Germany's High-Speed Train - DB InterCity Express (ICE 2) Review

Hello, and welcome back to another train trip report on my channel.
In this video I will be travelling on-board a DB ICE 2 from Hamburg Hbf to Hannover Hbf in Second Class.
This speedy short route between two major German cities is a useful connection, thanks to the fast and pleasant trains operating between it. There is also an alternative regional service, which I will review soon, but for now here is the DB InterCity Express offering in a second-generation ICE train.
Enjoy the video. :)
#db #ice2 #tripreport
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Journey Details:
Origin: Hamburg Hbf
Destination: Hannover Hbf
Company: Deutsche Bahn
Train: DB 402 + ICE 2
Accommodation: Second Class Seat (2nd)
Distance: 111 miles / 179 kilometres
Price: €25.90 (£22.90 / $31.40)
Time: 1h22m
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[@EdVonPelt]

You should try catching an ICE on the dedicated high-speed lines (the 300 kph ones). Especially the Frankfurt-Cologne one is an experience because you are running parallel to the A3 Autobahn for a lot of the route and the view out on the cars as they are already going very fast while you fly past them at 300 is something else. For an added sensation of speed, try to get on one of the trains which do not stop between Frankfurt Airport and Cologne as they complete the ~190 km line in 45ish minutes.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

I think I've got that recorded, so I will see what I can do...

[@NonstopEurotrip]

Amazing trains that I still am yet to ride, hopefully very soon!!! Great video Albs 🦾😍

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Thanks champ! 🙌

[@bee_happy9969]

Then you need to hurry up a little, the ICE 2 trains will only drive until december 2023

[@adamknights1897]

I love the ICE trains. Love the wood panelling inside. I was fortunate to ride one from Paris to Saarbrucken, and ate in the on board restaurant. Currywurst and beer. Excellent, whilst travelling at 320 km/h too.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Sounds like an incredible trip! Love that fast route.

[@FlyingPhysicist]

The Germans certainly do high speed rail very well. I was fortunate enough to ride an ICE3 briefly, between Cologne and Dusseldorf a couple of years ago, and I was very impressed. I wish the GWR 800s were more like them!

[@SuperalbsTravels]

A nice short hop, bet you'd love to have a longer ride on them! :)

[@FlyingPhysicist]

@@SuperalbsTravels wow that sounds so euphemistic

[@SuperalbsTravels]

😅

[@christophernoble6810]

Enjoyed this video - thank you. The catering on ICEs is excellent and not that expensive by train standards. This service is provided at a very substantial loss to DB because German passengers expect it. In First Class service is to your seat which is nice even if it is just for a coffee. On a busy train the staff get worked hard providing this!

[@SuperalbsTravels]

I agree, the availability of good food on-board is an absolute essential in my book!

[@DanielsUKT]

Great video I would love to ride the ICE trains in the future

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Hopefully you can! Which one is your favourite?

[@PeteBrandy]

Great video, Albie! I like these older ICE sets (ICE1 and ICE2) much more than the new ones, they were my favorites when I was a child. Sad that ICE1 sets will be replaced.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Thanks very much! I thought the ICE 2 was going first?

[@westy6214]

@@SuperalbsTravels I’m pretty sure the ICE 1 will be refurbished and shortened to 9 carriages and are expected to remain in service till the 2030s, ICE 2 and ICE T will be withdrawn in the coming years replace by ICE 4 and refurbished ICE 1. More Velaro D will come 2022, with Talgo trainset the next year and they are still considering getting the Velaro Novo.

[@theobrattinga500]

Great video !!

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Thank you Theo! :)

[@vachankehr5403]

Das Video war gut 👍

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Danke schön! :)

[@jackhughes1299]

That just shows how mad our modern trains are in the uk. The fact that a standard class seat in Europe is a first class seat in the uk, show the low level of comfort in the uk. Not to mention that the standard class seats have poor posture, poor padding and no recline and those seats are used on commuter trains in Europe

[@lausimeyer6558]

That's due to the loading gauge in UK, which is much smaller than in continental Europe. ICE1 and ICE2 trains are even a bit wider than ordinary trains.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

It's a disappointment, but I really appreciate the quality of foreign trains. :)

[@lindavainomae3489]

Great video and I must say standard class on these trains puts first class on some other operators to shame. Your meal seemed very reasonably priced too - one of the nicest things to do is to have a meal in a proper restaurant car!

