TTR62 ICE3 Cabride Plus

Join us for a run in Europe's fastest train- the ICE3 from Die Bahn.  This 320kph machine is on its home ground on the run over the Rhein Main Neubaustrecke (NBS) between Frankfurt Hbf and Cologne.  This NBS is the first in Germany that is a dedicated high speed line, and through the Westerwald there are sections that feel like a rollercoaster rather than a railway!  The first section is conventional enough - out of the busy Frankfurt Hbf, over the Main past Sportfeld, where a new station is being built to serve the stadium that will host the FIFA World Cup in 2006, and into Frankfurt Flughaven Fernbahnhof.  The high speed section begins soon after leaving the airport.  For much of the run we are alongside the A3 Motorway, but at 300kph even the most macho German motorists are left trailing in our wake!  We go from full power uphill to 75% regenerative braking on the downs - no friction brakes are used over the NBS.  We pause at the new Bonn station and then it's ABS - rebuilt line - to Cologne.  Over this section the ICE3 set has its own tracks but passes other traffic including freight to nearby Gremberg yard.  Over the Hohenzollernbrücke and we are in Cologne.