Intercity (Deutsche Bahn)

Intercity (IC) is the second-highest train classification in Germany, after the Intercity Express (ICE). Intercity services are loco-hauled express train services, usually over long-distances. There are Intercity routes throughout Germany, and routes generally operate with a two-hour frequency, with multiple routes giving a more frequent service on core routes. Intercity services are operated by the DB Fernverkehr sector of Deutsche Bahn.

DB Intercity
A DB Intercity train near Minden in 2012
Overview
LocaleGermany
Dates of operation1971–Present
PredecessorF-Zug
Technical
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Other
Websitebahn.com
A classic Intercity train at Emmerich in 1973, hauled by a Class 103

The Intercity name was introduced in Germany in 1971, replacing the old F-Zug category, and was the top category of train in Germany until the introduction of the ICEs in the early 1990s. With the proliferation of ICE services, the role of IC trains has diminished slightly, and they have taken on the character of many former InterRegio trains. Nonetheless, Intercity trains still offer a very high standard of speed and comfort – all services convey first class accommodation, and most include catering – usually a Bistro Cafe, but some services include a restaurant. A number of Intercity services serve destinations outside Germany; most of these are under the EuroCity classification.

History

Inception
The Intercity logo, in use from 1971 to 1991
The original Intercity network

The idea for Intercity services on the Deutsche Bundesbahn network was first proposed in 1967, inspired by the success of British Rail's InterCity brand. After some planning, the proposal was approved in 1969, and the services were finally introduced in September 1971, after some delays in delivery of new coaching stock. The original network consisted of four lines, operating every two hours, and connecting the largest cities in West Germany. At this time, Intercity trains were first-class only. The original lines were:

  • line 1 (red): Hamburg-Altona – Bremen – Münster (Westf) – Dortmund – Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Heidelberg – Stuttgart – Ulm – Augsburg – Munich
  • line 2 (blue): Hannover – Bielefeld – Hamm – Dortmund – Hagen – Wuppertal-Elberfeld (– Solingen-Ohligs) – Cologne – Bonn – Koblenz – Wiesbaden – Frankfurt (Main) – Würzburg – Nuremberg – Augsburg – Munich
  • line 3 (green): Hamburg-Altona – Hannover – Göttingen – Fulda – Frankfurt (Main) – Mannheim – Karlsruhe – Freiburg (Breisgau) – Basel
  • line 4 (gold): Bremen – Hannover – Göttingen – Bebra – Fulda – Würzburg (– Ingolstadt) – Munich

Gradually, the Intercity network started to expand, and with the introduction of the Class 103 locomotives, 200 km/h running was possible. Services were increased in frequency to hourly, and second class accommodation was provided – in 1979 this was promoted with the slogan "every hour, every class".

Additionally, there is also another new line 5, running from Dortmund to Munich. It was opened since 2 May 1985.

  • line 1 (red): Hamburg-Altona – Bremen – Osnabrück – Münster (Westf) – Dortmund – Bochum – Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Köln – Bonn – Koblenz – Wiesbaden – Frankfurt (Main)
  • line 2 (brown): Hannover – Bielefeld – Hamm – Dortmund – Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Heidelberg – Stuttgart – Ulm – Augsburg – Munich
  • line 3 (green): Hamburg-Altona – Hannover – Göttingen – Fulda – Frankfurt (Main) – Mannheim – Karlsruhe – Freiburg (Breisgau) – Basel (– Switzerland)
  • line 4 (gold): Hamburg-Altona – Hannover – Göttingen – Bebra – Fulda – Würzburg – Augsburg – München
  • line 4a (grey): Oldenburg or Bremerhaven – Bremen – Hannover
  • line 5 (blue): Dortmund – Hagen – Wuppertal-Elberfeld (– Solingen-Ohligs) – Cologne – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – Frankfurt Airport – Frankfurt (Main) (– Aschaffenburg) – Würzburg – Nuremberg – Augsburg – Munich

The InterCity for 3a is also part of the TransEuropExpress:

  • line 3a: Amsterdam – Utrecht – Oberhausen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Köln – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – (Mannheim – Karlsruhe – Freiburg (Breisgau) – Basel) or (Mannheim – Heidelberg – Stuttgart – Ulm – Augsburg – Munich – Salzburg) or (Frankfurt Airport – Frankfurt (Main) – Würzburg – Augsburg – Munich – Innsbruck)

Some ICs switched between lines 4 and 5, 2 and 5 (Essen or Wuppertal), or 2 and 3 (Basel or Stuttgart).

Reunification and growth
An Intercity train at Karlsruhe in 1995
An Intercity train at Sylt in 2012
IC routes in 1992

The network continued to evolve throughout the 1980s, and in the early 1990s it saw major changes. One major driving force for this was German reunification, which saw the network expand across the former East Germany, but also the opening of two high-speed lines in 1991: Mannheim to Stuttgart and Hannover to Würzburg. The first generation ICEs were introduced around this time, and took over most services on the Hannover – Fulda corridor, while the remaining services expanded in all directions.

