Germany’s EXPERIMENTAL high-speed train! The story of the ICE-T

Today, I'm taking you on a trip onboard the unique ICE-T that doesn't quite fit in with the other models of the iconic German high-speed train. So, join me for the story of how they came to be and whether they still measure up to the other trains on the German rails.
Follow me on Twitter / intercitysimon
Train type: ICE-T (Br 411 + Br 415)
Route: (Weisbaden) - Frankfurt Hbf - Leipzig Hbf - (Dresden)
Train: ICE 1559
Distance: 379 km
Journey time: 3h5m
Average speed: 123 km/h
Price: 25,90€

[@alexpetrov3289]

The great thing about delayed trains in germany is that sometimes they are sync delayed 😄I loved that you pointed that out

[@Simon-Andersen]

Thanks! Yes haha, sometimes it actually works out in your favour. The current DB reliablity however is something that really needs to be improved.

[@Wasabi37a]

They neglected investments into improving the existing rails for the last 20-30 years, so there are many places that need work done. There are currently plans to improve this, but all the required work on existing tracks means that it will get worse in the next few years while they fix stuff.

[@eliasklssn8061]

Just two small corrections: it's Wiesbaden and Riesa ;)

[@RKMa64]

Come on guys, he is great. Dont pick on small stuff! 😎

[@Simon-Andersen]

That is correct! Its easy to overlook these typos sometimes when its places you're not familier with :-)

[@wfkonynenberg5242]

It's easy. In non-english languages, ei is pronounced like ie and ie is pronounced like ei. :-)

[@admiralxxx9279]

Weisbaden has me rolling on the floor

[@Simon-Andersen]

Glad my oversights at least brought some joy 😂

[@davidfriedrich1373]

Im a train driver from Nurenberg, Germany. The tilting technology is a good thing (when it works), which it at least in 50% of all 411/415(ICE-T) trains it dosn't. As well the driver needs to have education of the "GNT" (Geschwindigkeitsüberwachung für NeiTech-Züge) which translates to Speed ​​monitoring for tilting trains. It only needs one day of instruction and a test to get it, how ever at DB Fernverkehr from all of germany only drivers located in Nurenberg still get it. Every timetable for the trains in whole germany works fine, even without tilting. So you dont must have it it, but it helps do reduce delay. For your particular trip, anyway its just on a short section technically available, but in the most cases it wont be a driver from nurenberg or/and its not working. We (nuremberg drivers) still get it, because for the Frankfurt - Nuremberg - Passau section its really helpful, its available on 80% of the whole journey. So if there is not another train blocking you upfront, you can reduce a delay from up to 30 minutes down to 0. In extrem cases (close before Passau) you can drive 155km/h instead of 110km/h. For us drivers its really fun, for the guests and cabin crew sometimes not so much. Thanks for reading and sorry for my english.

[@AggroJordan86]

Thanks for these insights. As a frequent guest, that Perspecive is really nice 👍

[@giatiexwkanali2750]

Why doesn’t it work in all of them? Lack of maintenance?

[@giatiexwkanali2750]

Why doesn’t it work in all of them? Lack of maintenance?

[@davidfriedrich1373]

@@giatiexwkanali2750 Yes

[@Simon-Andersen]

Thanks David, this was very intresting to read. I had no trouble understanding your english :-)

[@madisontara5717]

As an Austrian when I'm visiting my German friends i often take the train from Vienna, Passau to Frankfurt am Main. This route is also often served by ICE-T which is one of my favourite trains for long travels and the train travels even furhter through the Rhine valleys Mainz, Koblenz, Bonn, Cologne and so on until it terminates in Dortmund. The Route is not the fastest one could take but it is certanly a very beautiful route.

[@Simon-Andersen]

The run along the Rhine is fantastic! My ICE i arrived on to Frankfurt was diverted that way from Düsseldorf :D

[@OnkelJajusBahn]

It is the same for me, I also live in Austria and I love ICE-T. It is my favorite ICE

[@MartieGG]

In Norway, where I live, they introduced tilting trains in 1999, which fit for the curly lines in southern Norway. Unfortunately many reported getting dizzy by the tilting mechanism, so it was therefore turned off, and is still to this day.

