ICE INTERNATIONAL - Amsterdam to Frankfurt at 300km/h on Germany’s Most UNRELIABLE High Speed Train! 

Try the RE13 Hamm to Venlo. Now that is unreliable!

I took an ICE international from Cologne to Brussels this summer. It was cancelled in Liege after having had to reboot the entire train a few times during the trip and everyone had to transfer to an InterCity train, which fortunately had plenty of space. A more reliable train would definitely be welcome!

I rode Brussels to Cologne on this train a couple of weeks ago. It was very pleasant, I didn't realise this ICE model had so many issues. Thanks for the great video.

Fun fact at the line at 7:17 this line is also equipped with ETCS. Meaning ICEs when they switch over to it, can run at 160km/h here. But it is super bumpy when they do

While Siegburg/Bonn is on the Cologne-Frankfurt HSL, the actual high-speed section of it with 300km/h track limit beginns just south of the station. The section between Cologne and Siegburg (incl. two run-through tracks in the station without platform) are 200km/h.

😍 Thanx voor sharing!

Thanks for sharing a wonderful experience of same route, which I had when the ICE1 began their services firstly.

The start-up sound when this train is leaving the station is my favorite train sound ever.

Great video, I also really like the acceleration sound of these trains!

I frequently travelled from Brussels to Cochem via Konlenz using ICE and local trains. I got so fed up with delays, cancelations and missed connections that if I have to make that journey now I go via Luxembourg. On paper the journey is longer but in reality works out faster because of the usual delays. I try not to use DB at all if I can help it.

Great vlog. Thanks

Last year, I travelled on both the Brussels-Frankfurt and Amsterdam-Frankfurt. Honestly with varrying levels of succes. Amsterdam-Frankfurt was a breeze, no delay and I believe fewer stops in Germany than your train had, the other trips had lots of delays. Brussels-Frankfurt was a disaster, the train was cancelled at Liège, causing all passengers to try and get to Aachen on the regional train on the same route, which just does not have the same capacity. I do hope things will improve with the NEO, because the connection truly has a lot of potential.

I absolutely enjoyed your video, you have a new subscriber 😊

Great video, nice shots, editing, narration! Thank you! Watched the whole video even though I recently rode the train myself. On our trip to Amsterdam we had to divert to a different city in the Ruhr Area, Oberhausen, change trains and then go by another route entirely, via Venlo and Nijmegen I think. Had a few hours delay, 2? At any rate it was enough to get some money back, I think it was half of the price. We had our own compartment, the family compartment in 2nd class, because we have small children and reserved it early enough to get in. That is a really nice way to travel, a lot better than by car, because you can give your children your full attention without having to stop. Also a note on the speed limits. Duisburg and Düsseldorf for instance are really right next to one another in an urban agglomeration with other nearby cities. So not only would it be a waste of energy to accelerate to full speed there, it is also a noise pollution issue in the densely populated area imo. Same thing for Düsseldorf to Cologne, passing through the cities of Monheim and Leverkusen. The Ruhr Area is so dense that there isn’t really a point to high speed trains because they stop at all the major cities anyways. Anecdotally, I recently used the ICE to go on a daytrip to Düsseldorf from Cologne because it was only a couple Euros more expensive and the schedule fit my needs better, but it is also only like 5 minutes faster than the Regional Express Train.

I got this train once and like you had a very pleasant on time journey, I've also had it cancelled on me twice though and noticed it cancelled on the boards at Frankfurt quite often so not surprised about the poor reliability you mention. I've seen this train terminate in Cologne on arrival from Amsterdam a couple of times as well.

Rijks museum and Rijks monument are pronounced in English more or less like bike - . So, Rike's museum and Rike's monument would be correct. It is of course similar to the German word Reich for reference. Oh and my favorite ICE would be the original. I was amazed as a little boy how cool the French orange TGV's and the original ICE trains looked, especially the Marklin model sets of those. When I get on a high speed train and we achieve that magical 300 km/h speed I still feel like a little boy, watching the landscape fly by in amazement. You just dont get that sense of velocity and momentum on a plane. By the way, the stretch between Arnhem and Duesseldorf is a nightmare. It seems like its always under construction.