The routes on 2 June 1991 were as follows:

  • IC line 1 (red): Hamburg-Altona – Bremen – Münster (Westf) – Dortmund – Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – Frankfurt (Main) Flughafen – Frankfurt (Main) – Aschaffenburg – Würzburg – Nürnberg – (Ingolstadt – Munich) or (Regensburg – Passau – Linz – Wien) (connecting to Austria)
  • IC line 1a (magenta): Wiesbaden – Frankfurt (Main) (every two hours)
  • IC line 2 (brown): (Dortmund – Bochum) or (Münster (Westf) – Recklinghausen – Gelsenkirchen) – Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Köln – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Heidelberg – Stuttgart – Ulm – Augsburg – Munich (eight EC train pairs via Salzburg to Budapest, Klagenfurt, Wien or Zagreb)
  • IC line 2a (magenta): Wiesbaden – Mainz
  • IC line 3 (green): Berlin – Potsdam – Magdeburg – Helmstedt – Braunschweig – Hildesheim – Göttingen – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Fulda – Frankfurt (Main) – Mannheim – Karlsruhe (every two hours, one EC train pair via Basel to Zürich)
  • IC line 4 (gold): Hamburg-Altona – Hannover – Göttingen – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Fulda – Würzburg – Augsburg – Munich (every two hours to Nuremberg)
  • IC line 5 (blue): (every two hours: Berlin – Potsdam – Magdeburg –) Braunschweig – Hannover– Bielefeld – Hamm – Dortmund – Hagen – Wuppertal – Solingen-Ohligs – Cologne – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Karlsruhe – Freiburg (Breisgau) – Basel (new EC pairs of trains to Brig, Chur, Geneva, Interlaken, Milan or Sestri Levante)
  • EC line 5a (lilac): Amsterdam – Utrecht – Emmerich – Oberhausen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Cologne (every two hours, two EC train pairs on line 5 to Chur and Interlaken)
  • ICE line 6 (orange): Hamburg-Altona – Hannover – Göttingen – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Fulda – Frankfurt (Main) – Mannheim – Stuttgart – Ulm – Augsburg – Munich
  • IC line 6a (grey): Oldenburg or Bremerhaven – Bremen – Hannover

Meanwhile, a new type of express train – the InterRegio – was created in the late-1980s, replacing the old D-Zug services, providing semi-fast services to complement Intercity trains.

The new changes on 31 May 1992 were as follows:

  • IC line 1 (red): from Nuremberg to Munich
  • IC line 3 (green): Hamburg-Altona – Hannover – Göttingen – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Fulda – Frankfurt – Mannheim – Karlsruhe (– Basel – Zürich)
  • ICE line 4 (yellow): either Bremen or Hamburg-Altona, to Nuremberg
  • IC line 6a (grey): every two hours Bremen – Hannover
  • IC line 8 (lime): Berlin – Flughafen Berlin-Schönefeld – Leipzig – Naumburg – Jena – Saalfeld – Probstzella – Lichtenfels – Bamberg – Erlangen – Nuremberg – Ingolstadt – Munich (every two hours)

From 1996, IC line 8 was connected from Berlin to Hamburg, which together with IC line 7 between the two cities, which ran until 1998, created an hourly service. IC line 5 ran from 1997 via Hanover Magdeburg and Leipzig to Dresden instead of Berlin. as a result, the new ICE line 10 was established from Berlin to Cologne/Bonn. At the same time, the branch to Basel, which was previously served by IC line 5, was abandoned. The line now ended in Nuremberg. From 1998 the trains of ICE line 6 and ICE line 10 ran over the new Berlin–Hanover line.

Modern era

The next major change to Intercity services came about in 2002, with the opening of the Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed rail line largely to replace the West Rhine Railway, a major trunk route for Intercity services. While previous high speed lines in Germany had been designed for mixed usage, and could be used by Intercity trains, this line can only be operated by new ICE 3 units. This, along with the introduction of another generation of ICEs, the ICE T, saw large numbers of Intercity routes converted to ICE. Meanwhile, the InterRegio classification was abolished, and many of its services converted into Intercity routes.

As a result, the character of Intercity has changed. Having been on an almost equal footing with the ICE, it is very much secondary. While it still provides a high quality of service, trains now stop more frequently, and are more commonly found on lesser routes. Most current IC trains convey fewer first-class coaches, more open seating as opposed to compartments, and a Bistro Cafe (buffet car) instead of a restaurant or no on-board catering at all, although this is as much a reflection of the changing habits of modern passengers than it is a change in the status of Intercity trains. Lines 30 and 31 – Hamburg to Frankfurt/Stuttgart are the closest in character to a 'classic' Intercity train.

Current services

Deutsche Bahn's long distance services are operated over numbered routes. If they are operated by Intercity-Express rolling stock they are considered to be Intercity-Express lines. Lines operated by Intercity rolling stock or a mixture of Intercity and Intercity-Express sets are listed below (as of 2022).

Line 17

IC line 17 was established on 15 December 2019. This is a service that has been served every two hours since 9 March 2020. Between Rostock and Berlin, IC line 17 is the successor to Interregio line 14, which operated here until 2002. Some services of trains on IC line 28 are replaced here by line 17. On the section between Berlin and Dresden, the line supplements the heavily used Eurocity line 27 to Prague and has connected Berlin Brandenburg Airport since it opened.

Since the Stadler KISS multiple units used on IC route 17 are owned by the Austrian Westbahn and are serviced in Vienna, a pair of trains runs six times a week overnight between Rostock and Vienna via Nuremberg.

