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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]
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.
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]
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.
| Line | Operating speed (max) | Length | Construction
began |
Construction completed or expected start of revenue services |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanover–Würzburg high-speed railway |
|
327 km (203 mi) | 1973 | 1991 |
| Mannheim–Stuttgart high-speed railway | 99 km (62 mi) | 1976 | 1991 | |
| Hanover–Berlin high-speed railway |
|
258 km (160 mi) | 1992 | 1998 |
| Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed rail line |
|
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 |
|
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 |
Part of these routes are new constructions that run along or close to the existing, or previous, route:
Completely new construction projects:
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 | ||||||||||||||||
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