Germany's UNIQUE regional train - IRE 200

Hallo!
In December of 2022, Germany opened a new high speed line between Ulm and Wendlingen, they also launched the IRE 200, which is probably the most unique regional train in Germany!
Enjoy :-)
- TRIP INFORMATION -
RECORDED IN MAY 2023
Railway company: DB Regio
Train type: Vectrons and IC1 coaches
From: Wendlinger (Neckar) to Ulm Hbf
Time: 27 min
Price: 15,20€
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00:00 : Intro
01:14 : The IRE 200
04:24 : Boarding
04:45 : Departure
05:00 : Seat Check
05:34 : Entering the high speed line
05:54 : A new link
06:12 : Mid-roll ads
06:44 : Vectron at full speed
07:06 : Walkthrough
08:57 : Toilets Time
09:19 : A station in between
09:31 : German style
09:49 : Arrival in Ulm
10:22 : Outro

[@anscart2969]

The announcement of a train being canceled in the background at 3:10 gotta be the most DB-experience ever

[@emeraldskiesoficeland]

I'd argue it's the new norm. I can't think of a single instance over the last 3-4 years where ICE's or regional trains have NOT been delayed.

[@Guy-Zero]

@@emeraldskiesoficeland I get why youre overexaggerating for ICE trains but for regionals? They are on time or less than 6min lates over 90% of the time. Still some work to do but not as bad as you make it sound

[@mijos3]

Once had a late night (2am) ICE ride Göttingen to Hamburg. The train had 15 minutes delay when it arrived in Göttingen and arrived 8 minutes early into Hamburg. That’s of course not the norm and kind of impossible during the day because of all the traffic, just sharing my experience. And - as the comment above me already said - it‘s really not as bad as you make it sound.

[@Foxy_AR]

Watching this on a German regional train 🙃

[@eyyyyyyyyyyy]

inception

[@osirisdatz]

UWeX

[@mstrmren]

2:50 - The wrapping also has a funny "hidden meaning", because "Zügiger" usually isn't the word you would've used in this context. They probably used "Zügiger" instead of "Schneller" which essentially is the same but used more often, but they used in this case since train in German is "Zug". So you could roughly translate the meaning to "There's nothing faster than the train"

[@elsyvien]

no because here im "Schwabenländle" you say zügiger instead of schneller haha

[@mstrmren]

@@elsyvien Oh, that makes even more sense

[@petelobl]

A little Spanglish maybe: Nothing’s more LOCOmotive ;0

[@andy1307t]

3:04 The sound of horror 😂😂 -> MEX 5 to Tübingen HBF via Öttingen, Departure 14:19, is cancelled due to lack of personnel. (short term)

[@pascal9280]

Ich dachts mir auch, perfekte Darstellung deutscher Zuverlässigkeit im Bahnverkehr😂😂

[@olli2591]

Concerning 3:26: The IC 1 coaches are older than the 90s. They were modernized and sometimes even reconstructed in the 90s, but all of them were built before 1991, some even before 1980. Some of them are so outdated that they couldn't even go up to 200 km/h in the beginning and had to be retrofitted later.

[@Fan652w]

Thanks for this video! Two points to note. The Nuremberg-Ingolstadt-Munich Regional Express service uses the Nuremberg-Ingolstadt high speed line. Secondly, and far more importantly, and a point you should have stressed, the new 49-Euros-a month [the whole of] Deutschland Ticket IS VALID ON THE Wendlingen-Ulm RE (and on the Nuremberg-Ingolstadt RE).

[@Eurobazz]

Thanks. You've answered my important question.

[@aleszitka]

@@Eurobazz NIM should be high speed between Ingolstadt and Nurberg only. And after these coaches (now used in Ulm) there was set with Skoda lokomotive (DB 102) and Skoda "doppelstock" coach set with control car. And now they use Desiro HC in red livery...

[@EnjoyFirefighting]

In the past few years Germany already had an (almost) equally fast regional express train running on the very same dedicated high speed track which is normally used by the ICE trains, connecting the cities of Munich and Nuremberg. K own Munich Nuremberg Express

[@andy1307t]

And they took those train sets away from that line and so the Bavarian RE 1 now has the train problems.

