 | |
 A German ICE 3 trainset exiting a tunnel | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland and France. Formerly Denmark. |
| Dates of operation | 1985–present |
| Predecessor | See History |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
| Other | |
| Website | www |
Intercity Express (commonly known as ICE (German pronunciation: [iːtseːˈʔeː] )) is a high-speed rail system in Germany. It also serves destinations in Austria, France, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands as part of cross-border services. It is the flagship of the German state railway, Deutsche Bahn. ICE fares are fixed for station-to-station connections, on the grounds that the trains have a higher level of comfort. Travelling at speeds up to 300 km/h (190 mph) within Germany and 320 km/h (200 mph) when in France, they are aimed at business travellers and long-distance commuters and marketed by Deutsche Bahn as an alternative to flights.
The ICE 3 also has been the development base for the Siemens Velaro family of trainsets which has subsequently been exported to RENFE in Spain (AVE Class 103), which are certified to run at speeds up to 350 km/h (220 mph),[1] as well as versions 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)[2] with further customers being Eurostar as well as Turkey and Egypt.
- ^ "International breakthrough for Siemens high-speed train technology" (Press release). Siemens. 3 April 2001. Archived from the original on 16 October 2006. Retrieved 12 February 2007.
- ^ Новый международный успех высокоскоростных поездов "Сименс" (Press release) (in Russian). Siemens. 19 March 2006. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2007.