Germany’s incredible BRAND-NEW high-speed train – the ICE 3neo

Today I'm going to show you the latest generation of Germany's high-speed ICE trains, and see if this newcomer meets their high comfort standards. :)

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Journey Details:
Origin: Köln Hbf
Destination: Frankfurt am Main Flughafen Fernbahnhof
Company: Deutsche Bahn Fernverkehr (DB)
Train: DB 408 'ICE 3neo'
Accommodation: First Class Seat (1st)
Distance: 169 kilometres / 105 miles
Price: €55.90 (£49.10 / $59.80)
Time: 1h 09m, arrived 3 minutes early

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Find me elsewhere:

[Khilo_Oh]

"unfortunately, this wasn't working today, but it's a really good feature when it does work!" sums up a lot of my DB experiences

[Jerry_]

As a german it is surprising to me how well informed you are and how well you train the pronounciation of every word you say. Brilliant. Checkout any video on this chanel of your home country and finally that would be the moment when you will notice how informative these videos really are.

[arnav_mish]

As a daily commuter at Köln Hbf I would recommend avoiding rush hour timings as much as possible.... It once took me 10 minutes to get from the underground concourse to the Platform because both stairways were filled to the brim because someone thought it was a great idea to dock 2 ICEs on the same platform at the same time.

[BingoRL]

As a german it is very refreshing to view a very positive look at DB's services. Usually everybody is simply hating on DB for delayed trains and broken features (which is often true), but I really like seeing other great aspects like the train station and new technology getting some highlight. Thanks for your video!

[Jumbo_storm]

The German ICE trains are my favourite train when it comes to (the) exterior design. Love the train's paint and/or colour scheme. The ICE 3Neo looks even better in my opinion.

[tobys_transport_videos]

I travelled on an ICE train from Munich to Berlin via Nuremburg at around 220-250 kmh (one with a seperate power car on at least one end), taking around 6 hours for the journey, and came back to Munich a week later on a service taking 4 hours (possibly an ICE 3). I travelled 2nd class both ways and was quite happy with the train overall. Coming back I'd studied the timetables and used my newly acquired knowledge of high speed trains in Germany to insure I got a train *_timetabled_* to do 300 kmh! In Australia (where I 'm from) we don't know what true "high speed" means, so to do such incredible speeds on a train and see the looks on the faces of German Nationals who couldn't understand why I was so enthused by it, was quite something!

[peterschadel]

Just a note on Montabaur and Limburg. Not every train stops there, usually only one per hour or less.
Nevertheless, the ICE-Stations gave a huge boost to local economy with a lot people living there now, working either in Frankfurt or Cologne (or couples taking trains in separate directions each morning). Also a lot of companies, like mir former employer moved there because of the great connections. (you can get from an office in Montabaur to Frankfurt Airport LH Baggage Drop in less than 40 minutes if you take a cab to the station;)

[NFSHeld]

One additional fun fact about Montabaur: it is located in the "Eifel" region, one of the least populated areas in western (the cardinal direction) Germany. Montabaur was always one of the "bigger" cities, but the deal with the Deutsche Bahn was that they would agree to the new track if they got a station and the Deutsche Bahn would agree to have at least 1 ICE train stop in that station per hour. Being located so close to Bonn and Köln (Cologne), Montabaur saw a rise in housing from commuters that could now get to one of the biggest cities in Germany with a fast train, plus more than 80 new companies with over 1800 new jobs created, most notably the "United Internet AG" as parent company of 1&1, Ionos, GMX, web-de [written this way to prevent auto-link], Strato, United Domains, and Sedo, which are all amongst the biggest providers of various products around Internet technology (domain sales, web hosting, mail providers, ISP, etc.). In the 12 years up to the announcement of the plans (1975-87), the Montabaur region had grown from 30.3k inhabitants to 33k (+2.7k). In the following 12 years (until 1999), it grew to 38.5k (+5.5k), doubling the growth speed. The whole region profited from their deal-making and subsequent marketing campaign.

[rastapopoulos]

The trains themselves are fine and perfectly comfortable. I always go second class because it is already a first class experience (also price wise). The problem is how they are operated, services are unreliable and notoriously late. The trains aren't well maintained, which often leads to teachnical issues and the railroad network is overstretched. This is where DB needs to work on so that travel is not only comfortable but actually frustration free.
Quality video, you're well informed and your pronounciation of the Umlaute (ä ö ü) is spot on!

[Andrewjg_]

Now that’s one beautiful high speed train. Very slick, fast, smooth and comfortable. 😍

[Stromschlag]

Nice video! You missed mentioning the ICE3neo having a new window technology implemented that doesn't block mobile carrier radio which is a great deal and welcome change! This greatly improves reception on your phone in the train.

[jochem]

Nice video! The seats look very comfortable with the new padding. Feels like a good upgrade for this high speed train. 😊

[petervonhunerbein]

Love the bicycle compartment on all ICE trains, which have only been introduced recently. Great +++

[Foxy_AR]

10:36 I don’t know, but there’s something about that soap splatting out that made me burst out into laughter 😂

[ce]

Probably the best high speed train out there in my opinion, spacious, modern, good seats, and looks great too!

[Devillunar]

Ahead of schedule? Come on! Last time mine was 1.5 hours late! (The followed track was closed for a reason and the train had to make a detour. Ok not totally DB's fault :D)

[michaelb]

The ICE3 Neo is something that we, as Siemens employees, are very proud of... A beautiful multi-system train. However, I don't understand the criticism of the ICE4, as it has a different area of application and, apart from a few SFS, fits in wonderfully with Germany. The unreliability of the ICE is unfortunately also due to the lack of a high-speed network. Thanks for the short review

For your information: the VelaroNeo is nevertheless a new development, not just a modernised Velaro D.

[rbrouns]

Last summer i used a regional rrx train and an ice3 for a trip from Herzogenrath to Munich and back. There were no problems with the time and on the way back the ice was a couple of minutes ahead of schedule. The ride on the ice was very comfortable, the seat could benefit from more padding.

[Simon-Andersen]

Love the phone tablet holder, such a nice feature especially on longer journeys!

[guidomunch]

Cologne Cathedral is neither the largest nor the highest Cathedral in the world. But definitely worth a visit if you have some spare time at Köln Hbf which can happen more often due to the sometimes massive delays of the trains. The Hohenzollern Bridge adjoining the station is a real bottleneck for rail traffic in western Germany.