[@jonasbaumgart4933]

​@@andy1307tRegional Services in Germany are ordered by the state governments. The state of Bavaria unfortunately failed to order a correct amount of functioning regional trains able to operate at those high speeds. The fact that the new Skoda EMUs are utter shit doesn't help either.

[@dp0456]

​@@jonasbaumgart4933Bavaria government doesn't have specific requirements for the regional services. That's why the trains there mostly not even got WiFi nor chargers for phones.

[@letsplaypetrus4802]

​@@dp0456 They do have specific orders for the trains, but they did not include wifi etc.

[@dp0456]

@@letsplaypetrus4802 do they include wheels?

[@ichbinsnicht5860]

2:39 small correction: The IRE 200 will cease to exist because of the IRE 1 that will run from Lindau to Karlsruhe(and also the RE5 between Karlsruhe and Ulm). The IRE200 is just a substitute line until Stuttgart 21 is finished.

[@georgobergfell]

Ich denke, dass die Coradia Stream HC da sein werden, bevor S21 fertig ist

[@ichbinsnicht5860]

@@georgobergfell also in einem Bericht meinten die vorraussichtlich Inbetriebnahme Dez 2025 mehr weiß ich nicht

[@georgobergfell]

​@@ichbinsnicht5860 ja, die Züge sollen auch 2025 in Dienst gestellt werden

[@jonasbaumgart4933]

​@@ichbinsnicht5860Ja, IBN Fahrplanwechsel Ende 2025 steht noch.

[@robin0496]

@@georgobergfell Ich sehe den Ersatzverkehr schon kommen...

[@josephtan1818]

Those yellow object at the centre of the track is called balise, what it does is it send signalling information and speed restrictions to the cab that are equipped with in cab signalling

[@feluno]

I actually got up really soon on the first day of operation to catch the 3rd train ever on this Service. I think it's incredible that this is literally a regional / commuter train, hitting 200 km/h or 125 mph, while some countries can't even manage to get a decent bus network running...

[@manuelbonet]

There are some Avant regional services in Spain that run at 250 km/h

[@secretlycanine]

The «TER 200» runs between Bâle SNCF and Strasbourg Ville and also runs at 200km/h. According to French Wikipedia it runs since 1991.

[@stephanweinberger]

And in Austria we had the REX200 regional trains on the Westbahn highspeed line.

[@georgobergfell]

I like your mixture of train spotting/trip report

[@danielconrad399]

Another great video Thibault. In your 'classic' format, please keep it up.

[@scottyerkes1867]

Nice ride on a regional train. Thanks Thibault. 💋😀

[@Chrizz06041980]

Thanks a lot for this nice video. I'm living in Kirchheim unter Teck, the big neighbour town of Wendlingen am Neckar. The track is peripheral going through my hometown. The locomotives the castle Teck is shown.❤ I rode with this train twice last January.

[@AndrewG1989]

Germany does have the best rolling stocks. Ranging from regional to high speed and suburban trains that serves cities in Germany including Berlin. I still would like to go to Germany.

[@emeraldskiesoficeland]

I think they used to. Many places in Asia have caught up and provide way better rolling stock and services than Europe now. Germany's network connectivity is amazing though. Quality of Service has greatly dropped however.

[@thomasnovacek4686]

No! In terms of network, Germany can at best be found in the middle of the European railways. Technology from the 1930s can still be found on a number of main railways, there are many maintenance and repair backlogs, and many vehicles have many technical problems. Countries like Switzerland or Austria have much better things to offer. The Czech Republic, for example, has already overtaken Germany over long stretches, and other Eastern European countries are on course to overtake.

[@EnjoyFirefighting]

@@thomasnovacek4686 still definetly in the upper range ... in most countries you find somewhat outdated tech being used on rail lines to this day. Just take a look at Norway: very modern country, moving towards electric powered everything, but the country's longest rail line is still diesel powered to this day

[@unepintade]

You put far too much trust in Siemens' work

[@NoZoDE]

@@unepintade Siemens stuff still has better quality than the locos by Skoda. I personally also don't like the Alstom stock

[@timnewman1172]

Thank you Thibault, once again I'm envious of you!

[@cedricbauer2025]

Important to mention that this train is included in 49€ monthly Deutschlandticket

[@avatar_auxbourgh2010]

-Thank you for this video

[@rezaalan3991]

Great trip, and yeah what a unique train.

