High-speed rail in Germany

3rd Generation ICE, a high-speed train in Germany

Construction of the first German high-speed rail lines 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 InterCityExpress (ICE) trains were deployed ten years after the TGV network was established.^{[citation needed]}

InterCityExpress

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 TGV in France or 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 near Eschede, following complaints of excessive vibration. Of 287 passengers aboard, 101 people died and 88 were injured in the resulting derailment. The accident was the result of faulty wheel design and, following the crash, all ICE wheels of that design were redesigned and replaced.

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.

Transrapid

Germany has developed the Transrapid, a magnetic levitation train system. The Transrapid reaches speeds up to 550 km/h (340 mph). A test track with a total length of 31.5 km (19.6 mi) operated in Emsland until Early 2012, when it was closed and dismantled. In China, Shanghai Maglev Train, a Transrapid technology based maglev built in collaboration with Siemens, Germany, has been operational since March 2004.

List of high-speed lines

Upgraded Line

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

Partially New Line

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)
Nuremberg–Munich high-speed railway (partially new line, 300 km/h)

Fully New Line

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, opened on 9 December 2015 )

Lines not yet completed

Frankfurt–Mannheim high-speed railway (new line, 300 km/h, in planning)
Nuremberg–Erfurt high-speed railway (partially new line, 300 km/h, under construction)
Karlsruhe–Basel high-speed railway (new line, 250 km/h, incomplete)
Hanau-Gelnhausen high-speed railway (new line, 300 km/h, in planning)
Stuttgart–Wendlingen high-speed railway (new line, 250 km/h, under construction)
Wendlingen–Ulm high-speed railway (new line, 250 km/h, under construction)

Travel times

DB Intercity Express travel times between major stations^{1, 2}
	Amsterdam	Berlin	Brussels	Cologne	Düsseldorf	Frankfurt	Hamburg	Munich	Paris	Stuttgart	Vienna	Zürich
Amsterdam Centraal		—	—	2h 37min	2h 11min	3h 55min	—	—	—	—	—	—
Berlin Hbf ⁴	—		—	4h 17min	4h 14min	3h 52min³	1h 42min	3h 58min³	—	5h 04min	—	—
Brussels Midi/Zuid	—	—		1h 50min	—	3h 05min	—	—	—	—	—	—
Cologne/Köln Hbf ⁴	2h 37min	4h 17min	1h 50min		21min	1h 01min³	3h 38min³	4h 32min	—	2h 13min	8h 52min	—
Düsseldorf Hbf	2h 11min	4h 14min	—	21min		1h 26min	3h 06min	4h 41min	—	2h 28min	—	—
Frankfurt (Main) Hbf ⁴	3h 55min	3h 39min³	3h 05min	1h 04min³	1h 26min		3h 20min³	3h 09min	3h 38min	1h 18min³	6h 24min	3h 53min
Hamburg Hbf ⁴	—	1h 42min	—	3h 35min³	3h 06min	3h 20min³		5h 31min	—	4h 59min	—	7h 35min
München Hbf	—	3h 55min³	—	4h 32min	4h 44min	3h 09min	5h 31min		5h 34min	2h 12min	3h 56min	3h 32min⁵
Paris Gare de l'Est	—	—	—	—	—	3h 38min	—	5h 34min		3h 09min	—	—
Stuttgart Hbf	—	5h 04min	—	2h 13min	2h 28min	1h 17min³	4h 59min	2h 12min	3h 09min		—	—
Vienna/Wien Hbf	—	—	—	8h 50min	—	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

External links