Line Route
IC 17 (Warnemünde –) Rostock – Waren – Neustrelitz – Oranienburg – Berlin-Gesundbrunnen – Berlin – Berlin Südkreuz –
Berlin Brandenburg Airport – Doberlug-Kirchhain – Elsterwerda – Dresden-Neustadt – Dresden (– Freiberg – Chemnitz)
Lutherstadt Wittenberg – Bitterfeld – Leipzig – Halle (S) – Naumburg – Jena Paradies – Jena-Göschwitz – Saalfeld – Lichtenfels – Bamberg – Erlangen – Fürth – Nuremberg – Regensburg – Straubing – Plattling – Passau – Schärding – Wels – Linz – St. Pölten – Vienna Meidling – Vienna

Line 26
Main article: List of Intercity-Express lines in Germany § 26

Intercity rolling stock are used for some rotations on ICE/IC line 26.

Line 27

On the main route of EC line 27, Intercity and Eurocity services run every two hours between Hamburg and Prague. A pair of trains continue to Budapest. One pair of trains a day runs between Westerland or Dagebüll and Berlin. Between Berlin and Dresden, together with line 17, there is a service approximately every hour. Since 16 June 2020, a pair of Railjet services have operated between Berlin and Graz.

Line Route
EC 27 Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg Dammtor – Hamburg – Hamburg-Bergedorf – Büchen – Ludwigslust – Wittenberge – Berlin-Spandau – Berlin – Berlin Südkreuz – Elsterwerda – Dresden-Neustadt – Dresden – Bad Schandau – Děčín – Ústí nad Labem – Praha-Holešovice – Prague (– Pardubice – Česká Třebová – Brno – Břeclav – Kúty – Bratislava – Nové Zámky – Štúrovo – Szob – Nagymaros-Visegrád – Vác – Budapest Keleti)
Kiel – Neumünster –
Westerland – Niebüll1 – Husum – Heide – Itzehoe –

1 Norddeutsche Eisenbahngesellschaft Niebüll runs through coaches from Niebüll to Dagebüll Mole via the following stations. They do not run as IC services, but as NEG regional services:

Route
 – Niebüll – Deezbüll – Maasbüll – Dagebüll Kirche – Dagebüll Mole

Line 28

Line 28 is divided into two sub-lines, on which only individual services operate. The northern begins in Berlin and goes to Binz. The southern part of the line connects Nuremberg and Munich via Augsburg. A third partial line between Berlin and Rostock was merged into the newly created IC line 17 in December 2019.

For operational reasons, due to the priority allocation of the ICE-T sets equipped with ETCS to lines 15 and 50, some pairs of trains on line 28 were converted to Intercity operation. The IC trains run normally at the same speed as the ICE line with almost identical journey times. These included the three IC train pairs 2300/2301, 2302/2303 and 2355/2356 from Berlin via Leipzig, Jena and Augsburg to Munich. The 2355/2356 train pair ran from/to Rostock. Depending on the season, the trains begin or end in Warnemünde.

See also: "Line 28" in Intercity-Express lines in Germany
LineRoute
IC 28Berlin Südkreuz – Berlin – Berlin-Gesundbrunnen – Berlin-Lichtenberg – Bernau – Eberswalde – Angermünde – Prenzlau – Pasewalk – Anklam – Züssow – Greifswald – Stralsund – Bergen – Binz
Nuremberg – Treuchtlingen – Donauwörth – Augsburg – Munich

Line 32

The northern section of the line has no regular pattern of daily services. On Fridays and Sundays, the trains run approximately every hour between Cologne and Berlin, on the other days there are only individual services. In Berlin, trains start and end at the Hauptbahnhof, Ostbahnhof, Südkreuz or Gesundbrunnen.

Services on the southern section consist of four daily pairs of trains running from North Rhine-Westphalia to Klagenfurt, Innsbruck, Oberstdorf and Tübingen.

Line Route
EC 32 Berlin – Berlin-Spandau – Stendal – Wolfsburg – Hannover – Bad Oeynhausen – Herford – Bielefeld – Gütersloh – Hamm – Dortmund – Bochum – Essen – Mülheim – Duisburg – Düsseldorf Airport – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Bonn – Remagen – Andernach – Koblenz – Bingen – Mainz – Worms – Mannheim – Heidelberg – Vaihingen – Stuttgart – Plochingen – Göppingen – Geislingen – Ulm – Günzburg – Augsburg – Munich-Pasing – München – Rosenheim – Bad Endorf – Prien – Traunstein – Freilassing – Salzburg – Golling-Abtenau – Bischofshofen – St. Johann – Schwarzach-St. Veit – Dorfgastein – Bad Hofgastein – Bad Gastein – Mallnitz-Obervellach – Spittal-Milstättersee – Villach – Velden – Pörtschach – Krumpendorf – Klagenfurt
Biberach – Aulendorf – Ravensburg – Friedrichshafen – Lindau – Bregenz – Dornbirn – Feldkirch – Bludenz – Langen – St. Anton – Landeck-Zams – Imst-Pitztal – Ötztal – Telfs-Pfaffenhofen – Innsbruck
Memmingen – Kempten – Immenstadt – Sonthofen – Fischen – Oberstdorf
Nürtingen – Metzingen – Reutlingen – Tübingen

Seasonally, a pair of trains runs on the weekend from Cologne via Stralsund and Bergen to Binz.