Nice video! I used ICE train last year, Brussels- Frankfurt- Dresden, to and fro. The onward journey was comfortable, except a small delay reaching final destination. Coming back , the train back to Brussels from Frankfurt was cancelled and provided with another train an hour later.

Fantastic video! I frequently travel on the High-Speed Line and often choose to avoid the trains from or to Amsterdam/Brussels due to numerous unfavorable experiences with the BR406. The most significant delay I've encountered was a staggering 5 hours. Fortunately, with trains operating on a 10 to 30-minute cycle on the High-Speed Line, opting for an alternate train poses no problem.

i very much like your voice and your explanations very nice

Nice vid love when you upload

I took that Same Train about 4 months ago to Amsterdam and back. Both Times, we were diverted via Mönchengladbach Hauptbahnhof and s'Hertogenbosh. 40 min. Delay

Nice tid bit about the hockey arena...Great video...

I haf to laugh when I heard that 40% of ICE connections to belgium got canceled in 2022. I was on an interrail adventure this exact summer and I had so mutcg trouble getting back to Germany from brussels. I had planed a final stop in colone for that day continuing back home to Stuttgart in the evening but after 2 trains got canceled and the 4th skipping brussels midi. I ended um in Stuttgart without leaving the train station in colone with a minor delay of a few hours. It was adventurous walking into brussels midi after 2 trains got canceled and seeing that the first ICE to Germany on this day will skip the station. The train to brussels nord, some regional train, was full of people that had to catch the train. Than 3 doors where not working which resulted in even more delay and at the end the train stranded in colone and was broken. And my final train of the day to Stuttgart had delay due to short staffed signal boxes in Mainz. So to summarize my useless long story. I would never ever take a train from or to a benelux country ever again😂

I've travelled 100s of times on ICE international during the 2000s and 2010s, with very little problems. Often from Utrecht to Duisburg (and from there to Berlin using DB's ICE service), or to Basel, or Frankfurt (and from there to Vienna), Those trains are really very comfortable and nice. Met a lot of interesting people in the board restaurant.

I used the ICE to get around Germany when I studied abroad there in 2018. Not alone though as it was with other students and professors of course. Initially took it out of Frankfurt airport’s station to Göttingen. And also used it to go to Kassel, Hameln and Berlin among a few other cities throughout northern Germany. Pleasant experience I thought. Hopefully whatever damage the pandemic did to rail travel is soon to recover in due time (if it hasn’t already).

I took this route last week. It was reasonable on time (not quite), but the train itself had many broken bits. Still, quite comfortable.

"Is currently undergoing a renovation" this station is in renovation since its opening(except in the wo2 years) prorail already launches some new ideas to extend the renovation beyond 2030. Multiple generations dont know how the entrance looks like finished.

Ich habe bereit mit den gefahren vor paar Wochen. Es ist einfach a hammer. Wir waren von Frankfurt bis Köln knapp eine Stunde. (45-50 min) TOP

The guy at 10:31 is a world renowned Kotlin Konnoisseur. Missed opportunity. Great video!

ICE are my favorite 😍

We live in Utrecht. I am dearly hoping that it will be possible to book bike reservations on the new ICE 3 Neo connecting Amsterdam to Frankfurt. We sometimes go for bike trips in the south of Germany, and navigating the NRW area on RB64 / RB13 with its reliability issues is a nightmare. However you need to cross that Bermuda triangle to make it to Düsseldorf / Mönchengladbach or even Münster to reach the ICE's (with bike spaces) going to Stuttgart.

However, the ICE is often seen as a prestige project and is not faster than other trains at all. It is 400 km from Amsterdam to Frankfurt, and the high-speed route with 300 km/h is between Siegburg (near Bonn) and Frankfurt Airport (130 km long). So that's only a third of the total distance. On two thirds, the train is not faster than other trains.

I’ve travelled on ICE three times while interrailing in 2018. Every single train seemed to do at least one emergency stop at some point on the route, coming to a complete halt in the middle of nowhere from top speed!

