ICE Cologne–Frankfurt

A roller-coaster alignment beside the A3 autobahn with 40 ‰ grades: only the most powerful ICE sets are cleared for it.

Germany built this 2002 line like a roller-coaster: rather than tunnel the Westerwald flat, it follows the A3 autobahn over it with 4% gradients no conventional train could climb, which is why only distributed-power ICE 3 family sets are allowed on it. The 300 km/h plunge cut Cologne–Frankfurt from over two hours along the Rhine to 64 minutes, and gave tiny Montabaur a bullet-train station that still raises eyebrows. The old riverside line survives below for the slow, beautiful way.

Stations

1. 0 kmKöln Hauptbahnhof
2. 168 kmFrankfurt am Main Airport Long distance trains
3. 180 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

• Cologne cathedral farewell
• Siegburg/Bonn interchange
• Westerwald ridge-and-valley sprint
• Montabaur’s improbable ICE stop
• Limburg an der Lahn
• Frankfurt skyline approach

How this line was checked

• Line drawn from OpenStreetMap relation 379647 — the same nodes OpenStreetMap holds for this railway, thinned to within under 25 m of them
• Checked against OpenStreetMap: the whole line lies on real track, a median 5 m from it
• Checked against the running timetable via ÖBB Scotty: our line sits under 100 m from the shape of ICE 1713
• 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?

The ICE runs 180 km from Cologne to Frankfurt.

How long does the ICE take?

The fastest scheduled journey is 1 h 08 min for the 180 km. That is an average of 159 km/h end to end. The line's top service speed is 300 km/h.

Who runs the ICE?

Deutsche Bahn, with ICE 3neo.

How old is the ICE?

The line has been in service since 2002. 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 run?

Every 30–60 min.

View on the world railway map →

Read more on Wikipedia ↗