[@luisstransport]

Great trip report

[@ncard00]

Saw a video with 2 Taurus vs 2 Vectron locos pulling and pushing some double decker regional coaches. Yes, the Vectron was fast as you mentioned here, but no comparison against the 2 Taurus, it was insane, I've never seen a loco hauled train accelerating that fast before, and of course 1 Taurus on it's own without coaches is insanely quick as well compared to Vectron, and Taurus has the best sound of any machine ever made by man, the around 1.5 octave long music scale.

[@emmanuelphilippart4615]

Nice trip !

[@EliasLarsson-ck6qn]

Love your vids 👍

[@shankewang5802]

Man you're lucky, I've been taking DB trains for ages, I've never been on a ontime one :(

[@TheScherenschleifer]

In Ulm, on the same track, there starting the train to Oberstdorf. A beautiful journey too.

[@PointOfTrips]

Fantastic service! Competitive and attractive.

[@shinonomekyoichi4485]

Best train fan channel of Europe/US ever I've seen! I can give you some interesting info about Japanese train when you come to my country! Thx for beautiful video!

[@user-px7xd7gz2j]

Thank you for always delivering wonderful videos. I'm really looking forward to seeing it. I have one favour to ask. It will be a reference when using the toilet, so please take a picture of the scene where the toilet water flows (the flushed water is sucked into the underfloor tank) when visiting the toilet. Please.

[@juliendefreyne]

beau train allemand j'adore l'intérieur merci simpli railways

[@philthai99]

So very nice.

[@applebased8936]

please check the new Munich-Nuremberg-Express Train, it is nothing like the old IC1 Cars anymore and a special construction just for this route

[@petrsovicka]

Great review! What a weird trainset! Let's review something strange next time as well and look at the Skoda Dostos from the München-Nürnberg Express until it's too late and they fell apart because of the lack of spare parts for this unique stock...

[@Trainviking]

This is really a unique train, happy you made a trip report on this 😊. Do you know when the new trains are planned to enter service? (Of course, planned doesn't mean realized).

[@olli2591]

In December 2025, together with the S 21 opening.

[@Trainviking]

@olli2591 thank you 😊

[@TheScherenschleifer]

A another interesting trip is from Rastatt to Freudenstadt by AVG with panorama windows.

[@Abnerbandanovotempoinscrito1mi]

Boa viagem ai simplys 🎉

[@aleszitka]

Running is only two trainsets but third is a backup. And there is 7 Vectrons. 6 in this livery and 1 white only...

[@daanwolters3751]

About the acceleration, just wait untill the alstrom concordia runs in Denmark, they have the best acceleration for trains going 200 km/h! (The versions for the netherlands wont accelerate as fast, because of their DC overhead system).

[@altavelmcnamara]

Actually not as fast as 2 Vectrons with 5 cars.

[@atillakas2504]

0:03 Wendlingen this is the place where i live :)

[@benteyssen5720]

Die IR Züge Ende der 90er hatten auch oftmals zwei Loks und fuhren bis zu 200km/h. Konnte man mit einem günstigen Nahverkehrsticket nutzen und die fuhren deutschlandweit. Später wurden die Wagen im IC Verkehr benutzt.

[@XZagatoX]

It's a brilliant train. Like many others, watching this while riding it lol

[@vaaggasje]

I'm going to miss the Geislinger Steige

[@christophsaviation2045]

You can still run there, There are quite some IC / EC and RJ connections that will continue to use the Geislinger Steige and whenever I have the time Ill use these over the ICEs on the new HSL cause I like the IC1 and RJ trains better. Obviously though, the new high speed line is great to cur travel times

[@Schweizerleague]

when the new train come to germany, these coachs will be selling to czech republic where they will be like super juper amazing new trains. i m pretty sure :D

[@Happymali10]

The lettering on the Vectron is also a bit of an in-Joke, with "Zügiger" meaning Quicker but also sounding like an "escalation" of "Zug" (Train). So basically saying "it couldn't be more train-ish/train-like"

[@NerdX151]

I wish DB had kept their InterRegio network. While the IRE trains are fast, they do not really offer the same feeder service the IR's did. With the IR trains you had direct connections between multiple branch lines and one major stop. One example was the IR between Fredericia and Hannover, which served not only as an international train, but also as local train on the danish side, a semi-fast train between Flensburg and Hamburg, and then as a IC-alternative between Hamburg and Hannover. It was a super unique and convinient system, and usually very cheap.