Thank you for this excellent video ! I agree with all that you say, and the ICE3 is far and away my favourite ICE ! I have travelled many times from Amsterdam to Koln by ICE3M, and the trains have behaved perfectly ! The sounds they make are wonderful, and the quality of finish breathtaking, and much better than the ICE4s. The forthcoming ICE3 Neos should be great !

The ICE-3M was my favorite, I love how it looks and drove with it for the first time last year from Amsterdam to Düsseldorf Well, it was an absolute disaster to say none the less... We got in at Amsterdam and we noticed they got a completely different train so our booked seats did *not* have a table nor were they seated next to each other like we booked.. Then there's also the problem that people who did *not* reserve a seat also entered the train making it insanely full (so people had to stand) and humid which got even worse after we left Utrecht because the AC in the WHOLE train except for our car stopped working (and it was a hot summer day at that). Then somewhere along the Betuweroute the intercom stopped working so the people from DB had to go through every car to make an announcement, we then skipped Arnhem and the train got cancelled with end station being Duisburg and leaving us to our own devices to get to Düsseldorf to make our next train which was also insanely full, but it was a short trip so we didn't mind standing for a short bit all the way in the back because this train at least had working airco... It was a very frustrating trip to say the least, at least the ICE 4 to Stuttgart was nice (which is now my favorite ICE, I love how it looks and that beautiful nose) and clean with working airco, the only downsides with the ICE 4 imo is that it isn't muli-voltage cause it could've been very helpful if it were to drive Amsterdam - Frankfurt because of how long and spacious it is. And the 2nd downside is that it's not as quick as the other ICE's with it's 250km/h, though it is getting upgraded to drive 265km/h. But this wouldn't be a problem if it were to drive Amsterdam - Frankfurt since you're only going 140km/h in the Netherlands and 160km/h in Germany. Also, apparently Arnhem is often skipped by the ICE's which lead to a lot of people being stranded

Super nice Video Mate, i suggest you to Go Sleeper, basel - frankfurt Leipzig Prag!

I have to regularly cross the border to the Netherlands. It’s horrible and there are no other alternatives.

Extraordinario viaje

2:03 Platform 1 is only for the sprinter train to Zandvoort and the sprinter to Hoorn via Haarlem. The ICE trains usually depart from platform 2. Never seen an ICE on platform 1.

I took this journey in summer last year... the train only made it to Düsseldorf... with a 20 minute delay.

I travelled Amsterdam-Berlin mid-August. What a let down!. The aircon didn't work properly, catering was reduced and the train arrived over 30 minutes late. Also, had problems finding the 1st Class NS lounge ... travelled from Sloterdijk station and arrived next to platform 1. Having walked the length of the platform I later noticed the signage was facing the other direction. This was not an ICE service, the train was loco hauled, sat in a compartment in the last coach with rear window nearby.

Would love to travel on the ICE.

Be carefull when using the gates at amsterdam central. I accidently checked in with my credit card (nfc) when presenting the QR-code on my phone and was charged 20€. However you can file a chargeback online and they will refund 100% of the charge.

The RJX has a nice Bord Restaurant too

i actually rode it yesterday and was great because i had the table lounge

Its because it needs to be multiple voltage thanks to the refusal of rail administrations even in neighbouring countries that have close ties to liaise with one another when planning electrification

I took this exact train last month and it was delayed 40min due to a snowstorm, with top speed limited to just 200km/h.

This train is my favourite one, it was my childhood excitement.

I took the ICE International in September this year i came +20 mins late in Frankfurt Am Main even though i had a hour conncetion with my next train

Taking the Düsseldorf-Frankfurt ICE up to 6 oder 7 times per month since I live in D. and work in F. What is worth to be mentioned about Köln / Cologne Central / HBF: coming from Messe Deutz via Hohenzollern Bridge you have the narrowest curvature trains can take without being damaged, since tha Central Station needed to be built in the heart of the city center. A botanic garden was sacrificed for that, which then was rebuilt as the "Flora". Because the magnificent cathedral stood in the way of the train line the curve was crucial. Today, trains and tracks still suffer of lot from the friction. The extended roof of Cologne Central was designed to mirror the gothic appearance of the cathedral nearby. Two more stops on the high speed line, Montabaur and Limburg Süd, were built because local politicians demanded their "connection" to the train line as their "price" for giving away that amount of land. Some trains stop everywhere which makes the high speed advantage non-existant. Another stop, from 300 km per hour to zero every 10 or 15 minutes, does that make sense?

