ICE trains - InterCityExpress rail travel

Just got back from a trip to The Mosel (bought some 2003 Spatlese from the vineyard, they're picking this years grapes now)

Took the ICE from Berlin to Frankfurt thence to Trier with friends. (Apologies to E.M Forster)

I have to admit that the ICE was very impressive, some points of note:

1. Very comfortable recliner seats (6 1/2 hours to Frankfurt)
2. Reserved seating.
3. Typically good Bordrestaurant.
4. Multi-lingual and perfectly intelligable announcements.
5. Helpful staff..
6. 300 Km/h with a digital readout in the carriage, satisfied the geek in me.
7. Platform guides showing exactly where to stand to board your coach.
8. Departed and arrived exactly on time.

Poor old Rail Track et al look positively arcane.

I guess you were lucky php david ! ...I went off DB after my last experience with "Unternehmen Zukünft ! I wanted to go from Hagen to Munich the only thing they could offer me involved changing trains 5 times and would take 8.5 hours apparently all the direct connections were fully booked ...and all for a King's
ransom ...I drove there in 5 hours.


...well that's certainly a first for the "Deutsche Bahn AG" ...what ever will they think of next next.

I really like those signs on the platforms showing where the carriages will stop so you can find your compartment easily. Such a simple idea but saves a lot of hassle.

Sent my Bro' from Berlin to Frankfurt recently to go and pick up my new car.

The Brit in me reckoned it would be cheaper to get the train - Er...No.

€92 for a 6 hour journey versus A one hour flight with Germania Express for €88

No contest.

this is why I have no plans to travel from hamburg to heidelberg by train...takes forever and costs a fortune!

I remember when I first used an ICE when I was still living in Basel and had to come up to Frankfurt for a job interview. I thought I had stepped into First Class by mistake - very different to even the Swiss trains I had been using! I still have to take the ICE to Basel quite often, and always look forward to it (the journey is beautiful too). And yes, I love going and checking out the digital readout too!

I used to live in Seattle and once had the choice of either flying from New York or taking the train, and I chose to take the train. It took 5 days but sometimes the journey is better than the destination. (Although I think I was 8 hours late or something there).

sorry this is rather pointless topic however over the weekend i travelled with the ICE for the first time (berlin to stuttgart) and i loved it!! loved especially how quiet these trains are! except for some loud annoying people (but i suppose that can be solved by going 1.class) it was v. good. i was on the train for over 12 hrs in total in one day and it did not bother me one bit probably because i took the ICE and not some regional bahn. that is all. :-)

Topics merged by admin

The train doesn't cost that much if you plan ahead and buy a past. I bought a German Youth RailPass and it only cost me 20 EURO from Stuttgart to Munich (same day return)!

I also bought a German youth railpass and travelled from Berlin to Stuttgart and returned the same day, thus using only 1 day of my pass. :-)
I only went specifically for one purpose (to visit one museum) so it worked out really well for me!

..but I don't think the trip cost me 20 EUR if I were to break down the pass fee into per day basis. Maybe like 35 EUR.. but a return trip via ICE for that price is awesome

The past month I've made quite good use of DB's latest offering...the Deutschland Pass. I got the Jugend version for EUR 249 (standard price is EUR 299) and have 1 month of unlimited train travel. It's freakin awesome!! I've gone to Berlin (which would've been EUR 120 return with my BahnCard 50), Köln (got to experience the ultra-fun of speeding along at 300 km/h between Frankfurt Airport and Köln), Heidelberg, just made a day trip to München today and will be going back in a couple of days, and then off to Salzburg this weekend, and perhaps I might go to Hamburg next week just because I can:-).

Has anyone else taken up this great offer? From what I heard this is the first time they have offered this, and it is valid for 1 month between 1 July to 31 August (to make the best of the summer holidays). It lets you take all DB trains (inc. S-bahn, RE, IRE, IC/EC, ICE), and I think even the NachtZug, but you pay extra to reserve seats.

A small query I have with this..and I wonder if anyone can answer..would I be able to jump on a TGV traveling through Germany as part of my connection? From my understanding, under a normal fare, it is considered like an ICE and there are no surcharges to go on it..I wonder!

When Operating in Germany, the TGV is treated as an ICE. If you have a valid ICE ticket and get off before it crosses into France
then there are no further/extra charges

yeah thought so. awesome-o

Most TGV connections are Reserved-only though, just like the ICE Sprinters.