Route
 – Berlin-Spandau – Berlin Gesundbrunnen – Bernau – Eberswalde – Angermünde – Prenzlau – Pasewalk – Anklam – Züssow – Greifswald – Stralsund – Bergen – Binz

Individual trains (EC 115 and IC 1926) run on different routes via Münster.

Route
 – Hannover – Osnabrück – Münster – Recklinghausen – Wanne-Eickel – Gelsenkirchen – Essen – Duisburg –
Oberhausen –

A pair of trains runs Monday to Friday from Aachen to Berlin via Mönchengladbach and Krefeld and a pair of trains runs on the weekend from Aachen via Mönchengladbach and Neuss:

Route
Aachen – Herzogenrath – Rheydt – Mönchengladbach – Krefeld – Duisburg –
Neuss – Düsseldorf –

On the southern section there are trains from Dortmund to Stuttgart, from Wolfsburg to Munich, from Berlin to Stuttgart and from Tübingen and Salzburg to Berlin on Fridays, while on Sundays there are trains from Berlin to Stuttgart, Tübingen and Karlsruhe and from Frankfurt to Berlin.

On the northern section, a pair of weekend trains runs from/to Dresden.

Thus, there are also individual services of line 32 on the following routes:

Route
 – Berlin – Berlin Südkreuz – Dresden
Frankfurt – Frankfurt Airport – Mainz –
 – Mannheim – Karlsruhe

Line 34

Trains run every two hours between Frankfurt and Siegen. Two pairs of trains run at high speed from Siegen via Unna and Hamm to Münster and continue via Emden to Norddeich Mole; the other six train pairs take over almost all stops for regional traffic and run to Dortmund or via Dortmund to Münster. These slower trains can also be used between Dillenburg and Iserlohn-Letmathe with local tickets. The first train on Mondays to Fridays towards Dortmund runs from Stuttgart via Karlsruhe, Heidelberg, Mannheim and Frankfurt Airport.

Line Route
IC 34 (Stuttgart – Ludwigsburg – Pforzheim – Karlsruhe – Bruchsal – Wiesloch-Walldorf – Heidelberg – Mannheim – Frankfurt Airport -) Frankfurt – Frankfurt West – Bad Nauheim – Wetzlar – Dillenburg – Siegen –
Lennestadt-Altenhundem – Iserlohn-Letmathe – Schwerte – Unna – Hamm – Münster (– Rheine – Lingen – Meppen – Papenburg – Leer – Emden – Norden – Norddeich – Norddeich Mole)
Siegen-Weidenau – Kreuztal – Lennestadt-Altenhundem – Lennestadt-Grevenbrück – Finnentrop – Plettenberg – Werdohl – Altena – Iserlohn-Letmathe – Witten – Dortmund

Line 35

Trains run every two hours between Emden and Cologne. Individual trains start at Norddeich Mole or Emden Außenhafen. South of Cologne, individual trains continue to Koblenz and on weekends to Konstanz or Stuttgart. Emden Außenhafen is only served from March to October. A pair of trains runs from Norddeich Mole to Bonn-Bad Godesberg and from Bad Godesberg to Emden.

Line Route
IC 35 Norddeich Mole – Norddeich – Norden – Emden – Leer – Papenburg – Meppen – Lingen – Rheine – Münster – Recklinghausen – Wanne-Eickel – Gelsenkirchen – Oberhausen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf Airport – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Bonn – Remagen – Andernach – Koblenz – Bingen – Mainz – Worms – Mannheim – Karlsruhe – Baden-Baden – Offenburg – Hausach – Hornberg – Triberg – Sankt Georgen – Villingen – Donaueschingen – Immendingen – Singen – Radolfzell – Konstanz
Emden Außenhafen – Heidelberg – Vaihingen – Stuttgart

Line 37

Since the 2018 annual timetable, a daily pair of trains has again been running between Düsseldorf and Luxembourg. Until December 2014, this section was part of line 35. (Stadler KISS) double-deck multiple units of the CFL are used. On the Koblenz–Trier railway, the train runs as an RE, between Koblenz and Düsseldorf as an IC on behalf of DB Fernverkehr with the option of reserving seats and taking bicycles.[1]

LineRoute
IC 37Düsseldorf – Cologne – Bonn – Remagen – Andernach – Koblenz – Kobern-Gondorf – Treis-Karden – Cochem – Bullay – Wittlich – Schweich – Trier – Wasserbillig – Luxemburg

Line 43

Since the 2022 annual timetable, two daily pair of trains have run between Hamburg-Altona and Zürich or Interlaken Ost, replacing services on the former line 30.

LineRoute
EC 43 Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg – Bremen – Osnabrück – Münster – Dortmund – Bochum – Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Karlsruhe – Baden-Baden – Freiburg – Basel – Zürich / Interlaken Ost

Line 50

Line 50 has been number 51 since December 2022.

Line 51

Line 51 is based on ICE line 50 and supplements it with relief journeys on Fridays and Sundays as well as journeys on the "Mid-Germany Railway" (Mitte-Deutschland-Verbindung, MDV). It was called line 50 before December 2022. Line 51 MDV runs four pairs of trains between Düsseldorf/Cologne and Gera/Leipzig via Dortmund, Hamm, Soest, Lippstadt, Paderborn, Altenbeken, Warburg, Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe, Bebra, Eisenach, Gotha and Erfurt. The services that relieve the ICE line during peak hours are grouped as line 51 E. The "E" stands for Entlastungsverkehr (relief traffic).

