5 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Db-410001-01: K. Jähne· CC BY-SA 2.5
- 2. 410001MKF Zug 1152: Marc Voß· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 3. 218 247-5 und Intercity Experimental: Blueyander· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 4. InterCityExperimental Maintalbrücke Veitshöchheim-1988-05-28: Kilian Salzer· Attribution
- 5. InterCityExperimental Wurzburg-1988-05-28: Kilian Salzer· Attribution
what is it?
The Intercity Experimental, later renamed ICE V, was an experimental train developed by the Deutsche Bundesbahn for research into high-speed rail in Germany. It is the predecessor of all Intercity Express trains of the Deutsche Bahn.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 41 years ago, in 1985.
- Top speed is 3.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 6 minutes.
- 8.4 MW is about 99 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 49 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 114 m long: about 25 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 13 years (1985–1998).
high-speed train: Built for 200–350 km/h on dedicated lines, like the TGV, ICE or Shinkansen.
spec sheet
- built
- 1985
- in service from
- 1985
- retired
- 1998
- status
- retired
- number built
- —
- kind
- high-speed train
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- builders
- Siemens Mobility, KraussMaffei, Friedrich Krupp AG, Henschel & Sohn, AEG, Brown, Boveri & Cie, Siemens
- designer
- Alexander Neumeister, N+P Industrial Design
- operators
- Deutsche Bundesbahn
- top speed
- 407 km/h
- power
- 8.4 MW
- wheel arrangement
- Bo'Bo'+2'2'+2'2'+2'2'+Bo'Bo'
- length
- 114 m
- weight
- 296 t
- capacity
- 87 passengers
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q567352, Wikipedia: Intercity Experimental (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.