[@anthonywarrener1881]

Thank you for a great video, and I agree with all that you say. The ICE 2s are excellent, and are also used between Bonn/Koln to Berlin, joining a separate unit from Dusseldorf at Hamm, from where the combined 14-car trains also head to Hannover, then Berlin ! I gather the ICE2s will now remain in service for a good while yet, as with the recent refurbishment, they are good for many more years of service !

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Let's hope so - they are too nice to waste.

[@bee_happy9969]

They will get scrapped in 2023 and replaced by ICE 4 trains. But the ICE 1 drives at least until 2030.

[@erikgaede5572]

11:54 if you book your ticket with 3 weeks in advance, this exact ticket would have cost 17,90€, so that would help your money if you want to travel this

[@not_on]

You might even get a "Supersparpreis" on the day before if the train isn't busy, although at other times the price can be as high as 53,60€.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Sounds great value! Is that even cheaper than the Metronom?

[@erikgaede5572]

@@SuperalbsTravels it actually is, yes

[@onlytrains.hannover]

Departure on-time??? That is very,very rare at the DB!

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Haha, don't worry, my upcoming DB ideas may be more what you're used to! 😉

[@lenkradfreek9295]

Since some time if you book your ticket a few weeks before the journey you can travel through whole Germany for 17.90€ if you're only using ICE/IC or about 25€ if you use other private company's trains.

[@omegamezle]

ICE 2 Electric Boogaloo

[@SuperalbsTravels]

🧊✌

[@sharan96vj87]

🙂👍

[@SuperalbsTravels]

😃✌

[@LordEverythingtrains]

Agree

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Awesome! 🙌

[@jgodfrey546]

Never been disappointed by DB catering... Timekeeping is another matter....

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Exactly! 😅

[@not_on]

11:13 Maybe a misunderstanding, but ICE 4 units are already in operation and have been since 2017. It's true though that more have been ordered to replace older ICE sets. So far they mostly replaced loco-hauled IC trains, I think.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

The seven car sets hadn't started at the time of editing.

[@sidney001]

A wooden bench is still better that an IET seat I really like the idea of compartments for family's, as it keeps the scream kids out of other passengers earshot, perhaps they could be used by drunken hen parties as well. The ICE looks like a decent train. I'm impressed with the way you are travelling around Europe during the pandemic, how easy are you finding it?

[@miahaskurti4539]

Ha. A Passenger Train Company Starting With DB! DB Starts Of A Freight Train Company In The UK 😀

[@darrylrichardson7940]

DIE BAHN DB are the main company behind most of the franchises that run trains in the UK. We have trains in the UK run by companies from Germany Holland and Italy to name just a few.

[@not_on]

@@darrylrichardson7940 As a German I was kind of aware of DB's international activity, but I was surprised by the extent of their UK operation. Not sure about "most", but definitely quite a few: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arriva#United_Kingdom And lots of bus lines as well

[@Cok.i]

I have terrible expirience with ICE,when i travelled with my wife and kids from Mannheim to Stuttgart.I tried to reserve family seats few days before on their website,but that feature was not possible. then i go on the day of the trip to their office in Mannheim station and try to make a reservation.There was also not possible,and they said to me it is all sold ot,but when i came in the train,they will exchange our seats for family deparment.but that was not the case.When we came in train,in family department was some solo people,and they didnt wanna exchange it.I just dont understand,why they are selling family seats for solo people,and people with family cant reserve this seats,since their workers selliing that seats to anyone who wants.

[@AndrewG1989]

As there’s ICE 1, ICE 2, ICE 3 and ICE 4. Will there be ICE 5. It seems that these trains called ICE are very popular, fast and reliable.

[@s125ish]

Perhaps

[@AndrewG1989]

😒

[@lausimeyer6558]

In general, they are reliable, yes. But there are days, when you don't want to travel because of all kinds of issues. Especially during summertime, airconditioners fail to operate, when you need them most. ICE1, 2 and 3 are poor at this point, ICE4 has much more reliable ones. Then, the network is inadequate for 2021 demand, what causes a lot of delays. This line (Hamburg-Hannover) is one of the worst.