[@seth_deegan]

Oh my god that is fast

[@christophernoble6810]

IC coaching stock is 200 km/ h compliant. There is also an IRE service between Berlin and Hamburg. Fortunately there are still very many loco-hauled trains in Germany. Excellent video. Please keep to the existing format rather than a narration as it is better suited to this kind of video IMO.

[@raileon]

The Berlin-Hamburg IRE has been cancelled for a few years now sadly.

[@itmkoeln]

The IRE Hamburg to Berlin was canceled in pandemic times and sadly didn't as of yet return.

[@daanwolters3751]

The intercity to amsterdam (from berlin) also travels at 200km/h between Berlin and Hannover as well. To be 230km late 2024 I believe.

[@puffypegion7815]

Can wait for you to try out the Shinkansen someday lol

[@TutorialesDePiano2024]

Nice video 📹 0:34

[@amarthakertanegara]

haha not the "still out" caption pop up 😂😂😂

[@petitjeanmanon5791]

🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@CLechleitner42]

I rode that IRE twice last weekend. On my Deutschticket which is only 49 € per month for (almost) all regional and local transport in the whole country ;-)

[@robertkiefer965]

The french Alsace region has its TER200 since 10+ years

[@rbearne1]

I'm not sure how they are designated on these trains but those compartments used to be second class when I travelled on them regularly at the end of the 2000s

[@MooRhy]

1:04 15,20 € is the price from Stuttgart, not Wendlingen. From Wendlingen it's 9,50 €.

[@francois_manach5725]

There is also the Z21700, a series of French trains which can run at 200 km/h and are also equipped with ETCS

[@unepintade]

As well as the Z54500

[@michaelhall8586]

I really need to do a proper German travel trip

[@EinChris75]

2 Vectron AC (BR 193) is 2 x 6400 kW

Two Vectrons without the acceleration limiting must be awesome! I think in theory the driving car could work with the Vectron as the loco supports the older ZWS remote control system too. (which is used by the driving car). ETCS would still be an issue. There are also Vectron sandwich regional trains on the Nürnberg Leipzig high speed line.

[@letsplaypetrus4802]

The RE19, but it only goes as far north as Coburg

[@letsplaypetrus4802]

Also to be hundret percent technical the Highspeedline goes from Ebensfeld to Erfurt

[@itmkoeln]

IC/IR control cars (they are functionally the same anyways) don't support ETCS. Not even the ICE MET had ETCS. They use it for the PreService IRE200 mostly because IC control cars do have bike racks and support having a loco powering the train in front of it (this is commonly used for the switch over to Diesel on the IC from and to Westerrland (Sylt). Where the Diesel locos (either 2 218 or one 245) are coupled in front and the 101 in the back will be decoupled waiting for the train from Sylt.

[@wernerderchamp]

@@letsplaypetrus4802 the line will be extended to Erfurt 5 times per day starting summer 2024. Also completely new Desiro HC trains that can go 189kmh (while the Vectrons could go 200, the train cars can only go 150).

[@AndrewTheRadarMan]

Those German "Old" coaches are much better than our 50+ year old amfleets.

[@noah.lifestyle]

There are coaches with a modernised toilet.

[@tDASH97]

"bro was out"😂

[@BengtHansves]

You miss the "Geislinger Steige" !

[@AnnabelSmyth]

The train was on time? We have been inter-railing around Europe for the past fortnight, and I think only one, or maybe two, trains have been on time! The rest have varied between 15 minutes and 6 1/2 hours late!

[@eddi5190]

The seats are Original IC 1 seats ,thats Whats Theo are so comfortable

[@schoeMful]

"Thanks to Gässler Dental-Technik eK for sponsoring todays video"

[@jonathankleinow2073]

Hail Vectron!

[@UNWk392A]

Its a Ire (inter Regio express)

[@YTYoshi_LP]

4:57 wait thats possible in germany?😂😂😂 Anyways nice video

[@ethancampbell6076]

9:06 Is that a modified Dyson dryer?

[@massmike11]

Those of us with not great eyes have a hard time reading that thin little white font on a light background. Something to increase the contrast or putting it in a text box would be nice

[@CRtrain]

Impressive trains. Still light years ahead of USA.