Line Line part Train pairs Route
IC 51 51 MDV IC 2150/2151
IC 2152/2155
IC 2156/2157		 Gera – Hermsdorf-Klosterlausnitz – Stadtroda – Jena-Göschwitz – Jena West – Weimar – Erfurt – Gotha – Eisenach – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Warburg – Altenbeken – Paderborn – Lippstadt – Soest – Hamm – Dortmund – Bochum – Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf Airport – Düsseldorf ← Cologne
51 MDV IC 1952/1959 Leipzig – Weißenfels – Naumburg – Apolda –
51 E IC 1950/1951
IC 1956/1957		 Berlin – Berlin Südkreuz – Lutherstadt Wittenberg – Bitterfeld – Halle (Saale) – Leipzig – Weimar – Erfurt – Gotha – Eisenach – Bad Hersfeld – Hünfeld – Fulda – Schlüchtern – Hanau – Offenbach – Frankfurt – Darmstadt – Bensheim – Weinheim – Heidelberg – Wiesloch-Walldorf – Karlsruhe-Durlach – Karlsruhe

Line 55

Line 55 runs every two hours from Dresden via Leipzig, Magdeburg, Hanover, Dortmund, Hagen and Wuppertal to Cologne.

The stop at Leipzig/Halle Airport has only been served in the direction of Magdeburg since the 2017 annual timetable. The Intercity 2 sets that have been in use since the 2017 annual timetable no longer stop in Bad Oeynhausen.[2]

Line Route
IC 55 Dresden – Dresden-Neustadt – Riesa – Leipzig – Leipzig/Halle Airport – Halle – Köthen – Schönebeck – Magdeburg – Helmstedt – Braunschweig – Hannover – Minden – Herford – Bielefeld – Gütersloh – Hamm – Dortmund – Hagen – Wuppertal – Solingen – Cologne

Line 56

Line 56 starts in Norddeich Mole and runs every two hours via Braunschweig to Leipzig. A few trains use an alternative route from Emden Außenhafen station. Peine is served by two trains in the direction of Leipzig and one in the direction of Emden. One pair of trains runs from Magdeburg via Potsdam and Berlin to Cottbus; it is the only long-distance service to stop at some stations. The other trains run via Köthen and Halle to Leipzig. Intercity 2 sets have been in service since December 2015.

A pair of trains on route 56 runs to Warnemünde from Friday to Sunday, but only seasonally from March to October. IC 1932 also runs on Sundays on line 56 from Stralsund to Oldenburg.

Between Norddeich Mole and Bremen, the trains run one hour later than the RE 1; on this section they can be used with local transport tickets.

Line Route
IC 56 Norddeich Mole – Norddeich – Norden – Marienhafe – / Emden Außenhafen – Emden – Leer – Augustfehn – Westerstede-Ocholt – Bad Zwischenahn – Oldenburg – Hude – Delmenhorst – Bremen – Verden – Nienburg – Hannover – Peine – Braunschweig – Helmstedt station – Magdeburg –  – Halle – Leipzig
 – Brandenburg – Potsdam – Berlin-Wannsee – Berlin – Berlin Ost – Königs Wusterhausen – Lübben – Lübbenau – Cottbus
Warnemünde – Rostock – Bützow – Bad Kleinen – Schwerin – Ludwigslust – Wittenberge – Stendal – Magdeburg – Dessau – Bitterfeld – Halle – Leipzig
Stralsund – Greifswald – Züssow – Anklam – Pasewalk – Prenzlau – Angermünde – Eberswalde – Bernau – Berlin Gesundbrunnen – Berlin-Spandau – Stendal – Wolfsburg – Hannover – Nienburg – Verden – Bremen – Delmenhorst – Oldenburg

Line 60

Line 60 ran between Karlsruhe and Munich every two hours until December 2022. It is now operated as ICE 60.

Line 61

Line 61 runs every two hours between Karlsruhe and Nuremberg. Schorndorf is only served by a single pair of daytime trains, which continue to Leipzig. Since the line runs via Pforzheim, it only uses part of the Mannheim–Stuttgart high-speed railway. Since December 2018, the line has been gradually converted to operation with Intercity 2 sets.[3]

Line Route
IC 61 Karlsruhe – Pforzheim – Mühlacker – Vaihingen – Stuttgart – Schorndorf – Schwäbisch Gmünd – Aalen – Ellwangen – Crailsheim – Ansbach – Nürnberg –
Bamberg – Lichtenfels – Kronach – Saalfeld – Jena-Göschwitz – Jena Paradies – Naumburg – Weißenfels – Leipzig

Line 62

Three pairs of trains a day run between Frankfurt am Main and Salzburg. Two of them go from Frankfurt to Klagenfurt and Graz. Deviating from this, the third starts in Saarbrücken and ends in Graz.

