The German rail network provides connections to each of its neighbouring countries, many of which are under the EuroCity classification. EuroCity services are part of the Intercity network - many EC services represented a couple of train pairs on an IC route extended across the border, while other routes are served primarily by EuroCity services. EuroCity services are generally locomotive-hauled, using Intercity rolling stock, either from Deutsche Bahn or one of the other countries along the route.
Below is a list of current EuroCity services in Germany.
† Name no longer in use.
A number of trains provide international connections, but are classed as Intercity rather than Eurocity. This may be because the routes were former InterRegio services, or they only travel a short distance over the border.
# | Line | Route | Countries | Frequency | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
118–119 | 32 | Münster - Cologne - Koblenz - Stuttgart - Lindau - Bregenz - Innsbruck - Salzburg | Austria | 1 per day | ÖBB coaching stock |
130–134, 137, 231 | 35 | Norddeich Mole - Emden - Münster - Oberhausen - Düsseldorf - Cologne - Koblenz - Trier - Luxembourg | Luxembourg | 3 per day | ex-InterRegio |
140–149, 240–243 | 77 | Berlin - Hannover - Osnabrück - Bad Bentheim - Amsterdam | Netherlands | 8 per day | ex-InterRegio |
180–187, 280–285 | 87 | Stuttgart - Singen - Schaffhausen - Zurich | Switzerland | 7 per day | SBB coaching stock |
360–361 | 60 | Munich - Stuttgart - Karlsruhe - Strasbourg | France | 1 per day | |
382–387 | 76 | Hamburg - Flensburg - Fredericia - Aarhus | Denmark | 3 per day | DSB |
392–399 | 75 | Hamburg - Kolding - Odense - Copenhagen | Denmark | 4 per day | DSB |
1280–1284 | 26 | Flensburg - Hamburg - Hannover - Würzburg - Augsburg - Munich - Zell am See - Schwarzach St. Veit | Austria | 1 per day |
The ICE network has grown since its introduction, and there are now services to Aarhus, Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Interlaken, Paris, Vienna and Zurich. In addition, there are TGV and Thalys routes to Brussels, Paris and Marseille, as well as ÖBB's Railjet to Vienna and Budapest.
With the December 2017 schedule change, a new train service between Frankfurt am Main and Milano Centrale was introduced and branded by Deutsche Bahn (though neither by the Swiss nor the Italian railroads) as "EuroCity Express" with tickets put in the same price category as ICE tickets, unlike "regular" EuroCity trains which are in the same ticket category as IC.
The Deutsche Bahn AG is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company (AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder.
The Intercity Express is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany. It also serves some destinations in Austria, France, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands, mostly as part of cross border services. It is the highest service category of rail and the flagship train of the German state railway, Deutsche Bahn. There are currently 315 trainsets in use. ICE trains are the highest category trains in the fare system of the Deutsche Bahn. Their fares are not calculated on a fixed per-kilometre table as with other trains, but instead have fixed prices for station-to-station connections, levied on the grounds that the ICE trains have a higher level of comfort. Travelling at speeds up to 320 km/h (200 mph), they are tailored for business travellers or long-distance commuters and are marketed by Deutsche Bahn as an alternative to flights.
As of 2015, Germany had a railway network of 33,331 kilometres (20,711 mi), of which 19,983 kilometres (12,417 mi) were electrified and 18,201 kilometres (11,310 mi) were double track. Germany is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Germany is 80.
The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban-suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble commuter or even regional rail systems. The name S-Bahn derives from Schnellbahn, Stadtbahn or Stadtschnellbahn.
EuroCity, abbreviated as EC, is a cross-border train category within the European inter-city rail network. In contrast to trains allocated to the lower-level "IC" (InterCity) category, EC trains are international services that meet 20 criteria covering comfort, speed, food service, and cleanliness. Each EC train is operated by more than one European Union or Swiss rail company, under a multilateral co-operative arrangement, and all EC trains link important European cities with each other.
InterCity is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains generally call at major stations only.
DB Fernverkehr AG is a semi-independent division of Deutsche Bahn that operates long-distance passenger trains in Germany. It was founded in 1999 in the second stage of the privatisation of Deutsche Bahn, under the name of DB Reise&Touristik and was renamed in 2003.
City Night Line, abbreviated CNL, was a train category of German railway company Deutsche Bahn for overnight passenger train services between Germany and neighbouring European countries. In late 2015, Deutsche Bahn announced that it planned to terminate all night train services in December 2016, and this plan was implemented on 11 December 2016. The service on some CNL routes was replaced by ÖBB Nightjet services.
Railteam B.V. is a closed company with limited liability (B.V.) based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It operates as an alliance of European railway companies in the field of international high-speed rail in Europe, modelled on the airline alliances and was founded in Brussels on 2 July 2007.
EuroNight, abbreviated EN, is a European train category which denotes many main-line national and international night train services within the Western and Central European inter-city rail network.
DBAG Class 411 and Class 415 are German tilting electric multiple-unit high-speed trains in service with DB Fernverkehr, commonly known as ICE T.
Rosenheim station is the main railway station in the city of Rosenheim in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seventh largest passenger station in Bavaria and an important railway hub between the Munich–Rosenheim railway line and the lines to Salzburg, Kufstein/Innsbruck and Mühldorf, as well as the Mangfall Valley Railway. Rosenheim is operated by DB Station&Service, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG, and is classified as a Category 2 station
Railway companies in Europe assign their trains to different categories or train types depending on their role. Passenger trains may be broadly split into long-distance and local trains; the latter having average journey times of under an hour and a range of less than 50 kilometres. Goods trains have their own train types. The names of these train types have changed continually over the course of time.
A Schnellzug is an express train in German-speaking countries, where it refers to trains that do not stop at all stations along a line. The term is used both generically and also as a specific train type. In Germany and Austria it is also referred to colloquially as a D-Zug, a short form of Durchgangszug, and express train services were often given numbers preceded by the letter D. The similar term, snälltåg, was used in Sweden until January 1980.
Intercity is the second-highest train classification in Germany, after the ICE. Intercity services are loco-hauled express train services, usually over long-distances. There are Intercity routes throughout Germany, and routes generally operate with a two-hour frequency, with multiple routes giving a more frequent service on core routes. Intercity services are operated by the DB Fernverkehr sector of Deutsche Bahn.
The Vindobona is an international named passenger train which began service in 1957 between Berlin and Vienna via Dresden and Prague. In later years the route was extended to run from Hamburg via Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Brno and Vienna to Villach. It was named after the ancient settlement of Vindobona on the site of the modern city of Vienna. Labelled as a EuroCity train connection from 1993, services discontinued in 2014.
Mozart was an express train that linked Paris with Vienna via Strasbourg, Stuttgart and Munich. The service began in 1954, as an F-Zug named Mozart Express running between Strasbourg and Salzburg, before being extended ten years later. In 1983 it was re-classified as an FD-Zug and it was added to the EuroCity network in 1989. It operated until 2007, when it was replaced by a TGV service on the newly opened LGV Est. It was named after the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and served many cities with which he had an association.
Nightjet is a brand name given by the Austrian Federal Railways ÖBB to its overnight passenger train services.
EuroCity Express, or short ECE, is a category of Eurocity train marketed by Deutsche Bahn that runs on two routes as of 2021. It was created to classify a newly introduced international high speed train service in a higher category - equivalent to the Intercity-Express - than the existing Eurocity, which is equivalent to the "second tier" domestic Intercity.
Intercity 2, short IC2, is an Intercity train formed by bilevel rail cars of Deutsche Bahn Fernverkehr. It has been in operation since December 2015.