9:16 20 years old already?? Man.... it hurts

it would be nice if you show a little bit how it looks outside the train station iam very curios of that thank you nice video

I took the ICE-I from Bruxelles to Köln in 2018.... Was supposed to take it back too but it fält als and so we had to rebook for the Thalys which wouldn't accept railteam/hotnat and so we had to pay €60 each for a ticket and then get this refunded by DB.... The ICE3m is much more comfortable than the Thalys for sure

As a maintenance worker for these I can tell you they can also be a pain in the backend to service. Still kinda like them tho aswell.

This train now detours over 's-Hertogenbosch and Mönchengladbach because they are doing maintnance to the track between Arnhem and Duisburg, and that does not aid the speed of an ICE one bit. The only time we actually were going 140 kmh + was between 's-Hertogenbosch and Eindhoven... Between Mönchengladbach and Cologne, we were lucky to even reach 100!!! Also the train on the trip to Cologne had a tinnitis type of whistling going on, making it slightly unpleasant.

I travel requently between Germany and the Netherlands. Actually, a frequent route of mine is Amsterdam / Frankfurt. It takes me 4 hours by car.

A question please: Did the speed immediately increased when the ICE was under German catenary (15 Kv AC) ? Overhere in Holland its 1,5 Kv DC......

What’s that app u use to check how fast the train is going?

Im flying from the US to Amsterdam. My location doesn't have direct flights to Amsterdam and I'd like to avoid the dumb short flights inside the continent. Is the Frankfurt to Amsterdam train route worth taking instead? I can get a direct flight to Frankfurt easily. I would have to take the 6:30am train to Frankfurt in the morning in order to catch the flight back to the US that leaves at 13:00 or so. Is it too risky schedule wise to take the train back from Amsterdam?

Thanks. I'm always amused by the penchant for timber panels shared by Germans and Brits.

I tried ordering something with the QR code on you video. But It immediately noticed I wasn't on any of the ICE trains 😂

One Info: one ICE3M owned by the Nederlandse Spoorwegen was given to the Deutsche Bahn, so there are only 2 BR406 with the NS-Logo on the train, which being the trainsets „Arnhem“ and „Amsterdam“

I love the shape of its nose. Much nicer than on the Neo or ICE4

How do you film the train arriving at a platform when you’re in it

Just recently took the ICE 156 from Frankfurt Flughafen to Amsterdam CS. Have taken the train several times over the last decades. I’m not of the opinion it’s always been a breeze. There’s a lot of things which should be improved. First of all, for all the EU claptrap on synchronization of the different power systems, why indeed is there still such a difference between DB and NS? After all, the transformers and compressors even start to sound different, when the power is switched. Smooth and low noise on the DB side, noisy and humming like the train got some serious problems on the NS side. Anyhow, on the latest ride. Due to some major work being done, around Cologne and Düsseldorf our initial chosen train didn’t ride, so our ticket was transferred to the ICE 156, which meant one transfer less. Anyhow, familiar with the 156’s path, I was curious for the reason the train wouldn’t stop at Duisburg, Oberhausen, Arnhem, or even Cologne Hauptbahnhof. Seemed the Cologne stop was Köln-Ehrenfeld, and the train would further halt at Mönchen-Gladbach, ‘s Hertogenbosch, before coming to Utrecht. When a decade ago I took the similar route, with the NS intercity to Venlo, Regiobahn from Venlo to Mönchen-Gladbach, and from Mönchen-Gladbach to Cologne, to there transfer to the DB ICE network, I was astounded by the poor quality of these connections, but overall astounded by the fact that the line between Venlo and Mönchen-Gladbach is a single track section. And in fact its main purpose is still freight. Both on the Venlo and Mönchen-Gladbach sides there are two large transit hubs for piggyback trailer transport and transit. These freight trains seem to have the right of way, at least on this particular section of track. Hence, I was wondering what the experience would be to cross this very section of track with the ICE. Even though both DB and NS have invested a lot in their track, through their subsidiaries, the rail line aforementioned is still of the quality of decade ago. The freight trains still seem to have the right of way, and even seem to reach higher speeds on this particular part of the track work. Still ai got the impression the Schaffner and the other personnel did their utmost to get the train moving and arriving on the allotted time schedule, which is of course even more essential for a track section which is consisting of an Einbahnstrecke. Nevertheless, the traffic on the particular section seemed just too high to allow smooth passage for the ICE, just as did several years ago, when I took the REgionalbahn from Venlo. The question therefore should be, why schedule a train over this piece of track, which can’t even handle the traffic which is already allotted to it. In that sense we should ask ourselves if we haven’t done ourselves a disservice, by allowing high speed rail to be built on the same standard gauge normal trains circumvent. In that sense the Japanese have made a much better choice, where all regional and standard intercity rides their equivalent of meter gauge and their Shinkansen is only suited for standard gauge. The weaving in of more tracks to allow for the high speed trains is not going to be helpful, when the track system for lower speed trains isn’t kept up to par. Oh, and definitely agree with the commenter who said the RE13 Hamm to Venlo is a disaster. Because it is!