[@izu1525]

austria had for a time a regional train going just as fast. REX200 was going between Amstetten and Vienna with 200kmph. Hauled by a 1x16 locomotive and usually 5 old intercity coaches. the train has since been replaced with the CityJetExpress and has been downgraded to 160kmph top speed. the coaches have also been scrapped or are used in other intercity and eurocity consists now

[@EpicThe112]

You mean Österreicher Bundesbahn Baureihe 1016-1216 locomotives which are known in Germany as Deutsche Bahn Baureihe 182 & 183 neu. As a matter of fact the Austrian locomotive can operate the regional train if needed.

[@izu1525]

@@EpicThe112 ye, i ment our 1x16 family, which does include 1016, 1116 and 1216. 1016 and 1116 used to pull the REX 200, but a 1216 would also do the job if necessary, hence why i wrote 1x16

[@n.hermann7200]

"Bro was out."

[@anastasio_giorghio]

He deserves a good nap

[@mattingham83]

Poor tired bro! 😂

[@EminencePhront]

That poor guy fell asleep not realizing the back of his head would be famous.

[@anastasio_giorghio]

He deserves that nap he worked hard for the country

[@lokyinszegwrraillover158]

@ Simply Railway can make your own Wikipedia ?

[@anastasio_giorghio]

5:30 just let him sleep he worked hard for the country

[@dp0456]

Funny when people are making videos of your daily route to work

[@kurthackenberg9549]

Did I just miss something or did I see plugs on the armrests? (Because you said there were no plugs). To me it looked like there are some, but maybe I just saw it wrong yt…

[@olli2591]

What you saw on the armrest, is the seat recline lever, not a power socket. But these trains do have a few power sockets, though only near the four seats. You can see one on the wall on the right at 7:54 or at 7:59 for example. Also, there are power sockets in the first class compartments next to the trash can (see 7:18). This setup was deemed suitable in the 90s, when only the very few people with laptops back then needed power sockets on a train. As described in the video, these trains will be replaced by 2025, so a modernization is off the menu.

[@Trainspotter_aus_sachsen]

Pls do tu RE6 (Leipzig Chemnitz) one of the oldest operativ trains using ER20 Wittenberg Steuerkopf And compartement Coaches sadly this train running Till Dezember than itbwill use battery coradia Continental And when the RE6 hraješ your ears Will Expload, maybe wath some Photos of waht the train Looks Like, why battery the passengers dont Like thé train Bc wheelchair Access loud etc.

[@gamingnathanbyaameshy9170]

Why dont they use BR101 insted of br193 ?

[@itmkoeln]

Wendlingen - Ulm is the second track in DBs network that requires ETCS Level 2 for track access (the other being VDE 8.1/8.2 Leipzig/Halle Fulda/Nürnberg). BR101 the usual pairing with IC coaches are almost exclusively owned by either DB Cargo or DB Fernverkehrszüge not Regio in this case Baden-Württemberg. Additionally 101 like the control cars (which this train mostly only carries because IC cab cars have bike racks) of IC/IR sets only support LZB and PZB90 (and it is not economically to retrofit & license it. As 101 are actively withdrawn and either sold or ending up the way of old metal… As it turned out that the later use of 101 in cargo was unlikely as it turned out despite being designed as a universal loco (like a Eurosprinter ES64 or a Vectron MS they are run way too long and showed construction deficiencies when they were tested for high-speed cargo use… As it is a stopgapservice anyways it is cheeper to rent Vectrons till the intended rolling stock takes over

[@EpicThe112]

Why not run this all the way to Mannheim Hauptbahnhof since the full name of the Ulm HSR is Schnellfahrstrecke Mannheim Ulm halfway point is Stuttgart Hbf. Sitting here in the late nights you will see DB Baureihe 185.2 187 MRCE Baureihe 182 185.5 Railpool Baureihe 185.6 Pressnitztalbahn 155 actually use the high-speed line Schnellfahrstrecke Stuttgart Ulm since the line is designed like Schnellfahrstrecke Hannover Würzburg which is in train Sim World 3. Schnellfahrstrecke Hannover Berlin Schnellfahrstrecke Rhein-Main are the first two German high-speed lines to have slab tracks

[@itmkoeln]

From what I recon they don’t have (as of yet a time table slot for services into Stuttgart Hbf (and likely don’t have till both S21 is finished and the Coradia Stream HC are delivered

[@EpicThe112]

@@itmkoeln Thanks for telling me about that if they do then this service can run Mannheim Ulm. At night the mentioned locomotives are using the whole HSR with them using the passing Sidings to let this regional through then their turn.

