Germany’s FIRST High-Speed Train, is it still good?

This is Germany's first high-speed train, dating back to the early-1990s. Does it still hold up against the modern day passenger's high expectations? Let's take a long journey on one and find out!

---

Journey Details:
Origin: Frankfurt(M)Hbf
Destination: Berlin Hbf
Company: Deutsche Bahn (DB)
Train: DB 401 (ICE 1)
Accommodation: First Class Seat (1st)
Distance: 573 kilometres / 356 miles
Price: €65.90 (£60.40 / $76.90)
Time: 4 hours 11 minutes, arrived 2 minutes late

---

Find me elsewhere:

[captainquacksparrow]

I was lucky enough to drive these trains myself for 6.5 years. Rarely has someone let me down and stayed put. Admittedly, the years have taken their toll on the machines, but they are still the most reliable horse in the DB stable.

Greetings from a train driver from Germany.

[avmz]

The ICE 1 is like a good old friend who should never disappear 😊.

[alby]

My god, your pronunciation of German words is spectacular. I always read how people adore when you speak their language "correctly" and now I can definitely say the same :D
Love your videos. I commute by train quite frequently and your videos made me appreciate my long rides a lot more, even with Deutsche Bahn and all its shenanigans.

[turtlemaster]

I personally like the ICE 1 the most. It is the most cozy i think and it has the most leg room. The leg room in second Class is as good as it is in in First Class of newer ICE trains.

[Scherrah]

The ICE 1 was THE milestone for high-spped rail service in Germany and I totally agree with you that they still live up to their quality, despite being almost 40 years old. Switzerland took some of these into their inventory where they serve long-distance-hauls between Hamburg/Berlin and Interlaken-Ost, as well as Berlin-Basel SBB. The main reason for that decision is their reliability. I wouldn‘t be too surprised if Switzerland would extend their lifespan even past 2030!

Although the ride isn‘t as smooth as in a modertn ICE3 (neo)/ICE 4 set, they still can compete easily with other HSR sets worldwide.

Interestingly when the USA ditched the ICE in favor for the Bombardier Acela, many Americans considered that decision a bad one as the Bombardier trainsets often tend to fail service. Yet Amtrak sticks to their decision and a recent upgrade even was made in favor for Bombardier instead of Siemens (although the Velaro D (which represent the ICE 3) was never officially tested in the USA). To this very date the USA still lack a reliable HSR throughout the country and it‘ll take for sure another 30-50 years until the USA will be up to code in that. Currently only west and east coast are benefitting from recently initialized projects for next-gen HSR services with completion of the lines mid 2030 to 2040.

As you mentioned the ICE 5, yes, the DB are indeed investigating in a replacement for the Velaro D as these trains are also almost 30 years in operation. Siemens and Talgo have both shown concepts already, both looking sleek and modern, while the Talgo has the more aerodynamic design IMHO. You‘ll find videos about future ICE train generations here on YouTube as well.

One word about punctuality: Yes, it is known that long-distance trains of DB are commonly known for their (sometimes heavy) delays and DB still struggles to have them on schedule by now. But it must be also noted that DB has no „Taktfahrplan“ unlike Switzerland, meaning that even the slightest delay can lead to even bigger delays the longer the train is operating. DB is currently undergoing major schedule redesign to overcome this problem but it‘ll take some time, like all good things do.

I still have the dream where trains in Germany run as punctual as in Switzerland but with a network that complex and sensitive to delays, this will be no easy task at all.

[xAciasx]

Old ICE 1 trains used to have screens in the back of the seat in front, even in second class. Every seat also had headphone sockets with 8 programms, 7 and 8 were reserved for the screen entertainement. Seating space was also very high compared to later models.

[reinhardheim]

You forgot to mention the high ceilings and upper level windows in the restaurant car which is the special touch of the ICE1 train and no other ICE will ever have anymore.

[tonybkent]

I remember travelling on one of these in August 1992 when I was Inter-Railing and being really impressed with the ICE. I didn't realise they were so new at the time, until watching this video

[vinniechudam]

1998: I was 20yrs old and booked a 2nd class Eurail pass for Germany. Basically I could travel anywhere on the DB network for 7 days in a month. I slept at Frankfurt airport on the terminal seats a few occasions. I also managed to catch the sleeper train from Brussels to Berlin, and slept in a couchette. These ICE1 trains whisked me the length and breadth of Germany. I was amazed. Fastforward 25 years and I am now very much a First Class traveller by train. Thanks for sharing.

