ICE Intercity Express Legacy

ICE Intercity Express

ICE Legacy

On 5 October 2006, the Deutsche Post AG released a series of stamps, among them a stamp picturing an ICE 3, at 55+25 euro cents.

In 2006, Lego modelled one of its train sets after the ICE. A Railworks add on is available for Train Simulator 2018 accurately reflecting the original 1991 version of the ICE on German tracks (Siegen to Hagen). There is also an addon utilising the Munich - Augsburg line using ICE 3 trainsets. The ICE 3 can also be used in Career scenarios on the Mannheim-Karlsruhe route (including the extension to Frankfurt), and Cologne-Düsseldorf. The ICE T, ICE 2, and ICE TD are also available for purchase as separate vehicles.

ICE

The Intercity Express is commonly known as ICE is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany. It also serves some destinations in Austria, France, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands, mostly as part of cross border services. It is the highest service category of rail and the flagship train of the German state railway, Deutsche Bahn. There are currently 315 trainsets in use. ICE trains are the highest category (Class A) trains in the fare system of the Deutsche Bahn. Their fares are not calculated on a fixed per-kilometre table as with other trains, but instead have fixed prices for station-to-station connections, levied on the grounds that the ICE trains have a higher level of comfort. Travelling at speeds up to 320 km/h (200 mph), they are tailored for business travellers or long-distance commuters and are marketed by Deutsche Bahn as an alternative to flights.

Apart from domestic use, the trains can also be seen in countries neighbouring Germany. There are, for example, ICE 1 lines to Basel and Zurich. ICE 3 trains also run to Liège and Brussels and at lower speeds to Amsterdam. On 10 June 2007, a new line between Paris and Frankfurt/Stuttgart was opened, jointly operated by ICE and TGV trains. ICE trains to London via the Channel Tunnel were planned for 2018; however, DB has stated it is awaiting new class 407 rolling stock before it can run the route. DB received its certificate to run trains through the tunnel in June 2013. While ICE 3M trains operate the Paris-Frankfurt service (with the exception of trains 9553/9552, which operate with TGV Duplex equipment and are cross-crewed with both SNCF and DB staff), SNCF's TGV runs from Paris to Munich (via Stuttgart), with mixed crews on both trains. German and Austrian ICE T trains run to Vienna.

The Spanish railway operator RENFE also employs trains based on the ICE 3 (Siemens Velaro) called AVE Class 103, which are certified to run at speeds up to 350 km/h (220 mph). Wider versions were ordered by China for the Beijing-Tianjin intercity railway link (CRH 3) and by Russia for the Moscow-Saint Petersburg and Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod routes (Velaro RUS).

ICE Scale Models

Various ICE train scale models in several scales have been produced by Märklin, Fleischmann, Roco, Trix, Mehano, PIKO and Lima.

ICE Ridership

Ridership
Year	million riders	±% p.a.
1991	5.1	-
1992	10.2	+100.00%
1993	14.6	+43.14%
1994	21.3	+45.89%
1995	27.2	+27.70%
2000	41.6	+8.87%
2005	66.8	+9.94%
2010	77.8	+3.10%
2015	80	+0.56%
2018	94	+5.52%
2019	99.2	+5.53%

From its inception in July 1991 to 2006, ICE has transported roughly 550 million passengers, including 67 million in 2005. The cumulative sum of passengers is roughly 1.25 billion in 2015.

ICE Overview

Locale: Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland and France. Formerly Denmark.
Dates of Operation: 1985-present
Track Gauge: 1,435mm Standard gauge

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