[@itmkoeln]

@@EpicThe112 The IRE is for the Time being a prestige service for the 3 services and BWegt. They did not plan to run services over Wendlingen Ulm untill S21 is built, even plan Märklingen orginally.

[@hagmax1531]

Well, it will be an extension of the already existing Ire1 Karlsruhe-Stuttgart and RE 5 Stuttgart- Friedrichshafen. There's enough high speed train connections between Mannheim and Stuttgart/Ulm.

[@EpicThe112]

@@hagmax1531 Thanks for the information about it.

[@Luwi75]

Einfach schade, dass diese Züge nicht bis nach Plochingen „hinunter“ fahren.

[@georgobergfell]

Zu wenig Kapa auf der Neckartalbahn, sonst wäre es bestimmt so gemacht worden

[@Eurobazz]

Can the €49 Deutschlandticket be used on this train Thibault?

[@Fan652w]

Yes, and it can be used on the on Nuremberg-Ingolstadt-Munich REs which also use a high-speed line. I am amazed that Thibault omitted to mention the Deutschland Ticket. It is clearly an extremely important fares development, which will be watched closely in other countries.

[@Eurobazz]

@@Fan652w Very true.

[@itmkoeln]

@@Fan652w maybe it was filmed before may 2023? So the Deutschlandticket was not introduced yet?!

[@Fan652w]

@@itmkoeln The 'Trip Information' tells us that the video was filmed in May 2023. The Deutschland Tickets started on May 1st.

[@ki5739]

Why making the Vectron for 230 km/h if there is a Taurus? And why two locos for this light train?

[@AndersHenke]

The terminal stations don’t have a turning loop, so the train will need to return into the opposite direction by having the driver switch to the other side of the train’s control cab. And in this case, the other side of the coaches is a functioning control cab of the 1990ies coaches, which is not equipped with ETCS signaling and due to its limited signaling equipment limited to 160 kph and is not welcome on ETCSv-only tracks. So: sandwich some older yet 200kph-certified rolling stock with two rented ETCS-equipped Vectrons, use one locomotive for active propulsion and the other one for the return. Only one of both is actually pulling the train, the other one serves more or less as a ETCS-equipped control cab.

[@AndersHenke]

There’s a neat introduction for this line on the (German-Language) KZbin channel of „Peterle Sky“, who also happens to be one of the train drivers on that line.

[@itmkoeln]

DB don‘t own that many Taurus locos. Unlike the ÖBB and CD the ES64U was rather uncommon and the 25 locos DB bought as DB 182 were actually bought because the DB 152 (which was the cargo variant was not getting a operational license for Austria). So DB desperately bought 182s based on the 3rd Taurus series. Vectron and Smartron are way more common as are Traxx variants in DB. Afterall you have to train the staff and with the incoming talgo sets which will be operated on a Dual Mode Vectron based on the 248 alongside the upcoming DB 105 Talgo locos on Vectrons anyway… They need to double head the train as DB does not own any ETCS L2 capable control cars at least no IC1 cars and it is easier from a operational stand to Just sandwich the train then to turn around the engine… They could have loaned IC2 KISS2 units from DB Fernverkehr but Fernverkehr literally has no spares as it is already. As the KISS2 units are needed…

[@TohaBgood2]

Why is there almost never level-boarding in Europe. Don't they have ADA-like requirements for disabled passenger access? I'm always amazed how poorly they serve the disabled passengers. Even the new trains and new stations do not seem to ever have level boarding.

[@AndersHenke]

This case is an extremely good one: the car was designed for a long distance train, who have been using a different platform level than regional trains have been using. And different regional railway stations also used different platform levels as well (up to four different across Germany), as it was historically up to each region to agree on their platform level, and in some cases, the same train will need to cover two or three different levels. This is being worked on, both by adjusting platform levels, integrating lifts into cars for wheelchair users and (at worst) offering a station-staff operated platform-movable wheelchair lift (requires prior free booking). There’s pressure to reduce that insanity, but this would also require replacing many cars.

