Germany’s FIRST High-Speed Train, is it still good? 

The ICE 1 is like a good old friend who should never disappear 😊.

I was lucky enough to drive these trains myself for 6.5 years. Rarely has someone let me down and stayed put. Admittedly, the years have taken their toll on the machines, but they are still the most reliable horse in the DB stable. Greetings from a train driver from Germany.

My god, your pronunciation of German words is spectacular. I always read how people adore when you speak their language "correctly" and now I can definitely say the same :D Love your videos. I commute by train quite frequently and your videos made me appreciate my long rides a lot more, even with Deutsche Bahn and all its shenanigans.

I personally like the ICE 1 the most. It is the most cozy i think and it has the most leg room. The leg room in second Class is as good as it is in in First Class of newer ICE trains.

The ICE 1 was THE milestone for high-spped rail service in Germany and I totally agree with you that they still live up to their quality, despite being almost 40 years old. Switzerland took some of these into their inventory where they serve long-distance-hauls between Hamburg/Berlin and Interlaken-Ost, as well as Berlin-Basel SBB. The main reason for that decision is their reliability. I wouldn‘t be too surprised if Switzerland would extend their lifespan even past 2030! Although the ride isn‘t as smooth as in a modertn ICE3 (neo)/ICE 4 set, they still can compete easily with other HSR sets worldwide. Interestingly when the USA ditched the ICE in favor for the Bombardier Acela, many Americans considered that decision a bad one as the Bombardier trainsets often tend to fail service. Yet Amtrak sticks to their decision and a recent upgrade even was made in favor for Bombardier instead of Siemens (although the Velaro D (which represent the ICE 3) was never officially tested in the USA). To this very date the USA still lack a reliable HSR throughout the country and it‘ll take for sure another 30-50 years until the USA will be up to code in that. Currently only west and east coast are benefitting from recently initialized projects for next-gen HSR services with completion of the lines mid 2030 to 2040. As you mentioned the ICE 5, yes, the DB are indeed investigating in a replacement for the Velaro D as these trains are also almost 30 years in operation. Siemens and Talgo have both shown concepts already, both looking sleek and modern, while the Talgo has the more aerodynamic design IMHO. You‘ll find videos about future ICE train generations here on RU-vid as well. One word about punctuality: Yes, it is known that long-distance trains of DB are commonly known for their (sometimes heavy) delays and DB still struggles to have them on schedule by now. But it must be also noted that DB has no „Taktfahrplan“ unlike Switzerland, meaning that even the slightest delay can lead to even bigger delays the longer the train is operating. DB is currently undergoing major schedule redesign to overcome this problem but it‘ll take some time, like all good things do. I still have the dream where trains in Germany run as punctual as in Switzerland but with a network that complex and sensitive to delays, this will be no easy task at all.

Just don't go outside of the Frankfurt station and you'll be fine :D

You forgot to mention the high ceilings and upper level windows in the restaurant car which is the special touch of the ICE1 train and no other ICE will ever have anymore.

Old ICE 1 trains used to have screens in the back of the seat in front, even in second class. Every seat also had headphone sockets with 8 programms, 7 and 8 were reserved for the screen entertainement. Seating space was also very high compared to later models.

I remember travelling on one of these in August 1992 when I was Inter-Railing and being really impressed with the ICE. I didn't realise they were so new at the time, until watching this video

1998: I was 20yrs old and booked a 2nd class Eurail pass for Germany. Basically I could travel anywhere on the DB network for 7 days in a month. I slept at Frankfurt airport on the terminal seats a few occasions. I also managed to catch the sleeper train from Brussels to Berlin, and slept in a couchette. These ICE1 trains whisked me the length and breadth of Germany. I was amazed. Fastforward 25 years and I am now very much a First Class traveller by train. Thanks for sharing.

Even though it's 30 years old it still stands well to this day

As a german I expected this video to end horribly. So I'm quite surprised that it seemed like a good run. Though I am annoyed that my thought was "Oh, only 3 minutes late? That's on time!" :D To bad the rail connection to my city got literally washed away in 2021 and they're still not back in action

I used those trains a lot for weekly commuting between Berlin and Düsseldorf in 2008. I liked the design but they were overdue for refurbishment and only had a single socket on tables for four and nothing for all the pairs of seats in between. As soon as they were updated, they were very usable and pleasant - showing that trains can be brilliant for a long time with good maintenance and occasional updates.