[@grobauer9757]

There also has been more IC(-E)-Services with tilting technology: ICE TD and for a very short time BR 612

[@epender]

He probably knows of that one, it ran services between Germany and Denmark between 2007 and 2017 :)

[@leanderhartl9504]

@@ependerBut also Service between Nürnberg and Leipzig earlier to this

[@Simon-Andersen]

Yes that is true! I should deffo have mentioned the ICE-TD its a train i am very familier with having lived close to Nykøbing F where they used to pass by all the time on the Copenhagen-Hamburg trains

[@fixh]

​@@leanderhartl9504ICE-TD and IC (BR 612) was in use between Nuremberg and Dresden

[@peterelvery]

And the 610 and 611

[@rbrouns9569]

Yes, the ICE is a very comfortable train, but it looks that nowadays they never run on time. Great video!

[@Simon-Andersen]

Thanks! Yes its a shame about the preformance of DB atm, i took 3 trains that day and all of them were late

[@ProfTydrim]

A consequence of 20 years of the conservative party being leader in the government. Thankfully we're now starting to properly fund the railways, but it will take many years to repair the damage I'm afraid.

[@DaGuys470]

@@Simon-Andersen What people fail to realize is that the increasingly bad performance these last 6-9 months or so is mostly caused by construction as DB tries to improve performance long-time. The next few years will suck, but if the plan is successful we'll have much more punctual trains afterwards. Not that I think it's gonna solve the problem, but it'll help.

[@grobauer9757]

The route start was in "Wiesbaden"

[@Simon-Andersen]

It does, typo on my end!

[@TheCell-vx3pk]

Two months prior your journey three buddies and I went to a week long vacation in Sinsheim. We also encountered a 40min delay in Düsseldorf. What annoys me the most about the DB is that you are always expected to go out of your way to be on time for your ticked, knowing fully well, that the Bahn will not be. That goes especially for connecting regional trains before your ticketed train, that are covered by your ticket. In order to be 100% safe I planned to take the regional train that departs prior the one I have to use. Well, the one I have to use is an RE (Regional Express), that takes only 30min to get me to Düsseldorf. The one I planned to take was a RB (Regionalbahn), that take 60min to get me to Düsseldorf. So getting there 30min and taking the RB earlier would get me to Düsseldorf on the same time (actually ~5min sooner) than the RE. So in case there are delays, both would be affected the same way... So I got the the station another 30min sooner, to be an hour early in Düsseldorf. Yes, I really didn't want to miss the ICE two of my buddies were on already. Yes, It's that exact ICE that was delayed by 40min... And also yes, I didn't have any delays in the RE, and wouldn't have in the following RB and RE either. So I spent 1h40min in Düsseldorf with my buddy... And this was just the first problem... Next was our connecting train in Mannheim being delayed by 30min, and cancelled when it did arrive. It being Monday evening, the next RE was filled to the brim and we had to stand until we arrived in Sinsheim. But it wasn't a surprise, considering that the track between Mannheim and Heilbronn through Sinsheim is mostly single track. That means if one train is delayed, all are. And that delay adds up... So all trips we took via train from Sinsheim were severely delayed. There also was just one or two shelters on either station on that route, with maybe 3-4 seats. It was raining almost daily... AND the shelters were full... The trip back home was similarly eventful. Same procedure with the RE and RB happened with RB and the S-Bahn between Sinsheim and Mannheim. Though rest of the journey had only little delays. I think it was 20min in Mannheim, and another 5min in Düsseldorf. But hey, at least I saw a TGV inn Düsseldorf. First time seeing one.

[@Catonaut.]

