Intercity (Deutsche Bahn)

Intercity (DB)

A DB Intercity train near Minden in 2012
Locale	Germany
Dates of operation	1971–
Predecessor	F-Zug
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Website	www.bahn.com

A classic Intercity train at Emmerich in 1973, hauled by a Class 103

Intercity is the second-highest train classification in Germany, after the ICE. Intercity services are loco-hauled express 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.

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 of Germany; most of these are under the EuroCity classification.

History

Inception

The Intercity logo, in use from 1971–1991

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 – Köln – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Heidelberg – Stuttgart – Ulm – Augsburg – Munich
• Line 2 (blue): Hannover – Bielefeld – Hamm – Dortmund – Hagen – Wuppertal-Elberfeld (– Solingen-Ohligs) – Köln – Bonn – Koblenz – Wiesbaden – Frankfurt (Main) – Würzburg – Nürnberg – Augsburg – München
• 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.

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

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

• Linie 3a: Amsterdam – Utrecht – Oberhausen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Köln – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – (Mannheim – Karlsruhe – Freiburg (Breisgau) – Basel) or (Mannheim – Heidelberg – Stuttgart – Ulm – Augsburg – München – Salzburg) or (Frankfurt (Main) airport – Frankfurt (Main) – Würzburg – Augsburg – München – 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-Linie 1 (red): Hamburg-Altona – Bremen – Münster (Westf) – Dortmund – Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Köln – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – Frankfurt (Main) Flughafen – Frankfurt (Main) – Aschaffenburg – Würzburg – Nürnberg – (Ingolstadt – Munich) or (Regensburg – Passau – Linz – Wien) (connecting to Austria)
• IC-Linie 1a (magenta): Wiesbaden – Frankfurt (Main) (two hourly)
• IC-Linie 2 (brown): (Dortmund – Bochum) or (Münster (Westf) – Recklinghausen – Gelsenkirchen) – Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Köln – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Heidelberg – Stuttgart – Ulm – Augsburg – Munich (acht EC-Zugpaare above Salzburg to Budapest, Klagenfurt, Wien or Zagreb)
• IC-Linie 2a (magenta): Wiesbaden – Mainz
• IC-Linie 3 (green): Berlin – Potsdam – Magdeburg – Helmstedt – Braunschweig – Hildesheim – Göttingen – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Fulda – Frankfurt (Main) – Mannheim – Karlsruhe (zweistündlich, ein EC-Zugpaar above Basel to Zürich)
• IC-Linie 4 (gold): Hamburg-Altona – Hannover – Göttingen – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Fulda – Würzburg – Augsburg – München (every two hours to Nürnberg)
• IC-Linie 5 (blue): (zweistündlich Berlin – Potsdam – Magdeburg –) Braunschweig – Hannover– Bielefeld – Hamm – Dortmund – Hagen – Wuppertal – Solingen-Ohligs – Köln – Bonn – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Karlsruhe – Freiburg (Breisgau) – Basel (new EC pairs of trains nach Brig, Chur, Genf, Interlaken, Mailand oder Sestri Levante)
• EC-Linie 5a (lilac): Amsterdam – Utrecht – Emmerich – Oberhausen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Köln (zweistündlich, zwei EC-Zugpaare der Linie 5 to Chur and Interlaken)
• ICE-Linie 6 (orange): Hamburg-Altona – Hannover – Göttingen – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Fulda – Frankfurt (Main) – Mannheim – Stuttgart – Ulm – Augsburg – München
• IC-Linie 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, providing semi-fast services to complement Intercity trains.

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

Below are the current services in the 2014 timetable.

