page_title: Intercity Express
section_title: ICE TD
hierarchical_section_title: Intercity Express / History / ICE T and ICE TD / ICE TD
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: ICE am Sereetzer Weg in Ratekau, Schleswig-Holstein
context_page_description: The Intercity Express is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany. It also serves some destinations in Austria, Denmark, France, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands mostly as part of cross border services. It is the highest service category of rail and the flagship train of the German state railway, Deutsche Bahn. There are currently 259 trainsets in use. ICE trains are the highest category trains in the fare system of the Deutsche Bahn. Their fares are not calculated on a fixed per-kilometre table as with other trains, but instead have fixed prices for station-to-station connections, levied on the grounds that the ICE trains have a higher level of comfort. Travelling at speeds up to 320 km/h, they are tailored for business travellers or long-distance commuters and are marketed by Deutsche Bahn as an alternative to flights.
  Apart from domestic use, the trains can also be seen in countries neighbouring Germany. There are, for example, ICE 1 lines to Basel and Zurich. ICE 3 trains also run to Liège and Brussels and at lower speeds to Amsterdam.
context_section_description: Rather ill-fated was the adoption of diesel services. In 2001, a total of 20 units were commissioned for use on the Dresden-Munich and Munich-Zurich lines, but these class 605 (ICE-TD) units experienced trouble from the start so the trains were mothballed. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, they were used for supplemental services. Their top speed is 200 km/h (125 mph). They are expensive to use within Germany since full diesel tax must be paid. Starting at the end of 2007, the class 605 has been deployed on the Hamburg-Copenhagen route. This route, using the Fehmarn Belt train ferry needs diesel trains for both the railway and the ferry, as neither has an electric supply. Later the Hamburg-Aarhus started to use these trains. The Danish railway currently has a severe shortage of long-distance diesel trains since their new IC4, with features similar to the ICE-TD, has also been ill-fated and severely delayed in delivery. The ICE-TD can have lower operational cost for this traffic, since diesel for train usage has lower tax in Denmark, and the trains fill their tanks there.
caption: ICE TD in service of DB in Northern Germany
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