[@AndrewG1989]

@@lausimeyer6558 Interesting. Thanks 👍

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Hadn't realised it was so common for delays on this route in particular. Guess I was pretty lucky overall!

[@mohammadislam2652]

Can you ride metronom bahn and cantus bahn in Germany 🇩🇪

[@no-damn-alias]

Can you explain how the Interrail pass works? Never fully understood that

[@SuperalbsTravels]

It's a ticket that's valid on almost any train in Europe! :)

[@no-damn-alias]

@@SuperalbsTravels so you pay per trip or is it an all you can eat type solution?

[@SuperalbsTravels]

@@no-damn-alias Unlimited travel within the specified period. :)

[@no-damn-alias]

@@SuperalbsTravels oh cool. Looked at the prices and if you use that heavily that is not even so expensive. Thank you for the voice overs on the more recent videos. Way better

[@SuperalbsTravels]

@@no-damn-alias I like to use the pass heavily, at least 500mi+ per day! ;) Thanks!

[@everythingbyjanetdullaghan5122]

05:00

[@RocketJSykes]

btw can you do a journey on BDZ next week?

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Bulgaria looks very cool! I think I might go in a few weeks... 😃

[@RocketJSykes]

@@SuperalbsTravels i mean i'm a local

[@RocketJSykes]

@@SuperalbsTravels and I hope you could launch a Discord

[@SuperalbsTravels]

What cool trains are operating in Bulgaria?

[@RocketJSykes]

@@SuperalbsTravels Well, maybe you should take it from the Capital, Sofia to the sea capital, Varna. If i could, I would help you, but I can't.

[@WillsJazzLoft]

€ 4.00 sounds very affordable for an interurban train ride

[@SuperalbsTravels]

That would be great! But I already had a ticket, and this was just the optional seat reservation fee.

[@WillsJazzLoft]

@@SuperalbsTravels oh l get it. I figured that I might have misunderstood. Thanks

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Not a problem! I certainly wouldn't complain if it were that cheap, though! 🤣

[@eddiedawkinskingofuniverse]

You were in Mutti Merkel's hometown

[@LoveSydney2023]

ICE train should be named ICS train, inter city slow train: not on time, slow, inefficient, poor services and expensive relative to distance. If you want challenge your patience, just try. Good luck!

[@DanMAD]

My gripe so far with ICE trains, is that even though I reserved the seats every time, there was always someone in them. The last time we couldn't even move them since they insisted they were told by someone from DB the seats were free. Since there was no help on board, we had to find different seats. It really puts me off using the trains, since they aren't exactly cheap either. At this rate, I'll get a car just to avoid dealing with these stupid situations.

[@Keithbarber]

I like posting first comments but have nothing to say that is worthwhile

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Fair enough! 😅

[@danielslovacek2101]

I do love German trains do much but I don't think 21p/mi is a great value. Moreover, is extremely overpriced, with Germany and the UK being the two most expensive European countries in the of train ticket prices. But as I said, the trains are great!

[@SuperalbsTravels]

It's not that cheap, but there are so many great features that it is pretty good for me. 😁

[@danielslovacek2101]

@@SuperalbsTravels Yeah, the quality is definitely fabulous

[@paul_ko]

@@danielslovacek2101 If you buy your ticket a couple weeks in advance, you can get from Hamburg to Munich (800km/500mi) for about €18, which would be 4p/mi

[@danielslovacek2101]

@@paul_ko I know and I often do it like that. But you don’t always know when you’re gonna need to go somewhere and I really wouldn’t want to have to buy a full-price Flexpreis ticket…

[@Delta-pantages]

Toilet review?

[@sokrates3900]

Believe me, a toilet review would let you vomit. Mostly they are dirty, seldom equipped with the essential things like soap or paper. Thankfully I don't need the German railway system due to the fact I use my car. Sorry, but it's to expensive, you can't rely on the DB, very often unpolite staff.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Sorry, not on this trip!