Great train. Used it many years to travel to my grandparents while watchign TV in it. Still has the biggest leg space of all ICE trains. I love it

[@Guy-Zero]

Considering the small trip the ICE T had before arriving in Frankfurt (Edit: apparently it started in Frankfurt. So my assumption could actually be true) it could be that it didnt actually have a delay but was waiting for you and other passengers to get their connection

You traveled with my train (train set 1501 with name "Eisenach") through my hometown, Greetings from "Eisenach". :-)

[@WildWildWeasel]

I read it as "ice tea" haha, I'll call em that way from now on xD

[@Catonaut.]

well many people from other countries read them as ice trains, because they are "white" as ice

[@dsdonovan]

Another great video. What did you think of the tilting technology compared with similar trains in Europe?

[@Simon-Andersen]

Its quite good! Train is smooth and fast so i guess after all the initial problems they managed to get it work properly

[@flo6119]

It has the same tilting technologie as the Pendolino trains. The ICE TD, the diesel version, had a Siemens tilting system and it was not as good.

[@crispyB]

This was excellent, Simon. Everything fully and clearly explained. And over here in North America, trains like that are almost non-existent.

[@michaelhall8586]

Germany has such wonderful trains

[@paulrandig]

I love the design of the ICE trains. Exteriour and interior.

[@InTeCredo]

ICE T and its rare diesel-powered ICE TD (often used by Danish Railway) weren't first trains in Germany to use the tilting technology. This goes to the DB Class 610 (introduced in 1992) and DB Class 611 (introduced in 1996). You can still ride DB Class 610/611 trains in southeastern Bavaria, serving Rosenheim as hub. Deutsche Bahn wanted to build a brand-new through station a bit south of the current Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (a project called Frankfurt 21). The new station would save about 30 minutes when travelling between Cologne and Munich and to reduce the backlog (common problem at Frankfurt Hbf and many terminus stations, including Munich). The mayor screamed, "Absolutely NO!" The passengers who travelled through Frankfurt to other destinations screamed, "Absolutely YES!" The project was abandoned as it would be too expensive to move everything from the current site to the new site, including the trams, S-Bahn, and U-Bahn. Stuttgart got lucky with the perfect location for the expensive conversion from the terminus to through station.

[@rossfororder]

It wouldn't be a db train without it being late, I saw your video on going from Sydney to the blue mountains, unfortunately we don't have a much in the way of intercity trains in Australia, hopefully that will change

[@FabiFliegt]

For your safety! BLUR FACES in Germany. we have hard restrictions of filming other people. It is called DSGVO.

[@RKMa64]

One off the best Trainchannels on KZbin. Your travels look expensive. Do you have a sponsor? 😎

[@Simon-Andersen]

No sponsors, i generally travel quite cheaply staying mostly in hostels etc, I work part-time along my studies and make some money off youtube as well which i mostly spend on more travel :-)

[@RKMa64]

@@Simon-Andersen hope you make more money on You Tube so can keep filming 😎

[@philismenko]

Finally, as an American from the American South, I can get behind some iced tea!

[@gefitrop3496]

Good video, I alsk really wanna go on the ICE T some time. By the way, your connection actually may have waited (intentional delay) so all passengers from your train could take it.

[@Simon-Andersen]

Thanks for the info! That might have been the case, or it was also simply also caught up in all the other delays around Frankfurt.

[@KommandoCraftLP]

About the delay at the start: It is not rare that connecting trains wait for delayed previous ones. You can also inquire that through the train staff. And on them having excellent seats: Have you had experience with the newest Eurostar (formerly Thalys) trains that service between Dortmund and Paris? I only booked second class and was absolutely overwhealmed by the comfort, size, design and features. Can recommend, although sadly not all of the trains on that line are as modern.

[@Simon-Andersen]

I haven't been on Thalys / Eurostar, so can't comment on the comfort. But they are tgv trains which are ussualy great trains (shame their operators rarely is great)

[@mx338]

The ICE-T probably has my favourite first class, you can see they tried to make this a comfortable train. I personally didn't like the seat in the front of the train the lack of a table is inconvenient.

[@Tafazy_Channel]

Treni bellissimi!!! Like

[@saintuk70]

As a kid in the 1980's I used to marvel at the APT that sat in the sheds close to Glasgow's motorway - such a shame the UK then sold on the tech rather than invest and develop further. The tech today, well, that's now sold back to us and used on the routes intended for the APT.

