ICE 4 (project study)

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As ICE 4 a feasibility study was first referred to in the various concepts to increase capacity in the German long-distance passenger traffic with special trains ICE were examined.

The project was initiated in 1996. It should show perspectives beyond the ICE 3 , which was being developed at the time . The project, operated by the German rail vehicle industry in coordination with Deutsche Bahn , arose from the expectation of further increases in long-distance passenger rail transport. In it, solutions should be found to further increase the capacity under the framework conditions of limited train path capacity (especially in junction stations ) and limited, already exhausted train lengths (400 meters). With double-decker trains or extra-wide trains, the capacity should be expanded by 30 to 50 percent - depending on the level of comfort - without increasing the frequency.

The approaches were "heavily dependent on (...) how the demand development" would develop at DB Fernverkehr .

Vehicle concepts

In October 1996, the industrial companies involved presented the results of their deliberations:

  • The basic comfort / bistro variant offered 456 seats in both classes (compared to 391 on the ICE 3 at the time).
  • The variant was derived from High Density (English for high density ). With the seat spacing almost unchanged, 1st class seats were dispensed with and the bistro was replaced by a machine. This concept essentially served to demonstrate the maximum possible occupation.
  • A double-decker variant offered 629 2nd class seats. A bistro and 1st class seats were dispensed with. The entrance doors in this concept had been widened to 1150 millimeters, the luggage should be able to be stored in floor-to-ceiling luggage racks. The arrangement of the car transitions on the upper deck was intended to create a kind of "quiet zone" in the lower decks. Variants of a multiple unit train as well as a multiple unit train with distributed drive were tested .
  • In an extra-wide, one-story concept, the width of the car was increased to 3300 millimeters and an additional row of seats was accommodated. With 605 seats (only 2nd class), almost the number of seats for a double-decker variant was achieved. The development of such trains would have initially required an in-depth study of the necessary infrastructure. With a reference dimension of 3.57 m, the vehicle limit of the railway building and operating regulations would have been exceeded. These trains would not have been able to run on the high-volume Berlin – Cologne – Stuttgart – Munich and Hamburg – Munich axes due to a number of constraint points.

All trains were designed as a single-system train with an installed output of 8  MW and an operational top speed of 330 km / h. Like the ICE 3, they had eddy current brakes and audio modules at all seats. The seat spacing in all variants was 940 millimeters for single seats and 1900 millimeters for face-to-face seating (2nd class). In 1st class (if available) these values ​​were 1005 and 1980 millimeters.

The cost per seat was between 83,800 and 100,000  DM (approx. 42,000 to 51,000 euros ).

In addition to these vehicle concepts, other variants, including those with tilting technology , were also examined.

Further development

The project study did not reveal any concrete developments, as Deutsche Bahn initially saw no immediate need for such vehicles and the operational introduction of ICE 2 (until 1999) and ICE 3 (until 2003) required greater attention. Only one variant with extra width was examined in detail again in 2000.

According to another source, DB Fernverkehr and DB Netz carried out studies at the end of the 1990s as to whether trains with a vehicle width increased by 40 cm could be used on the heavily loaded routes Berlin – Hanover – Frankfurt – Stuttgart – Munich and Berlin – Cologne – Frankfurt. A liberal use in the entire route network was excluded from the start. Last but not least, economic considerations spoke in favor of an extra-wide vehicle variant: Such vehicles did not have to be redesigned, but could have been derived from the ICE 3 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Heinz Kurz : InterCityExpress: The development of high-speed traffic in Germany . EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-88255-228-7 , pp. 275-277.
  2. ^ A b c Karl-Dietrich Reemtsema, Heinz Kurz: Requirements for the technological development of the railway system from the perspective of a future -oriented timetable . In: Railway technical review . tape 46 , no. 7/8 , 1997, ISSN  0013-2845 , pp. 419-426 .
  3. ↑ a b c double decker or extra wide . In: The new faces of the ICE family . Reprint from BahnTech , Heft 2 + 3, 1998, p. 18.