Does a first class Eurail Pass get you free food, also is wifi free in both first and second class?

Have used the Brussels - Frankfurt ICE on numerous occasions without any delays or cancellations. However, not recently. Perhaps I was just lucky!

The title should be: All trains in Germany are unreliable, but this one is the worst!

Oh Boy. I took this journey last year. First day of my first interrail trip. Well, we hadn't even reached Cologne, when the train broke drown. Well, in Cologne, there was already an reserve train for us, so no problem. We continued with minimal delay. We thought, well, it cannot get worse. Well, it got. Just after crossing the Dutch border, they said that we cannot continue the journey and this train will go back to Frankfurt. So, yeah, we all left the train in 's-Hertogenbosch and continued on Dutch IC trains. Great!

This train drove me nuts while I lived in The Netherlands... Old masochist that I am, I kept taking it and hoping that one day it will be on time and actually finish the journey, but it never ever was: many times coming from Germany it stopped in Arnhem and that was just declared by the staff during the actual ride. Then how many times it did not go to Cologne Hbf but stopped before the Rhine etc etc etc. This year, I tried it again and nothing changed: rerouted via Eindhoven without prior notice and chaos in the train as the reservation system crashed and the train composition was actually halved. After all this time, I can only say, it does take some serious effort to be THAT incompetent...

It is not the train that is unreliable. It is the overcrowded railroad infrastructure. Added to that comes that the first ICE3 train sets are 26 years old.

Its my birthday today and ill go to Düsseldorf with this train

I travel somewhat regularly between Utecht and Munich. This service has ruined many of my trips, which makes me take the plane when I really need to be on time. The service is simply not reliable enough.

5:40 where can i make a map like this myself?

Far better than what's on offer in New Zealand. Wish we had high speed railways.

The worst without a doubt is Brussels - Köln - Frankfurt. Punctuality and reliability is just appalling. What is needed is a 2-hourly loco hauled service using. ‘Proper’ Vectron locomotive and not the ‘pretend’ ones of the 18xx SNCB variant. Keep it simple and less complicated…

3 Minute delay in Frankfurt, that's actually very exceptional, I guess it was your lucky day! I used to commute daily with a BahnCard 100 between Frankfurt and Bonn for a year and a half and had to take oft the ice from Amsterdam Centraal from Siegburg. I can't really remember to have ever arrived in Frankurt on time - there were always at least 15 Minutes delays. My record was 80 minutes delay. We stood still between Montabauer and Limburg with only 2 vapid announcements for the whole duration... Deutsche Bahn is the worst...

Those trains are fantastic, it is just too many signalling gizmos.

i would always prefer a compartment seat.