[@mariokrings]

[0:39] Frankfurt has actually 25 platforms above ground (platforms 1-24 and platform 1a) and 4 aditional platforms underground (101-104). So all together 29 platforms. The most famous however is _Gleis 25_ (platform 25) which is an almost 24/7 bar right across the street. From 2026 on there will be a new platform 25 introduced (inside the station). Big question: will the bar keep her name or will it be platform 26 from this day on..? 😉

[@MausTheGerman]

You pronounce the German city names better than most native speakers 👍😀

[@Simon-Andersen]

Thanks!

[@mspotato138]

I love how Germany has great engineering, great trains and a mentality of puntuality and living ecologically. So you woul think people would love to take the train. But we also have the Deutsche Bahn. And it makes everyone to never want to take a train again.

[@beyondEV]

SBB moved away from tilting tech. One of the reasons given was: if a tilting train malfunctions you can't use non tilting reserve stock and keep it on schedule. and unlike germany, the swiss rail network is insanely frequented. Most ICE now turn around in Basel, as they're simply to delayed. improving tracks may take longer and is more expensive but it's more a robust improvement as well.

[@10C45E]

They made the ICE-T! XD (Iced tea)

[@redhidinghood9337]

The train I usually take isn't high speed but also tilts and I often get nauseous when riding, especially when I'm standing- then it's unavoidable

[@Simon-Andersen]

That is unfortunately a disadvantage to this technology, depending on how its implemented it can lead to motion sickness in some people.

[@EngelDerVerdammnis]

I can't get over my dislike of this type mostly on DB used it a few years ago. Used to travel Nürnberg-Hannover regulary and they used different types ICE1, ICE T and sometimes ICE 2 back in the day for that relation. The 1 and 2 could go faster to catch up delay on the highspeed track while the normal non delay travel time was the T's max speed and they were always almost delayed. Made swapping to RE in Hannover a pain if the delay was too high which was mostly on T models the case.

[@Simon-Andersen]

Bit of a timetabling issue from DB it sounds like. I think these days punctuality is quite poor across the fleet

[@timbacchus]

Ice on Ice

[@Locomotor1979]

every thing the Ice3series and further is in co-operation whit JNR since pantograph and wheels comes from them and titling whas inveted by italy but never got it to wrok until gemrany managed it to make it work

[@stephendoherty8291]

Note the laptop users booked more premium seats. Simple extra feature to get more expensive bookings

[@cmilkau]

Is it a new version? ICE T with Neigetechnik has existed for 25 years now.

[@Simon-Andersen]

No, titling technology is the English word for it 😀

[@anticat867]

In der Schweiz haben wir den "Pendolino" in diesem bin ich nach einer kurzen Fahrt schon seekrank. Wie ist der Komfort im ICE-T?

[@MonkeyDRuffy82]

Das selbe. Ist das selbe System.

[@melaniedrogr951]

I mean, if you have a direct train they are really nice. But you have to take a bit more margin in transfers in germamy, and want to limit the number of transfers. (altough not as much as you'd need far more time for a transfer in paris, due to having to switch stations)

[@Simon-Andersen]

If DB sells a connection on their website it should be possiblet to make.

[@melaniedrogr951]

@@Simon-Andersen as in they will let you onto the next train/make sure you'd reach your destination yes. But, i would recommend keeping a bit more spare time (15-20 minutes minimum), than the deutsche bahn.

[@Schnaitheimer]

@@melaniedrogr951 well, one can also get refunds in case of delays, so if it doesn't matter if you're on time or not or you don't need a reservated seat, just book the fastest connection possible and get refund if you're delayed by more than one hour (if the reason is for the RU). And if you're on time, you can be lucky too ;-) But at least planning with a buffer of 1-2 hours in Germany, depending on the length of your stretch, is quite recommanded.

[@melaniedrogr951]

@@Schnaitheimer sometimes different routes can be faster or slower depending on how much transit times you are willing to take. You have cases where it is either an reroute which is 40 min slower, but has a 25 min transit, or a faster route with 10 min transit. And quite often if you miss the transit you lose one or 2 hours. So it is worthwile to take the slower route, in some cases.

