Germany's Most Iconic High-Speed Train! Is the ICE 1 Still Good 30 Years Later?

Join me for a trip on one of Europe’s most iconic and influential high-speed trains: the original ICE 1. This train kicked off the high-speed railway network in Germany, which has since grown into one of the largest in Europe and one of the most recognizable train brands. But after more than 30 years in service, are these trains still fit for use, or should DB consider retiring them? That’s what we’ll explore as I take you on a journey from Hamburg to Bremen.

Train type: DB ICE 1
Route: Hamburg - Bremen - Düsseldorf - Köln - Frankfurt - Nürnberg - Passau
Train: ICE 927
Distance: 121 km
Journey time: 1h10m
Average speed: 103 km/h
Price: from 9.90€

[axelbr]

Funny thing: Your trainset hasn’t t received the refurbishment yet. They get a new paint, better passenger information screens, and an overall refurbishment inside, like new carpets. But they will keep the seats.

[PaulHojda]

The design of the ICE1 is so elegant and timeless

[ExplorebyRail]

The good old ICE 1 with the iconic "Buckel-Bordrestaurant". I love it. And I always love to see people from other countries rating our trains :)

[TheDunbartxeen]

The tiny bin was probably for smoking. Back in the beginning of ICE Service some carriages where still reserved for smoking. Glad this is no longer a thing.

[Marke]

My favourite seats of all ICE generations and version, by far! The "boss leather chair" style fits my big butt waaay better than the "racing car" style seats in the ICE 4, for example... and the restaurant is awesome too, ofc.

[maxjohkna]

6:07 the train guard has an incredible accent, very on brand for a hamburg-bremen run

[alexanderivkin]

ICE 927 is not a 2019-refurbished one, it still runs with 14 cars.

[ninyaninjabrifsanovichthes]

I unfortunately didn’t get the privilege to ride the ICE 1 last year, but I did get to ride one of the newer models when our Vectron-led České Dráhy train broke down and we had to get rescued.

[JBricksTFOL]

why is nobody talking about the ice 4 "Bundes republick deutschland" just chilling there. Not even a mention ;(

[LarsPW]

The ICE 1 was Western Germanys first high speed train (operated by then state railroad operator Deutsche Bundesbahn), Germany had high speed trains already since 1933 ("fliegende Züge", engl. "flying trains") which consisted of diesel-electric powered railcars. Representatives of railroad administrations from all over the world travelled to Germany to study it. Their maximum speed had been between 160 and 200 km/h.

The IC trains since the 1970s of Deutsche Bundesbahn with their maximum speed of 200 km/h towed by an electric locomotive and coaches designed for this purpose might count as high speed because most train operators did not reach this velocity then.

[ichibaopac]

It is interesting that the old Altona station, built during the Danish period, is now the city hall. I have to visit soon.

[TFTSB]

So cool to see this route I take on the regular get featured! Even if Bf Altona isn't a beautiful station, I do absolutely love that part of Hamburg!

[aviano]

ICE 1 is so awesome.
Love the Bord Restaurant area 😛

Fun Fact: Your ICE train set 120 "Lüneburg" ist one of the not modernized sets with 12 waggons. The modernized sets have only 9 waggons, two waggons 2nd class and one waggon 1st class fewer. The order of the carriages is also different. The carriage with the conductor's information compartment and the family / toddler compartment is a 1st class carriage in the older ICE 1 and is located in front of the on-board restaurant waggon. In the modernized multiple units, this carriage has been converted to 2nd class and is located behind the on-board restaurant waggon (seen from the 1st class end).

[brfan]

In my opinion the ICE 1 and 3neo are the best trains of DB. But you should try out the ICE 2 sets before they'll be completely phased out in 2027

[paulw.woodring]

The ICE 1 set DB sent Amtrak for demonstration in the U. S. 32 years ago had a plusher interior, especially the restaurant car, than the refurbished one in this video.

[TilmanBaumann]

I love the ride on the old trains. And the spacious loading gauge.

[doctorhabilthcjesus]

The tiny bins at 9:55 are from the time when smoking was allowed.

[MrLOLCraftLP]

Fun fact about the Hamburg S-Bahn. The S-Bahn service S4 is currently upgraded to travel all the way to Bad-Oldesloe near the city of Lübeck and the S21 is set to travel to Kaltenkirchen on the AKN network in 2028.

[RandallSlick]

Apart from the absence of bike/wheelchair/pushchair space. that is a beautifully designed interior. Old-fashioned compartments, but a modern airiness provided by the glass partitions. A small criticism might be that the dining area looks somewhat austere, but I'm sure the food is adequate. A benchmark for train interior design with room for improvement.