When I worked in Germany many years ago they were reliable you could have set your watch by them, forward quite a few years and yep the ice from cologne was 45 minutes late the excuse was vandalism on the line went for a lovely day in Mainz and yes our return train was 40 minutes late and we missed it, reason why you may ask or if you’re bored I don’t care will suffice, well we stood at our designated place and the train pulled into the platform ahead of ours, yes they split the same platform into two platforms and as my German is now pretty poor I didn’t catch the announcement, ps they didn’t announce it I found out later, anyhoo DB pulled out all the stops to use an Irish phrase and by putting me on different ice trains to destinations I thought were taking me in the opposite direction 2 changes later I’m in Düsseldorf where I wanted to arrive anyway and on time, somehow our train had bypassed engineering work and wasn’t delayed, and that folks is why I love DB and their brilliant staff, be polite try and speak the language no matter how poor it is and people will help, ps it helps to be Irish , pps great post

You know what's not lacking, not having the scan your ticket QR-code. I booked my ticket to/from Amsterdam with Deutsche Bahn, and the ticket gate did not recognise my ticket. Ticket gates should just be abolished everywhere, it works well in Germany.

Don't be like that person at 10:25 Always keep the aisle clear

Tbh the ICE trains are heaven compared to local trains and their delays 🤣🤣

Used it in July and it was fine - by ICE standards a delay of 5 minutes is practically nothing.

No CCV camera in the train

It‘s a fact that these trained are very unreliable, but the DB will replace the most of them these summer.

Awesome video but just a bit of feedback can you add mph not just kph thank you

there are a way to get pass your german boss if you are late,just say that the train broke down mid way or delays

Looks good. What's the app. that you use to show the speed, please? Thanks

I have a request for my German neighbours. Could you please use more colored paint on you public infrastructure? It would brighten up your country so much.

i took the ICE from frankfurt to munchen ,the train broke mid journeys :)))

Is it problems with the ICE trains that causes delays in Germany? I thought that there are problems with trains not being on time in Germany in general.

The title of your review was a bit odd. You made it from point A to point B, therefore it *is reliable. Thanks for the review.

Brilliant, the ICE 3M is a beautiful train and the approximate $100 1st class ticket from Amsterdam to Frankfurt is well worth it 👍🏻❤️🚄

I enjoy the ICE from the Netherlands to Munich. Its better than ditch railways and Thalys. I enjoy first class. What I don't like are the nightvtrains. They are not comfortable and too expensive for what you get. Another thong I don't enjoy are return trips with ICE. They always take longer, have more stops and are almost twice as expensive in price for some inexplicablecreason. What I truly miss is the option for one train from the Netherlands to Munisch with no stopovers. Especially more than onecstopover is exhausting, when on holiday, because you have to transfer everthing overvto another ICE train, and eaiting times are often hours, and pose risks of missing connections when multiple stopovers are short and stressful. Another minus is thatbit is bot easy to find an ideal stopover plan. The cross country border multiple plan complexity I think is oldfashioned and it would be nice if international travel was mire seemlessly connected.

I am never in a hurry, so speed is not relevant.

Amsterdam to Frankfurt train ice 159 train many Bag stone in Amsterdam center station to spoorwegen between stations many big problem My bag was stolen at a nearby Spoorwegen station

It gets worse. The ICE is classified as a ‘Intercity with Supplement’ which means that if you want to take it between Amsterdam CS-Arnhem CS for example you’d need to pay extra. Which isn’t very helpful if you are traveling on a day ticket. Even more confusingly. The Intercity to Berlin (Also departing from Amsterdam). Does not have this supplement and is treated like a normal intercity between Amsterdam-CS and Hengelo. The only real use for this is if you want to skip two stations between Utrecht-CS and Arnhem-CS

I reckon that the ICE3 international trains are the best.. If only DB could get their act together and maintain them properly. Sadly DB have a track record of believing that recognising they are making as mess of maintaining existing trains with which they are familiar , the introduction of new, more complex ,trains with which they are not familiar (with inevitable teething troubles ) will solve all their problems.. That's deluded nonsense..

2h35mins delay yesterday. complete disaster. had to change trains in Köln on both the legs of my trip cause of technical issues. multiple platform changes ending with having to take the train on platform 4, while it being announced on platform 6. confused passengers and staff everywhere. The onboard staff have the patience of zen Buddhists. when are we going to realise that a 200km/h train would be cheaper, more energy efficient and much easier to maintain. the 300km/h is a theory only achieved on small parts of tge track anyway. reliable 200km/h please!