List of high-speed railway lines

By countries and territories

planned networks in italics|

| Africa|

* Morocco
* Egypt

|

Americas|

* Argentina
* Brazil
* Canada
* Mexico
* United States

Asia|

* China
* Hong Kong
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Japan
* Kazakhstan
* South Korea
* Saudi Arabia
* Taiwan
* Thailand
* Turkey
* Uzbekistan
* Vietnam

Europe|

* Austria
* Belgium
* Croatia
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Greece
* Italy
* Latvia
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Russia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* United Kingdom

Oceania|

* Australia

* Proposed high-speed rail by country

* v
* t
* e

High-speed railway lines

* High-speed rail
* High-speed rail by country
* Commons

Africa|

| Morocco|

* Casablanca–Tangier

|

Asia|

| China|

* Coastal corridor*
* Beijing–Shanghai
* Beijing–Hong Kong
* Harbin–Hong Kong (Macau)
* Guangzhou–Hong Kong
* Hohhot–Nanning
* Beijing–Kunming
* Lanzhou (Xining)–Guangzhou
* Suifenhe–Manzhouli
* Beijing–Lanzhou*
* Qingdao–Yinchuan
* Lianyungang–Ürümqi
* Shanghai–Chengdu
* Shanghai–Kunming
* Guangzhou–Kunming

|

Indonesia|

* Whoosh HSR

Japan|

* Hokkaido Shinkansen
* Hokuriku Shinkansen
* Jōetsu Shinkansen
* Kyushu Shinkansen
* Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen
* San'yō Shinkansen
* Tōhoku Shinkansen
* Tōkaidō Shinkansen

Saudi Arabia|

* Haramain HSR

South Korea|

* Gyeongbu HSR Line
* Honam HSR Line
* Suseo–Pyeongtaek HSR Line
* Gyeonggang Line (Wonju-Gangneung)
* Jungang Line (Cheongnyangni-Dodam)*

Taiwan|

* Taiwan HSR

Turkey|

* Ankara–Istanbul
* Ankara–Sivas
* Polatlı–Konya
* Konya–Karaman*

Uzbekistan|

* Tashkent–Samarkand
* Samarkand–Bukhara

Europe|

| Belgium|

* HSL 1
* HSL 2
* HSL 3*
* HSL 4

|

Denmark|

* Copenhagen–Ringsted

Finland|

* Kerava-Lahti*
* St. Petersburg-Helsinki*

France|

* LGV Atlantique
* LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire
* LGV Est
* LGV Interconnexion Est
* LGV Méditerranée
* LGV Nord
* LGV Rhin-Rhône
* LGV Rhône-Alpes
* LGV Sud-Est
* LGV Sud Europe Atlantique
* LGV Perpignan–Barcelona*

Germany|

* Cologne–Düren*
* Cologne–Frankfurt
* Erfurt–Leipzig
* Hanover–Würzburg
* Mannheim–Stuttgart*
* Nuremberg–Ingolstadt
* Nuremberg–Erfurt
* Rastatt–Offenburg
* Wendlingen–Ulm
* Wolfsburg–Berlin

Greece|

* Athens–Thessaloniki*

Italy|

* Bologna–Florence
* Florence–Rome
* Milan–Bologna
* Milan–Verona
* Naples–Salerno
* Rome–Naples
* Turin–Milan

Netherlands|

* HSL-Zuid

Norway|

* Gardermoen Line

Poland|

Grodzisk–Zawiercie*

Russia|

* Moscow–St.Petersburg*
* St. Petersburg-Helsinki*

Spain|

* Atlantic Axis
* Madrid–Galicia
* Madrid–Extremadura
* Barcelona–Perpignan*
* Madrid–Barcelona
* Madrid–León
* Madrid–Malaga
* Madrid–Seville
* Madrid–Toledo
* Madrid–Levante

Sweden|

Bothnia Line

United Kingdom|

* High Speed 1

North America|

| United States|

Northeast Corridor*

|

Oceania|

None

South America|

None

|

* An asterisk indicates overlap with conventional services.
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