Line Route
IC 62 Saarbrücken – Homburg – Landstuhl – Kaiserslautern – Neustadt – Ludwigshafen – Mannheim – Stuttgart – Geislingen – Ulm – Neu-Ulm – Günzburg – Augsburg – Munich – München Ost – Rosenheim – Prien – Traunstein – Freilassing – Salzburg –  – Golling-Abtenau – Bischofshofen – St. Johann – Schwarzach-St. Veit – Dorfgastein – Bad Hofgastein – Bad Gastein – Mallnitz-Obervellach – Spittal-Milstättersee – Villach – Velden – Pörtschach – Krumpendorf – Klagenfurt
Frankfurt – Darmstadt – Bensheim – Weinheim – Heidelberg –  – Salzburg Süd – Hallein – Golling-Abtenau – Werfen – Bischofshofen – Radstadt – Schladming – Stainach-Irdning – Liezen – Selzthal – Stadt Rottenmann – St. Michael – Graz

Line 75

Three pairs of trains run every four hours on line 75 between Hamburg and Copenhagen, replacing ICE line 75 since the 2018 timetable. Until the 2019 timetable change, they ran via Puttgarden, where they were loaded onto a ferry to Rødby and then continued to Copenhagen. Due to construction work, the trains have been running across the Danish mainland since December 2019,[4] which, together with line 76, creates a two-hour service between Hamburg and Padborg.

LineRoute
IC 75Hamburg – Padborg – Kolding – Odense – Ringsted – Copenhagen

Line 76

Individual services run between Hamburg and Aarhus. In Hamburg, the line starts at the main station and does not serve Hamburg-Altona. Since December 2017, lines 75 and 76 have been operated exclusively with Danish diesel multiple units of the IC3 class, which have been equipped with the PZB train protection system and are therefore approved for operation on the German network.

LineRoute
IC 76Hamburg – Hamburg Dammtor – Rendsburg – Flensburg – Padborg – Kolding – Fredericia – Vejle – Horsens – Skanderborg – Aarhus

Line 77

Line 77 runs between Amsterdam and Berlin every two hours. The trains only stop in Bünde and Bad Oeynhausen every four hours, in Ibbenbüren a single train towards Berlin in the morning.

LineRoute
IC 77Amsterdam – Hilversum – Amersfoort – Apeldoorn – Deventer – Almelo – Hengelo – Bad Bentheim – Rheine – Ibbenbüren – Osnabrück – Bünde – Bad Oeynhausen – Minden – Hannover – Wolfsburg – Stendal – Berlin-Spandau – Berlin – Berlin Ost

One to two pairs of trains daily (IC 2241/2242, Sunday IC 2343/2240) do not go to the Netherlands, but instead run from Osnabrück to Münster.

The line will be served by ICE L trains from December 2023.[5]

Line 87

Until 2010, this line was run as ICE 87, but as there were not enough ICE T sets available due to several problems, locomotive-hauled Intercity trains were used.

An hourly service is offered between Stuttgart and Zurich. Every two hours it is served by Deutsche Bahn IC2 runs from Stuttgart to Singen. Two pairs of trains continue to Konstanz from Monday to Friday. To continue to Zurich, it is usually necessary to change trains in Singen to a Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) service. In the other hour there is a direct connection operated by SBB from Stuttgart to Zurich, but with fewer intermediate stops. Line 87 will be fully converted to Intercity 2 trains when the installation of ETCS equipment in the Swiss network is completed. Local transport tickets are also valid from Stuttgart to Singen/Konstanz.[6]

LineRoute
IC 87Stuttgart – Böblingen – Horb – Rottweil – Tuttlingen – Singen – Schaffhausen – Zürich
Stuttgart – Böblingen – Herrenberg – Gäufelden – Bondorf – Horb – Sulz – Oberndorf – Rottweil – Spaichingen – Tuttlingen – Engen – Singen – Radolfzell – Konstanz

Line 88

Six pairs of trains run daily on the EuroCity-Express line 88 operated with RABe 503 multiple units of the SBB, which are classified as Eurocity between Lindau-Reutin and Zurich.

LineRoute
ECE 88Munich – Buchloe – Memmingen – Lindau-Reutin – Bregenz – St. Margrethen – St. Gallen – Winterthur – Zürich Airport – Zürich

Line 89

Line 89 runs every two hours from Munich to Verona. There are also two pairs of trains in the morning hours to Bologna.

LineRoute
EC 89Munich – Munich East – Rosenheim – Kufstein – Wörgl – Jenbach – Innsbruck – Brenner – Franzensfeste – Brixen – Bolzano – Trento – Rovereto – Verona – Bologna

Line 95

Four pairs of trains run daily between Berlin and Warsaw. These are called the Berlin-Warszawa-Express and are operated by DB Fernverkehr and Polskie Koleje Państwowe. They differ visually from the typical IC cars. In addition, a pair of trains runs via Gdańsk to Gdynia and a pair of trains to Kraków.

LineRoute
EC 95 Berlin-Warszawa-Express (PKP:  EIC ) Berlin – Berlin Ost – Frankfurt – Rzepin – Świebodzin – Zbąszynek – Poznań – Konin – Kutno – Warsaw West – Warsaw Central – Warsaw East
Gedania (PKP:  IC ) Berlin – Berlin Ost – Frankfurt – Rzepin – Świebodzin – Zbąszynek – Poznań – Gniezno – Inowrocław – Bydgoszcz – Tczew – Gdańsk (Główny) – Gdańsk (Wrzeszcz) – Gdańsk (Oliwa) – Sopot – Gdynia
Wawel (PKP:  IC ) Berlin – Berlin Ost – Frankfurt – Rzepin – Zielona Góra – Głogów – Lubin – Legnica – Wrocław – Opole – Gliwice – Zabrze – Katowice – Kraków (Główny) – Kraków (Płaszów) – Bochnia – Tarnów – Dębica – Rzeszów – Łańcut – Przeworsk – Jarosław – Przemyśl

Named services

Originally, all Intercity services had names, usually named after a famous figure from one of the cities along the route. Nowadays, fewer services are named, usually those that serve the extremities of the rail network. Names are usually taken from a geographical location along the route.