Line	Core route	Variations and branches	Frequency
26	Hamburg – Hannover – Kassel – Gießen – Frankfurt – Heidelberg – Karlsruhe	Binz – Rostock – Hamburg Westerland – Hamburg Karlsruhe – Offenburg – Konstanz Kassel – Würzburg – Nuremberg – Passau Kassel – Würzburg – Ansbach – Augsburg – Oberstdorf Kassel – Würzburg – Ansbach – Augsburg – Munich – Berchtesgaden Kassel – Würzburg – Ansbach – Augsburg – Munich – Zell am See - Schwarzach St. Veit	2 hourly
27	Hamburg – Wittenberge – Berlin – Dresden – Prague (EC)	Westerland – Hamburg Binz – Stralsund – Berlin Prague – Vienna – Budapest / Villach	2 hourly
28	Berlin – Leipzig – Nuremberg – Augsburg – Munich		1 train pair
30	Hamburg – Bremen – Münster – Dortmund – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Heidelberg – Stuttgart	Binz / Heringsdorf – Rostock – Hamburg Westerland – Hamburg Mannheim – Karlsruhe – Basel – Zürich – Chur (EC)	2 hourly
31	Hamburg – Bremen – Münster – Dortmund – Wuppertal – Cologne – Koblenz – Mainz – Frankfurt	Kiel – Hamburg Puttgarden – Lübeck – Hamburg Frankfurt – Würzburg – Nuremberg – Passau	2 hourly
32	Dortmund – Essen – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Heidelberg – Stuttgart – Ulm – Munich	Berlin – Hannover – Hamm – Dortmund Münster – Gelsenkirchen – Essen Stuttgart – Tübingen Ulm – Lindau – Innsbruck Munich – Salzburg – Klagenfurt (EC)	2 hourly
35	Norddeich Mole – Emden – Münster – Gelsenkirchen – Oberhausen – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Koblenz	Koblenz – Trier – Luxembourg Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Stuttgart Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Karlsruhe – Offenburg – Konstanz	2 hourly
50	Leipzig – Naumburg – Erfurt – Eisenach – Fulda – Frankfurt – Frankfurt Airport	Binz – Stralsund – Berlin – Halle – Naumburg Dresden – Leipzig Eisenach – Kassel – Paderborn – Hamm – Dortmund – Düsseldorf Frankfurt – Darmstadt – Mannheim – Saarbrücken	2 hourly
55	Leipzig – Halle – Magdeburg – Hannover – Hamm – Dortmund – Wuppertal – Cologne	Dortmund – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Koblenz – Mainz – Mannheim – Heidelberg – Stuttgart – Ulm – Oberstdorf Riesa - Dresden	2 hourly
56	Dresden – Leipzig – Halle – Magdeburg – Hannover – Bremen – Oldenburg	Cottbus – Berlin – Magdeburg Magdeburg – Stendal – Wittenberge – Rostock – Warnemünde Oldenburg – Emden	2 hourly
60	Karlsruhe – Bruchsal – Stuttgart – Munich	Basel – Karlsruhe Munich – Salzburg	2 hourly
61	Karlsruhe – Pforzheim – Stuttgart – Ansbach – Nuremberg	Basel – Freiburg – Karlsruhe Nuremberg – Regensburg – Passau	2 hourly
62	Frankfurt – Heidelberg – Stuttgart – Munich – Salzburg	Siegen – Frankfurt Saarbrücken – Mannheim – Stuttgart Salzburg – Graz / Linz / Klagenfurt (EC)	2 hourly
75	Hamburg – Lübeck – Puttgarden – Copenhagen (EC)		1 train pair
77	Berlin – Wolfsburg – Hannover – Osnabrück – Bad Bentheim – Amsterdam	Osnabrück – Münster	2 hourly
87	Stuttgart – Singen – Schaffhausen – Zürich	Frankfurt – Stuttgart	2 hourly
88	Munich – Lindau – Bregenz – Zürich (EC)		4 train pairs
89	Munich – Rosenheim – Innsbruck – Italy (EC)		2 hourly
95	Berlin – Frankfurt (Oder) – Poznań – Warsaw (EC)	Poznań - Gdańsk - Gdynia	4 train pairs
99	Hamburg – Lüneburg – Stendal – Berlin – Cottbus – Wroclaw (EC)		1 train pair

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 TEE units, while Nuremberg to Dresden route, was briefly operated by Class 612 DMUs in Intercity livery. This service is now classified as an Interregio-Express (part of DB Regio) and the units are back in standard DB red.

Gallery

Current motive power
101 (Electric loco)	120 (Electric loco)	180 (Multi-voltage electric loco)	181 (Multi-voltage electric loco)	218 (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. The work is expected to be completed by 2014.

Overview

Image	Description	Classification	Interior	Refburbished 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 article: ICx

Deutsche Bahn plans to replace most Intercity and Eurocity rolling stock with ICx electric multiple unit trainsets by 2025. ICx is a Deutsche Bahn project to procure up to 300 inter-city trains to replace its existing fleets used on long-distance passenger services in Germany.

In addition to the ICx Deutsche Bahn has awarded Bombardier Transportation to supply double-decker coach for Intercity services. This 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. The double-decker coaches will be used from 2015.

See also

• EuroCity in Germany
• Intercity-Express
• Trans Europe Express
• InterCity (in other countries)

External links

• Deutsche Bahn (German)
• Fernbahn.de – Information on long-distance train services in Germany (German)
• Deutsche Bahn IC/EC Network