[@TohaBgood2]

@@AndersHenke What a mess. And I thought we had problems with platform heights in the US. But I guess at least we don't have competing height standards.

[@sepruecom]

Because European railways must be fully intercompatible all across the continent (at least the Standard Gauge networks), from France to Poland and Norway to Italy, Romania and Bulgaria. (Great Britain is actually outside this compatibility focus, since that only got relevant since building the channel tunnel, and Spain/Portugal only have limited high-speed, standard gauge networks, they mostly run broad gauge). That's why they came up with that 55 cm "mid-platform" thingie, which comes as close as possible to "high platform", while maintaining platform clearance for trains from all these parts of Europe. There are ADA-compliance like requirements, which are (again) implemented quite differently across the particular networks. In Germany (outside of some "S-Bahn" networks, which often have actual high-floor platforms) this is done by little hand-cranked elevators that can be pushed to the door, the railways staff will help people get on board with those. Some rolling stock is mid-floor (and thus platform high at these 55-cm platforms, but there are many others which don't have that standard), some have on-board ramps that fold out of the train, some even powered elevators. In Italy, most trains have low-floor middle sections. And in some other countries, they don't really care all that much about disability access (yet)...

[@paellamaster8305]

@@TohaBgood2 not an American complaining about European trains

[@TohaBgood2]

​@@paellamaster8305 It is objectively true that the ADA legislation in the US is much stronger and much stricter that European disability compliance regulations. And it was enforced nation-wide all around the US a good 15-20 years ahead of anything like it appearing in Europe, depending on the country in question. This is not an exotic view. Pretty much any European visitor to the US will quickly notice that the all the ramps, the braille signs, the wheelchair lifts, etc. are a lot more widespread in the US than in Europe. I was just surprised that even the HSR platforms, even in new facilities are often not ADA compliant. It's weird to see this from an American perspective. I thought that this is a solved issue. Apparently it's not.

[@nob4131]

*GERMONEY*

[@hansmitdergans7879]

I still don't get it. This connection is so unattractive because you gain absolutely nothing compared to the old route because of the trip to Wendlingen you first have to do. This train could have been tied through in some form to Stuttgart or at least to Plochingen. Perhaps that was not possible because the routes to be traveled are too busy for another hourly connection. But with the given service, it hardly surprises me that I have never been able to see a full train on this line. This emptiness would be the main reason for me to use the line, because the other trains between Stuttgart and Ulm via Geislingen are usually very full.

[@Fan652w]

And remember that the 49 Euro a Month [whole of] Deutschland Ticket is valid on the Ulm-Wendlingen service

[@jan-lukas]

Yeah, this line will extend through Stuttgart when S21 hopefully opens in 2025

[@pascal9280]

@@jan-lukas Good joke

[@DrWatson610]

My personal conspiracy theory is that they're using the few passengers as test subjects to figure out if there's any faults in the newly built tracks and if the train derails and explodes, nobody will care because there's so few people on the train anyway.

[@alexlaw19]

At least the IRE200 is always punctual, unlike other trains on the line (Yes, I am talking about you RE5!), which gives IRE200 and a connection to Tuebingen very feasible and less likely to de delayed.

[@racingweirdo]

I dont know if this is good or really bad. DB got more than ten years to prepare themself for this line by ordering new trains on time

[@georgobergfell]

The Merklingen stop was added to the plans of the high speed line only in 2016 (!) Construction of the station started in 2017, long after the high speed line construction started!

[@raileon]

I think they were ordered by the state, not DB. But I'm not sure.

[@olli2591]