Line Train No. Route Name
35 133–134 Norddeich Mole – Emden – Münster – Gelsenkirchen – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Koblenz – Trier – Luxembourg Ostfriesland
35 2004–2005 Emden – Münster – Gelsenkirchen – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Karlsruhe – Offenburg – Konstanz Bodensee
35 2006–2007 Dortmund – Cologne – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Karlsruhe – Offenburg – Konstanz Bodensee
32 2010–2011 Berlin – Hannover – Dortmund – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Stuttgart – Tübingen Loreley
55 2012–2013 Leipzig – Halle – Magdeburg – Braunschweig – Hannover – Dortmund – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Stuttgart – Ulm – Oberstdorf Allgäu
35 2018–2019 Norddeich Mole – Emden – Münster – Gelsenkirchen – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Stuttgart Nordeney
27 2072–2073 Westerland – Hamburg – Wittenberge – Berlin Sylter Strand
26 2082–2083 Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel – Würzburg – Ansbach – Augsburg – Munich – Freilassing – Berchtesgaden Königssee
26 2084–2085 Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel – Würzburg – Ansbach – Augsburg – Oberstdorf Nebelhorn
26 2170–2171, 2190–2191, 2193 Westerland – Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel – Gießen – Frankfurt Wattenmeer
26 2184 Hannover – Hamburg – Rostock – Stralsund – Binz Strelasund
31 2220–2221 Fehmarn – Puttgarden – Lübeck – Hamburg – Bremen – Münster – Dortmund – Cologne – Koblenz – Mainz – Frankfurt Fehmarn
56 2238–2239 Warnemünde – Rostock – Wittenberge – Stendal – Magdeburg – Halle – Leipzig – Dresden Warnow
30 2310–2311 Westerland – Hamburg – Bremen – Münster – Dortmund – Cologne – Koblenz – Mainz – Frankfurt – Stuttgart Nordfriesland
30 2314–2315 Westerland – Hamburg – Bremen – Münster – Dortmund – Cologne – Koblenz – Mainz – Frankfurt Deichgraf
31 2327 Fehmarn – Puttgarden – Lübeck – Hamburg – Bremen – Münster – Dortmund – Cologne – Koblenz – Mainz – Frankfurt – Würzburg – Nuremberg – Passau Lübecker Bucht
35 2332, 2336–2337 Emden – Rheine – Münster – Gelsenkirchen – Oberhausen – Düsseldorf – Cologne Borkum
35 2333 Cologne – Düsseldorf – Oberhausen – Gelsenkirchen – Münster – Rhine – Emden – Norddeich Mole Nordeney
26 2355–2356 Binz – Stralsund – Rostock – Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel – Gießen – Frankfurt Arkona
26 2370–2371 Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel – Gießen – Frankfurt – Mannheim – Karlsruhe – Offenburg – Konstanz Schwarzwald
26 2377 Binz – Stralsund – Rostock – Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel – Gießen – Frankfurt Strelasund
56 2431 Emden – Oldenburg – Bremen – Hannover – Braunschweig – Magdeburg – Potsdam – Berlin – Cottbus Borkum
56 2432 Cottbus – Berlin – Potsdam – Magdeburg – Braunschweig – Hannover – Bremen – Oldenburg – Emden – Norddeich Mole Ostfriesland
56 2434 Leipzig – Halle – Magdeburg – Braunschweig – Hannover – Bremen – Oldenburg – Emden – Norddeich Mole Borkum
56 2435 Norddeich Mole – Emden – Oldenburg – Bremen – Hannover – Braunschweig – Magdeburg – Halle, Leipzig Ostfriesland

Rolling stock

Motive power

The original Intercity services were hauled by the Class 103 electric locomotives, built in the early-1970s and capable of 200 km/h. Lesser routes were operated by Class 110 and 111 locos, but these had a lower maximum speed, and with line speeds increasing, their use became untenable. A new Class 120 was introduced in 1987, and these classes were relegated to Regional duties. In the mid-1990s the Class 101 was introduced, and these locomotives now dominate Intercity services, with the 103s having been largely retired in the early-2000s.

On non-electrified Intercity routes, such as Hamburg to Westerland, or Ulm to Lindau, Class 218 diesel locomotives are used, usually double-headed. For cross-border services, multi-voltage electric locos are needed, such as the Class 181 to France and Luxembourg or the Class 180 into the Czech Republic and Poland.

After German reunification, former Deutsche Reichsbahn locomotives could be found on Intercity services – not only the Class 180s, but the 112 (electric) and 219 (diesel) locos. While the 219s have been retired, the 112s are now solely used on Regional-Expresses due to their top speed of 160 km/h.

While most Intercity trains have been loco-hauled, a small number of services have been operated by multiple units: early services were operated by the VT 11.5 and Class 403 (1973) TEE units, while Nuremberg to Dresden route, was briefly operated by Class 612 DMUs in Intercity livery. This service was later classified as an Interregio-Express (part of DB Regio) and the units were painted in standard DB red. Through service on that route has since been withdrawn altogether with Mitteldeutsche Regio Bahn serving the electrified route from Dresden to Hof and DB Regio serving the route from Hof to Nuremberg.