I love the way how these German trains are designed.

The ICE 1s restaurant car is gorgeous. Btw.: Germanys first high speed train was the "Fliegender Hamburger" from 1932.

I’m very excited that you took a route that I also travel on quite regularly (Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe-Berlin). Whenever I can, I try to book a connection that's operated by an ICE 1. They are definitely the most comfortable ICE trains. Very happy that you enjoyed your journey. Tbh it even makes me a bit proud.

As far as I'm aware, the station featured in 1:13 isn't actually Frankfurth (am Main) Hbf, but much rather Nürnberg Hbf..

6:35 you can actually see an "Feuewehr-Zug" (Firebrigade Train)

As someone who is from Fulda, I am happy that you actually mentioned our town 😅

It felt like time travel riding this the first time. Digital displays showing your speed and position. They even had A phone booth connected to the mobile network. blasting with 280 km/h to your destination in no time. This was always an experience.

This is my favorite train in Germany. I hope they will have a couple of them preserved as part of their heritage fleet in the future as I would like to ride one of these myself. Great video buddy and thanks for uploading.

The ICE 1 is a great train although they start to show their age. When you sit on a window seat best in the middle of the car. Lean on the wall or stuck you hand between the wall and the seat and you can feel how the car is flexing especially when you're driving into a tunnel at high speeds due to the pressure differentials. Recently took an ICE from Berlin to Munich via Erfurt which was served by an ICE 1 . I was very happy about it not being an ICE 4 . Better seats, more space, faster and quieter. It was running late as a passenger needed medical attention so we were going 280km/h where possible. You could definetly feel the flex being more than in an ICE 3 although that was almost 10 years ago now and being way more than in an ICE 4 but that one's going slower as well. Yes the LDV will shorten these trains for two reasons. Some middle cars are simply too worn so they can't use them any longer. Also they want to protect the power units. They already had to do a full overhaul of the drive train and change the GTOs to IGBT. So they want to baby the trains. How I know DB these trains will run beyond 2030 and only the ICE 5 will replace them. All other trains will simply extend the ICE network as many IC lines will be converted to ICE so people have to pay a higher fare.

I was 10 years old, when the ICE was introduced in 1991. A lot of people here in Germany were immensely proud and looking forward to our domestic national high speed rail service at the time! I remember when the Hannover-Würzburg HSR line was built in the 80s. It cost billions and was quite a an achievement, with gigantic viaducts/bridges and countless tunnels, since the line goes through the super hilly central German uplands, often visible along closeby to the main Autobahn A7 route, with gigantic construction sites at the time… Before that, there were some upgraded main electrified trunk lines in Germany for fast intercity service, which had been upgraded up to 180-200km/h in the 70s along certain routes, but no proper high speed rail until THIS. At the time when the whole German HSR network was originally planned, it was also still a fully nationalized company (it‘s semi-privatized since the 90s, for better or worse). Germany being a pluricentric country with several regional hubs and having a relatively dense network is surely prone to failure when it gets to delays, especially regarding the huge amount of passenger and cargo traffic everywhere. After the 90s, with new international routes towards the East re-established, along with an overall massive increase of traffic, have caused quite a few challenges, not to mention the increasingly bad management of DB in recent years. DB was never perfect, but never this bad in past decades compared to now. Sometimes I think it might be better to put it back under whole national state control, with its own ministry, as was still the case in the 80s.

Very nice Video! Greetings from Germany🇩🇪:)

I like all the ICE's to be honest. 😊 I also can't wait to see the new DB Talgo train sets in action. 😎

Love your videos, as well as the ICE:D I am always impressed by your attention to details and your pronounciation of German words! Little correction though, Germanys busiest station is Hamburg Hauptbahnhof, Frankfurt Hbf is 'just' the second busiest. Keep up your phenomenal videos!