[@tld8102]

Why didn’t they make more?

[@carisi2k11]

No lets talk about the ICE-TD......

[@Simon-Andersen]

Also a very intresting train, that i am very familier with, but hard to make a video about a train that no longer runs :(

[@davidjackson7281]

l am a bit confused. Does not hsr start at 250 kph?

[@Kuatier]

Normaly yes, 230 is "higher speed rail". Its confusion and to say the ICE T is a true ICE train is somewhat debated by train enthusiasts. And afaik it was originally planned to be an InterCity train rather than an ICE, same goes for the ICE 4 (Project Name ICx) and the (soon to arrive) newest train in DBs ICE fleet, the ICE L (Project name ECx). But due to them beeing able to charge a bit higher fees for ICE-Tickets instead of IC-Tickets, they market them as ICEs.

[@chip_1462]

Weisbaden?

[@winnied87]

Ice tea? 😂

[@Simon-Andersen]

delicious train! (and a bit of humor :P)

3:00 Wiesbaden, not Weisbaden ;-)

[@Deepthought-42]

So much better liveries than the hotch potch of UK privatised trains.

[@tatzecom]

Bad Hersfeld mentioned!

[@Gollas4k]

passiert nicht oft

[@Notsogoodguitarguy]

I dunno how you managed to get a price of only 26 euro for a 300km trip. I used to commute between Frankfurt and Karlsruhe almost daily about 6 years ago. Even back then, I was paying about 300 euros per month (and that was with Bahncard 50) for just the 100km or so between the cities. That was about 20 euros per day with 50% discount from the card. Either DB have done something to seriously reduce prices, or I dunno what exactly is going on. Maybe because you weren't traveling via ICE but ICE-T. Or maybe because the route from Karlsruhe to Frankfurt and back is so busy and prices are higher.

[@Simon-Andersen]

These are non-flexible fixed train tickets purchased in advance, the earlier you book the higher chance of finding one. I had a look in a months time and there are tickets for 14.90 on some depatures between Frankfurt and Karlsruhe

[@Notsogoodguitarguy]

@@Simon-Andersen ah, yeah, that's fair. I basically had to book the day before

[@olafgogmo5426]

Nice video. But: it's Wiesbaden, not Weisbaden.

[@robinyoutube7862]

You should cover the faces of the children you filmed without permission.

[@aviano72]

Do you miss the ICE TD ?

[@Simon-Andersen]

I do! Many memories of them on the Copenhagen-Hamburg trains as a young boy

[@Metalien669]

within 2 minutes of being at frankfurt hbf i got asked for money, very rich and poor place at the same time

[@maxart3392]

It may be worth noticing that the tilting technology used is the same as Pendolino's. Unfortunately these trains are about to be phased out and - if I'm informed correctly - replaced by Talgos. Does anybody know what's gonna happen to them. They are too young to be scrapped.

[@drdewott9154]

I think they might be scrapped. I know their diesel siblings, the ICE-TD have been very VERY expensive to operate and maintain. They were absolute maintenance hogs. DSB loaned them from Deutsche Bahn for a 10 year period to use on the Copenhagen-Hamburg-Berlin route, as well as Aarhus-Hamburg. However in the mid 2010's they were at the time that they needed a mid-life refurbishment. Deutsche Bahn didn't want to pay and offered DSB to buy the units, which they also declined. DSB may have been in a huge rolling stock shortage at the time but even the ICE-TD wasn't worth it, and now most are scrapped. I'd assume a lot of the same issues apply to the electric ICE-T Interestingly DSB has now ordered 16 new trains for their international services, and low and behold, they're Talgos. Exact same design as the ICE-L too minus a dining carriage and the Talgo built locomotives. The first of DSB's talgos will enter service domestically in the summer, and then on the Copenhagen to Hamburg route in December. At the same time as DB will put theirs into service on the Berlin to Amsterdam route.

[@Simon-Andersen]

I dont think they are meant to be replaced by the talgos. Afaik they are planned to be kept in service till 2030.