Current motive power
101 (Electric loco) 146.5 (Electric loco) 147.5 (Electric loco) 218 (Diesel loco) 245 (Diesel loco)

Coaching stock

Early Intercity trains used classic Eurofima stock, shared with TEE and D-Zug expresses, but with the growth of the network in the 1980s, and the inclusion of second class, large numbers of new air-conditioned coaches were built, which are still in use to this day. In the mid-1990s driving trailers were introduced on Intercity and Interregio services, which had the effect of speeding up journey times: many major German railway stations are termini, so a lot of Intercity services include at least one change of direction. With the demise of Interregio in 2002, a large number of IR coaches were incorporated in Intercity services – particularly second class coaches but also the Bistro Café, which has replaced a full restaurant on most routes.

Formations

Intercity trains are usually 7 to 11 coaches long, depending on the route. There are one or two first class coaches – one compartment coach, and one open on longer trains. A few routes still use restaurants, but most use a bistro cafe, which also provides half a coach of first-class accommodation. Most of the second class coaches are open, but with some compartments, and some ex-Interregio coaches. Cycle space is provided by the driving trailer, but these are not used on all routes, so there are some non-driving coaches with space for bicycles.

Livery

Intercity coaches were originally in the blue and beige colour scheme employed on D-Zug services, with first class coaches in the TEE dark red and beige. A rebranding of the Deutsche Bundesbahn in the mid-1980s saw a new colour scheme for Intercity services, orient red and light grey with a pastel pink stripe in between. When DB adopted traffic red as its corporate colour in the mid-1990s, this replaced orient red, with the pink stripe taken off, before a new livery was introduced in 2000s – based on the Intercity-Express, the coaches are all white with a red stripe.

Refurbishment

In 2012, DB began a programme of refurbishing the interior its Intercity coaches with decor similar to that found in the ICE3. Name of the programme is IC mod.[7] The work is expected to be completed by 2014.

Overview
Image Description Classification Interior Refurbished interior
1st class open Apmz
1st class compartment Avmz
Bistro Café / 1st class compartment & open (ex-InterRegio) ARkimbz
Restaurant WRmz
2nd class open Bpmz
2nd class open with wheelchair space Bpmbz
2nd class compartment & open, train conductor compartment, baby compartment Bvmsz
2nd class compartment & open Bvmz
2nd class compartment (former 1st class) Bwmz
2nd class compartment & open (ex-InterRegio) Bimz
2nd class compartment & open with cycle space (ex-InterRegio) Bimdz
2nd class compartment & open driving trailer (ex-Inter Regio) Bimdzf
2nd class driving trailer Bpmbdzf

Future rolling stock
Main articles: ICE 4 (Deutsche Bahn), Intercity 2, and ICE L

Deutsche Bahn plans to replace most Intercity and Eurocity rolling stock with Intercity-Express ICE 4 electric multiple unit trainsets by 2025.[8] ICE 4 is a Deutsche Bahn project to procure up to 300 fourth generation Intercity-Express trains to replace its existing Intercity fleets used on long-distance passenger services in Germany.[9]

In addition to the ICE 4, Deutsche Bahn has awarded Bombardier Transportation a contract to supply double-decker coaches for Intercity services. These kind of coaches are used in German Regional-Express trains, for Intercity services the coaches will get a more comfortable interior than in regional train double-decker coaches. In both classes only open coaches are provided, there will be no dining car.[10] The double-decker coaches have been in service since 2015.[11] Unlike most previous IC stock the new trains, marketed as "InterCity 2" by DB have a top speed of 160 km/h and are mainly intended for routes where higher speeds aren't possible or would offer little or no benefit with the ICE 4 to take over routes with maximum speeds between 160 km/h and 250 km/h. The IC2 is also intended to expand the Intercity network to cities that had lost their long-distance service upon withdrawal of the Interregio.

See also

Notes
  1. "Vortrag Änderungen im DB Fernverkehr ab Dezember 2017" (PDF) (in German). DB Fernverkehr. 14 September 2017. p. 41. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  2. Bliesener, Nicole (31 August 2016). "Bahn streicht die Hälfte der IC-Halte in Bad Oeynhausen". Neue Westfälische (in German). p. 5. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  3. "Die Bahn erhöht zum 9. Dezember ihre Preise". Badische Zeitung (in German). 4 October 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  4. "Abschied von der Vogelfluglinie". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). 15 October 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  5. "Der neue Fernverkehrszug "ICL"" (Press release) (in German). Deutsche Bahn AG. 13 March 2019. Archived from the original on 13 March 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  6. "Neues Angebotskonzept auf der Gäubahn und Vorstellung von Intercity 2 und Talent 2" (Press release) (in German). Baden-Württemberg Minister for Transportation. 1 December 2017. Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  7. see for example File:IC mod Umbauschild der Deutschen Bahn 2013 01 20.jpg
  8. "Siemens preferred bidder for ICx inter-city train deal". Railway Gazette International. 25 January 2010.
  9. Ralf Roman Rossberg (25 September 2008). "DB keeps ICX options open". Railway Gazette International.
  10. "DB orders double-deck trains for long-distance services". Railway Gazette International. 12 January 2011.
  11. "Bahn muss bis 2015 auf neue Doppelstock-Intercitys warten". Reuters. 24 November 2013. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014.
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