I'm originally from Kassel, nice that you mentioned the RegioTrams, I've been taking one to school and back every day from 1st grade until high school graduation haha

For your subscribers in the United States it should be familiar to them because 30 years ago DB Baureihe 401 ran between Washington Union Station in New Haven Connecticut both directions alongside the X2000 from Sweden. The high speed line is called Schnellfahrstrecke Hannover Würzburg which your train did the Fulda Hannover segement via Kassel Wilhelmshöhe. The reason why the route has 4 tracks on some parts it's designed to send freight trains during the evening

Damn thanks for uploading. Must be older footage, since in 2:34 you can see a special "Metropolitan" trainset, which left service IIRC two yeras ago.

Ooooooh i love the first generation ICEs! The restaurant with the elevated roof is so classy!

I love the look of the ICE 1 and 2

7:00 Actually, the speed of the high speed railway Hannover-Würzburg is limited to 250 km/h only in tunnels, outside even 280 km/h are allowed. If the train is delayed or not, doesn't matter. But due to the fact that this railway mostly consists of tunnels following close to each other, there are only a few parts between Hannover and Göttingen as well as between Fulda and Würzburg, where it makes sense to push the train to 280 km/h, in case of a delay. But that is the decision of the driver. I've already been on an ICE going 280 km/h there, even though running on time.

Its so cute how you spell german expressions! Im living in Göttingen, north of Kassel and did spend my childhood and youth in a village next to the High Speed Line. I went and am sometimes still seeing ICEs just 15 minutes away from our house there- too bad you didnt include Göttingen in your Presentation!

I am a train driver from DB Fernverkehr and I love the Br401. Although it is over 30 years old it is still such a masterpiece.It's always a pleasure to drive one of them myself.♥️

Fantastic video as always ❤

A very good video, as always :) But respect, you have really done very good and accurate research 👍👍

Funny enough, the ICE 1 that was shipped to the US once i was able to be in the front car with the traindriver cause i'm a trainee at DB Fernverkehr and i was shown the interior of that kind of trains.

I took the ICE 1 from Ribnitz-Damgarten to Hamburg, and while it was only running on a high-speed stretch of track briefly, i must say that the ride was very enjoyable. They are the only ICE trains that still have compartiments, which is a big plus (sadly the trend is for train interiors to be more and more like airplanes). the restaurant car with the higher roof is also something worth noting. overall a very good train after more than 30 years in service.

It's amazing the ICE 1 still is so great in terms of quality today despite it being over 30 years old!

By your wording phrasing within the first 45 seconds alone, you got me to Subscribe. Greetings from a German Train driver.

Reallly enjoyed this one. Cheers! 🍻 It’s certainly an iconic train. 😎

As a little kid I went on the ICE1 once when they were new, I no longer live in Germany but been back for holidays. Last time, I took this service to Frankfurt looking forward to it. The first one broke down, the replacement caught on fire not long after resulting in everyone getting cramped onto an ancient IC service resulting in me almost missing my flight. The ICE1 however still feels very modern and hopefully next time I'll have better luck.

12:40 only 2 minutes behind schedule ... keep in mind: after travelling all across the country, on a route which is by far neither the shortest nor quickest between Munich and Berlin, but obviously covering and serving numerous large cities along its route.

So cool to see my hometown of Braunschweig appear in one of your videos!! 😃👍

there as new inside Design for ice 3 neo br 408 - i really like it because there is a lot of wood inside, i really would like you checking this out and give your comment keep up your good work!

I'm glad you enjoyed. It's nice that it's 30 years old and still in great shape, it's sad that they want to replace it.

Great Video. Thanks!

Congrats with 94000 subscribers 🎉🎉😊

Based on the german train I would guess the Alex video will release soon? :) As a child I had a small model of this train, I still think it looks neat from the outside. Never had the chance to travel on one :( Love your german pronounciations, they are very good.

Thankyou sr. For introducing of this beautifull train and it's fecilitys ❤

i very like your explanations around the journey and the train 10 out of 10 brilliant excellent

Thx for the infos

I'd love to see a ICE 2, ICE T & ICE 3 (Classic) review. Especially with the upgrades all three have received by DB Systemtechnik in recent years.