[@ofgjf]

@@Simon-Andersen At least some of the ICE-T just got the seats renewed

[@whiskeysk]

E6 series says hi...

[@widecross]

So the actual topic was covered in 20 seconds of a 12minutes video? 😂

[@markus1351]

btw it's Wiesbaden, not Weisbaden ^^

[@Simon-Andersen]

I know, mistakes happen :P

[@stephendoherty8291]

How are Germans not going nuts with late trains. Its like clocks being late in Switzerland

[@IBims1Mark]

weisbaden?????

[@HansBezemer]

I can't say I consider an average speed of 120 km/h to be "high speed".

[@Simon-Andersen]

Train is, but the route it runs on mostly is not.

[@HansBezemer]

@@Simon-Andersen Academically speaking, that's an interesting point. From the view of the passenger, it's totally insignificant.

[@aitammatia]

The City you mean is Wiesbaden not Weisbaden.

[@LeTeeno]

3:00 "Weisbaden" 💀

[@haidarsaleh5074]

Excuse me, Weis what now? Its WIESbaden 😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@alph5230]

Has anyone been on a ICE-T where the glass was not frosted?

[@trainenthusiast7695]

I've been on an ICE 3 twice where it wasn't frosted. It has almost exactly the same setup in front as the T with the small group of seats and that window.

[@alph5230]

@@trainenthusiast7695 It also happened to me on the ICE 3, but never on the ICE-T even though I rode it many more times, so now I'm wondering if I should still buy seat reservations there, since the side windows there are quite small

[@Simon-Andersen]

Yes but many years ago, i expect most drivers want the privacy which is a shame from the train geek perspective.

[@mevideym]

Yes, because the frosting was broken on one side

[@Homelander489]

I am nightmare walking psychopath talking

[@namasbouer4075]

Why German trains are so late? Is punctuality not big in Germany?

[@Simon-Andersen]

Not when it comes to trains anymore, the german railway network is in a bit of a sad state atm

[@namasbouer4075]

@@Simon-Andersen that is sad to hear. I hope Germany finds a solution. I work many years as a welder for German engineers, they are very smart and capable people.

[@dziltener]

What exactly is "experimental" about this train?

[@kecskesadam]

Way back at the beginning of the 90's the first gen ICE did 250 km/h. After more than 30 years the 4th or 5th gen ICE can't even make that any more. Nice bit of developement, DB, bravo.

[@Wakajce]

They all go at least 250km/h except for the ICE T

[@breaklux3823]

I'm sure DB would be perfectly capable of ordering higher speed trains, if Germany had enough dedicated high speed lines, where these trains could actually achieve their top speed. They don't.

[@Wakajce]

@@breaklux3823 this would've been my next point. So I'm confused as to why you initially criticised ordering slower trains

[@InTeCredo]

ICE 1 and ICE 2 could do 280 km/h on some high-speed routes, including Nuremberg-Ingolstadt trunk route as I have ridden on all ICE trains (except ICE TD). It's nothing to do with train technology per se. We have what is called "Wutburger" (angry citizens) who refuse to allow high-speed routes be build (due to the noise and such). They have abused the judicial process to stop ANY constructions or projects they deemed a "threat" to their peace and quiet as well as to the "environmental damage". Case in point: Nuremberg wanted to complete connecting two parts (northern and southern) of Autobahn A73 parts by building the tunnel underneath the city. However, one asshat living above the future construction project sued to prevent the construction from proceeding because he feared the noise from the boring machine would disturb his peace and quiet. The court agreed. 25 years of planning went down the toilet just because of one resident. It's same reason why Germany couldn't build the high-voltage electricity trunk lines from north to south, transmitting the electricity from the windmills in the north. Southern Germany has to import the electricity from the nuclear power plants in France when the demand exceed the supply.

[@perfanta4214]

Showing all the people unblurred is not cool

[@soundfilet1373]

ich finde die stahlgefederten Drehgestelle des Wackeldackels echt rumpelig und unkomfortabel

[@peetKa]

The driving experience is sickening. you realy get sick from the tilting

[@IdeI2StOnEd]

look how they massacred my german town names