DB has nothing to do with this, regional trains are commissioned by the state in Germany. The reason for the lack of new trainsets is rather simple and quite the opposite of what you're thinking. Originally, this IRE line (actually as IRE 1) wasn't supposed to open until when S 21 is opened, so not before the end of 2025. Until then, the new and already ordered trains should be available. But the state decided that it doesn't want to wait that long and, for the time being, wants to open a temporary IRE line (IRE 200) between Wendlingen and Ulm as soon as the HSL was opened. This especially serves the many people on the Schwäbische Alb that get a regional train connection for the first time in their lives with the new stop at Merklingen. Of course, they didn't have the new trains yet, so Baden-Württemberg was glad that they could receive these old trainsets from the Bavarians, that had decided to downgrade the speed of their high-speed regional trains on the München-Nürnberg-Express, which also ran up to 200 km/h before. Baden-Württemberg only hat to switch out the locos, because the BR 101, that the Bavarians used, has no ETCS equipment, which is necessary on this HSL. Also, there's no capacity left for this regional train on the old tracks between Stuttgart and Wendlingen, that are still being used to get from Stuttgart to Wendlingen by all trains until S 21 is finished. When S 21 is ready, this regional train will go up to Stuttgart and further via the rest of the new HSL, that leads it right into the city of Stuttgart. So until S21 is opened, the state has to let it end rather awkwardly at Wendlingen, while most passengers want to go further down the Neckar valley up to Stuttgart. These people have to switch to another regional train at Wendlingen for now. Summarized: The IRE 200 is a compromise in many ways, but it's better than nothing until 2025, especially for the people living on the Alb. Without the dedication of the state Baden-Württemberg, there would've been no regional train on this route until at least late 2025.

[@HenryLoenwind]

@@olli2591 The state doesn't operate those lines. They ask for bids from private companies to operate the them, and the lowest viable bid wins. This, however, means that the operators cannot just order new trains early as they don't know they'll be winning the bid until they do.

[@itmkoeln]

@@HenryLoenwind that is not necessary true… Baden-Württemberg, Lower Saxony, North-Rhine Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein are federal states were the transit authority owns the rolling stock (or some of it. See the Desiro HC units of what will become Rhine-Ruhr express in NRW (currently operated by national express Germany after the abellio contracts were directly operated.) In fact the first state to do this was Baden-Württemberg with Löwentakt (in the late 90s and early 2000s, which scheme is currently known as BWegt/a play on the word bewegt - moved and BW the abbreviation of Baden-Württemberg… (they do own Stadler Flirt operated by Württemberg, Mireo, Lint 54, Talent 2/3, RegioSwinger, Regio Shuttle, Coradia Continental and Desiro HC. Operation was awarded to GoAhead, DB Regio and SWEG Schleswig-Holstein just introduced a scheme based on Twindexx EMUs (Twindexx powercars instead of Traxx ) that are currently operated by DB and Nordbahn

[@cnschu]

some commentary would be great.

[@interficio2548]

bro was out 💤

[@SubiDriver17]

Funny how it looks copied/inspired from the *TER 200*

[@True_NOON]

-Noch nicht abverkauft?-

[@ZoneProfessionalGardening]

What? No graffiti anywhere?

[@anastasio_giorghio]

Germany is clean

[@olli2591]

Baden-Württemberg is a rather tame region of Germany. Economically and socially stable, there's not many graffiti sprayers.

[@ZoneProfessionalGardening]

@@anastasio_giorghio True. I'm half German and the other half Danish.

[@realgeorge]

These videos really need narration! Don't care for subtitles at all.

[@DK-00000]

200kmh loco hauled trains 🥴

[@itmkoeln]

It is for one a stopgap. They plan Coradia Stream HC from Alstom, and don‘t forget the ancestor of the Vectron literally set the electric loco record in 2006 with 357

[@MrTom-xk5vh]

The subtitles are WAY TOO SMALL! Please use an AI or similar text to voice apps to do voice over. I can’t deal with the TINY subtitles in my cell

[@JackJackProductions]

SR: It couldn't be quicker Me: Have you heard of an autobahn. You are legally allowed to drive as fast as you want to

[@lighttecsound6818]

Yeb but you cant go 200/250 km/h ther on a regualar basis because ther are still limitations and especially trafic jams or much traffic in general will leed to longer travletimes.

[@JackJackProductions]

@@lighttecsound6818 You sort of can. We you are not in traffic, pedal to the metal

[@lighttecsound6818]

@@JackJackProductions To be fair "no traffic" is an excepion on the A8 between Stuttgart and Ulm. Only at nighttime.

[@JackJackProductions]

@@stevemyers7312 However by driving, you can go when you want. You can stop where you want. And on the Autobahn network, you can go as fast as you want

[@dielegende9141]

@@JackJackProductions except on the A8 between Stuttgart and Ulm. You stop all the time, no matter if you want to, and you won't go as fast as you'd like to.