As a German i have to say that those trains are very confortable, quiet and for me who only uses trains to get to vecation so i don´t need to use seem on the daily basis, i only had good experiences with th ICE trains exept one time where the AC was broken in a carrage and my booked seat wasn´t available and i had to search a new seat and hope that nobody else comes and booked the seat.

I certainly laughed when you tried to put the beer glass in the dedicated detent. Those kinds of things drive me crazy 😅

As an Australian I was excited to visit Germany for the first time last month, I heard a lot of good things about how state of the art their ICE system is, and all I can say is, France and Spain was FAR BETTER. The ICE system was slow and cancelling regularly. I then went to Japan, and that sh*ts on every railway system in the world.

Great trip, it's great to see ICE 1 still in service today and can be operated for extended time. And yeah another hit of Germany pronunciation

Nice! We've a similar tram system here in The Netherlands called 'Randstad Rail'. Based around the city of The Hague and even uses the same types of trams(:

0:45 Even in the dullest of weather...You mean typical German weather 😅😅

1:34 if you filmed this on a tuesday or thursday then there's quite a big chance I was on that specific train. Nice vid as always!

9:59 lol I love that that you refuse to call them ICE's.

My first travel on an intercity train also happen to be on an ICE 1 which happened more than a year ago. Unlike your travel, though, I took an ICE Spriter which took the route further east, going through Erfurt and Halle instead of Kassel and Wolfsburg. A side effect is that most of my journey was on conventional tracks, though I didn't mind it too much in that I prefer rail over air travel. My return journey also ran through the same route, incidentally also ICE 1. The only things which went wrong there was that I got an ICE 1 twice, my first ride had broken reservations and display screens and that they were only relatively punctual (i.e. a couple minutes late) but otherwise was quite a smooth ride.

I rode on many trains in Germany last may. They are pretty old overall, but still a century newer than anything the United States has.

The ICE 1 is an extremely reliable train and also comfortable. It has those older seats with better padding and more legroom, so that the cabin feels spacious, unlike in the ICE 4, where it feels like you are sitting in an airplane. After the first generation ICE 3 that train together with the similar ICE 2 are my most favourite ❤️. They all have those smaller cabins also, which allow some privacy. Sadly the newer ones are just built to get as much people as possible into a train and are not about comfort. The new seats are also a huge downgrade compared to those in the ICE 1 and 2.

I fucking hate how the ICE is 30 years old and still looks/works better than Amtrak’s 20-year old Acela 😑

Nice 😊I took this train from Köln to Düsseldorf(on the 2 of November)😊😊

There's just something magnificent about it's shape and design. It just looks so smooth and seamless. My older brother had an electronic toy ICE with tracks as a kid. This only adds to the nostalgia. I personally have never been on one.

"we cross the river Main after which the city is named" Frankmain am Furt.

German here. IMO the ICE 1,2 and original 3 still hold up amazingly well considering their age. We have regional trains that are 3 years old that feel FAR worse to ride on than the ICE 1. Sure, it's not perfect and there are things that the 2 and 3 and espeically 4, even if I don't like that one, improved upon, but it still holds up absolutely well.

Brunswick is not the 'historical' name, but rather the english transliteration of Braunschweig, as it has always been known to the Germans.

When did you take this trip? The at 2:33 train is one of the old Metropolitan trains (basically a luxury variant of the German intercity trains) that were decommissioned in 2021. Either this recording is from before the decommissioning or they were reactivated.

I took ICE trains this year. They were expensive, late and absolutely full. My train from Berlin to Frankfurt had people without seat reservations sitting in reserved seats, standing in the isles. A filthy guy with a large dog tried to sit next to me I had to get staff to help. A group of guys got extremely drunk on another train in reserved 1st class they were extremely loud. Many staff didn’t do anything and the buffet car was too busy. Never again.

Quick tip for 1st clas seat service if no personel is around: in the iceportal, you can check on the menu tab to the right, you can order the Things you want directly to your seat via giving your coach No. and seat number. It is not available all the time, i even had it one time that it said it is available, but got an notification that due to understaffing my order can not be delivered to me directly. But mist times it is available

I remember being very excited to see them back in 1994 but our regional pass did not allow free travel on it unlike EuroCity etc. My first trip on one was in 2001 and I was very impressed.

