ICE International Amsterdam–Frankfurt

ICE 3M multi-system sets leave Amsterdam and, past Cologne, dive onto the 300 km/h Cologne–Rhine/Main line with its motorway-style gradients.

The Dutch run of the ICE International leaves Amsterdam over the polders, crosses the Rhine where the bridge at Arnhem entered wartime legend, and slips into Germany at Emmerich. Cologne grants the ritual two-minute cathedral view across the Hohenzollern bridge, and then comes the payoff: the 2002 high-speed line over the Westerwald, 300 km/h on 4% grades, delivering Frankfurt in under four hours from the IJ. It is the workhorse link between Schiphol’s hinterland and the euro’s home city.

Stations

1. 0 kmAmsterdam Centraal
2. 40 kmUtrecht Centraal
3. 96 kmArnhem Centraal
4. 188 kmOberhausen Hbf
5. 195 kmDuisburg Hauptbahnhof
6. 219 kmDüsseldorf Hauptbahnhof
7. 259 kmKöln Hauptbahnhof
8. 427 kmFrankfurt am Main Airport Long distance trains
9. 438 kmFrankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof

The stations OpenStreetMap lists for this service, in order, with the distance along the line as drawn here. A train may skip some of them.

Along the way

• Utrecht and the polder edge
• Rhine crossing at Arnhem
• Cologne cathedral pause
• Westerwald 300 km/h grades
• Frankfurt banking skyline

How this line was checked

• The 438 km this route shares with OpenStreetMap relation 379647 is drawn from that relation's own nodes, thinned to within under 25 m of them
• Checked against OpenStreetMap: 98.1% of this line lies within 250 m of real track (median 6 m); the longest stretch away from it is 2.5 km
• Checked against the running timetable via ÖBB Scotty: our line sits under 100 m from the shape of ICE 123
• Wikipedia has an article for this line
• See for yourself: open this line on the map with OpenStreetMap's own railway drawn underneath it

Questions and answers

How long is the ICE International?

The ICE International runs 440 km from Amsterdam to Frankfurt. It runs through the Netherlands and Germany.

How long does the ICE International take?

The fastest scheduled journey is 3 h 56 min for the 440 km. That is an average of 112 km/h end to end. The line's top service speed is 300 km/h.

Who runs the ICE International?

DB and NS, with ICE 3neo, Class 408.

How old is the ICE International?

The line has been in service since 2000. That is the year the atlas dates it from: for a modern brand running over an older railway, it is the railway's date, not the brand's.

How often does the ICE International run?

Every 1–2 h.

View on the world railway map →

Read more on Wikipedia (in DE) ↗