DB AG ICE T

The ICE T is a multiple unit with tilting technology that was originally designed for use as an IC. A tilting system was installed for driving on upgraded routes with tighter curves and the maximum speed was set at 230 km/h. There is the seven-car class 411, of which 60 multiple units were built, and the five-car class 415, of which only eleven were built. The latter is mainly used to supplement the seven-car trains when there is a high volume of passengers. The development took place together with the ICE TD, which is diesel-electrically driven. Both can be distinguished from the ICE 3 by the shorter nose. As with the ICE 3, the vehicle was created in a cooperation between Siemens and Bombardier (initially Adtranz). In this case, Alstom joined them with its Italian subsidiaries.

The ICE T is powered on four or three center cars, of which each bogie has one powered axle. The pantographs and converters are housed in the non-powered control cars for better weight distribution. As with the class 610, the tilting technology system comes from Fiat and was the cause of operational problems for a long time. Several times it was only possible to travel without tilting technology and in some cases the trains had to be parked completely. In 2008, when the train had been in service for nine years, problems were discovered with the axles caused by the higher centrifugal loads when driving through curves at high speeds. This led to additional temporary mothballing and a sharp reduction in maintenance intervals. This meant considerable additional investments for the DB and a serious impact on the image. Nevertheless, they stuck to the procurement of a second series and later eliminated all problems.

The area of application of the ICE T basically covers two areas. One is ICE services that run on existing and upgraded routes with many curves. While the other ICE series without tilting technology have to reduce their speed significantly in many places, the ICE-T can travel at a higher speed. The other area includes services of the IC, which are now completed with a greater saving in travel time. From 2006, the ÖBB also used three seven-car ICE-T trains as class 4011. These ran routes within Austria and to Germany, some of which had previously been served by the 4010 “Transalpin” train sets. This phase ended in 2020, when the trains were returned to Deutsche Bahn and are now served by the Railjet, which also has a speed of 230 km/h.