These are probably my favourite high speed trains.

One should note that although the later ICE versions are supposed to be „more modern“ doesn‘t really mean they are better than the ICE 1. Legroom has decreased as well as general comfort of the seats in the later ICE versions. Unfortunately I don‘t have a link to a video which shows the comparison. Also the early ICE 1 interior is really in need for refurbishment by now.

I had the pleasure of traveling with one last summer, in second class. First leg of the journey, they radiate a sort of calmness that more modern ICE carriages, as well as more modern trains in general, miss.

Nice vid and good pronounciation of german Cities and words.

One thing I like to do is pluck the string at the side of the window. And yes if you book ahead you can sometimes get very reasonably priced first class tickets (Supersparpreis). You won't have lounge access though. ICE 1 is especially popular among those who like travelling in compartments (aren't they 5-seat in first class?)

Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe or as it goes by its nick name "Palace of a thousand winds" 😃

You CAN use the DB lounge if you have a first class ticket.

Frankfurt actually has 29 tracks. 1-24, 1a, 101-104

The first ones are the most comfortable in my opinion

1:13 was the Nürnberg Hauptbahnhof :)

If you wanna look at a trainride, that is a bit... "slower" and older, maybe the HSB is something for you. Thats the "Harzer Schmalspurbahnen". They mainly run steam trains for tourists, BUT there most of the routes are build in the public transportation network and are used as "normal" trains. So, if you will, thats the last steam powered regional train in germany. They run, for example the "Harzer Querbahn". That goes from Wernigerode to Nordhausen. Sometimes they use there Dieselengines or just Dieselunits. But sometimes they are using the steam trains :)

In Spain we have a similar case to these ICE 1 train, but we have AVE 100 series, to put on service in 1992 due to the opening of Madrid - Seville train line. They are still in service, it seems like they are good trains too. Quite older but reliable at the end. For 2024 talgo 106 series will be active trains, AVRIL.

Frankfurt am Main was not named after the river Main. The "am Main" is only there as there are two cities called Frankfurt the other one being on the river Oder. The am Main means on the Main.

The ICE1 is just the best train, the DB ever took in service for long distance high speed and it seems, that it will been forever. It is just the only one, that can be passed inside from one end to the other. In each car, you have seperate computers to control the doors, the air condition and each of the two toilets. Each car has four doors. Furthermore, you have a mix of compartments and open space. The space itself is uncomparable. For luggage, garbage and supplements, there is a lot of space, too. Despite there is a whole restaurant car that cuts first and second class. Unfortunately, no other train could reach the same standards.

Had the ICE 1 a few times as a replacement for the ICE 4 earlier this year traveling from Leipzig to Frankfurt aM. I'd say I was lucky then, since they are way more comfortable than the ICE4.🥰

nice watching from Bangladesh

Everything is fine as long as the Trains don't break down. I have had my fair share of "Reparatur am Zug"!

I rode the ICE (and X2000) in Amtrak service 30 years ago. Instead they bought junk they are trying to replace. Yet the original ICE and X2000 will be in service to and through the end of this decade.

Hi, I'm just here to compliment your pronounciation of these German city names

I have the ice 1 as a model railway from märklin 🙂

@ 8:13 'That's what I call a realy, realy proper poured Weizenbier. 😁Zum Wohl 🍻 After 32 year in business, they still look better than everything the USA has to offer, not to mention the speed. 😉 Two days ago I saw a YT-Vid about the problems of the Acela trains from Alstom. Looks like they made a wrong decission back in '93! 😂 Thx for taking us with u on this trip. 👍🏾😎

This ICE is lovely, footrest well sized trey tables even in second class.

As with our much loved HST 125's, this train proves that new isn't always best.

1:52 Trenitalia as well these days :)

The front grill reminds me of my 2005 Saab 9-5.

The ICE 1 trains will always be legendary in the eyes of train enthusiasts, even though they're being replaced by new versions of the ICE, which isn't quite as comfortable as the one you're on. Good German engineering. 🇩🇪 Will Germany go in the way of France and ban domestic flights due to environmental and convenience considerations? Only time will tell. But first, DB needs to fix its poor reliability. 🛠