[notroll]

I used those trains a lot for weekly commuting between Berlin and Düsseldorf in 2008.
I liked the design but they were overdue for refurbishment and only had a single socket on tables for four and nothing for all the pairs of seats in between.
As soon as they were updated, they were very usable and pleasant - showing that trains can be brilliant for a long time with good maintenance and occasional updates.

[MaximusPrime_gg]

Even though it's 30 years old it still stands well to this day

[MrDj]

As a german I expected this video to end horribly. So I'm quite surprised that it seemed like a good run.
Though I am annoyed that my thought was "Oh, only 3 minutes late? That's on time!" :D
To bad the rail connection to my city got literally washed away in 2021 and they're still not back in action

[patricklnz]

I’m very excited that you took a route that I also travel on quite regularly (Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe–Berlin). Whenever I can, I try to book a connection that's operated by an ICE 1. They are definitely the most comfortable ICE trains. Very happy that you enjoyed your journey. Tbh it even makes me a bit proud.

[maximusg]

Just don't go outside of the Frankfurt station and you'll be fine :D

[coolmasterztv]

I love the way how these German trains are designed.

[NorthSea_]

I was 10 years old, when the ICE was introduced in 1991. A lot of people here in Germany were immensely proud and looking forward to our domestic national high speed rail service at the time!
I remember when the Hannover-Würzburg HSR line was built in the 80s. It cost billions and was quite a an achievement, with gigantic viaducts/bridges and countless tunnels, since the line goes through the super hilly central German uplands, often visible along closeby to the main Autobahn A7 route, with gigantic construction sites at the time…
Before that, there were some upgraded main electrified trunk lines in Germany for fast intercity service, which had been upgraded up to 180-200km/h in the 70s along certain routes, but no proper high speed rail until THIS.
At the time when the whole German HSR network was originally planned, it was also still a fully nationalized company (it‘s semi-privatized since the 90s, for better or worse). Germany being a pluricentric country with several regional hubs and having a relatively dense network is surely prone to failure when it gets to delays, especially regarding the huge amount of passenger and cargo traffic everywhere. After the 90s, with new international routes towards the East re-established, along with an overall massive increase of traffic, have caused quite a few challenges, not to mention the increasingly bad management of DB in recent years. DB was never perfect, but never this bad in past decades compared to now. Sometimes I think it might be better to put it back under whole national state control, with its own ministry, as was still the case in the 80s.

[CAESARbonds]

It felt like time travel riding this the first time.
Digital displays showing your speed and position.
They even had A phone booth connected to the mobile network. blasting with 280 km/h to your destination in no time.

This was always an experience.

[no-damn-alias]

The ICE 1 is a great train although they start to show their age. When you sit on a window seat best in the middle of the car. Lean on the wall or stuck you hand between the wall and the seat and you can feel how the car is flexing especially when you're driving into a tunnel at high speeds due to the pressure differentials.

Recently took an ICE from Berlin to Munich via Erfurt which was served by an ICE 1 . I was very happy about it not being an ICE 4 .
Better seats, more space, faster and quieter.

It was running late as a passenger needed medical attention so we were going 280km/h where possible.
You could definetly feel the flex being more than in an ICE 3 although that was almost 10 years ago now and being way more than in an ICE 4 but that one's going slower as well.

Yes the LDV will shorten these trains for two reasons.
Some middle cars are simply too worn so they can't use them any longer.
Also they want to protect the power units.
They already had to do a full overhaul of the drive train and change the GTOs to IGBT.
So they want to baby the trains.
How I know DB these trains will run beyond 2030 and only the ICE 5 will replace them.

All other trains will simply extend the ICE network as many IC lines will be converted to ICE so people have to pay a higher fare.

[Foxy_AR]

As someone who is from Fulda, I am happy that you actually mentioned our town 😅

[mysteriousm.]

I am a train driver from DB Fernverkehr and I love the Br401. Although it is over 30 years old it is still such a masterpiece.It's always a pleasure to drive one of them myself.♥️