European Train Question
 

Hi - I am making my train plans today and I am wondering if the IC trains in germany/europe have air conditioning (not the ICE trains)

Thank you!
Allen

IC-trains in Germany usually has AC in both classes, but in second class you might still encounter some old compartment carriages not having AC. Premium trains in Germany, France, Italy and Spain usually have AC, in Scandinavia they usually haven't.

oh thanks - so whats the big differences btw ice and ic? i thought ice was the luxury and ic was the traditional non-a/c slow train

i think i will take ICE part of the way and then IC the balance I guess... unless anyone has any better suggestions?

im going from berlin to amsterdam

thanks

Here the difference:

IC is short for Intercity trains, direct trains between larger cities.
ICE is short for Intercity Europe, but they are special German highspeed trains easy recognizable as they are all white and are in appearance a modern version of the bullet trains in Japan. They usually request reservation or supplement to ride on them.
The equivalent of the German ICE are the TGV in France or the Pendolino in Italy.
The IC's are international trains, with modern carriages with AC as well except maybe in Italy and some in France. Except for some night trains, you don't need reservations.

Reservations are required on the TGV. They are not required on ICEs; if you travel on ICEs on Friday afternoons (and other peak periods), you might have to remain standing for the duration of your trip.

thanks everyone - my only last question is:

bahn.de shows 2 options:
full IC route from berlin to amsterdam
ICE and IC route from berlin to amsterdam - change in Duisburg

Since I really want to ride on ICE - what do you think of doing the 2 piece route? the transfer time is 12 minutes... do you think that is enough time?

Thanks,
Allen

I have done it many times and 12mn has always been OK (for the time being :) ). Something very different from France to Germany, and which is very useful in Germany : the train schedule includes the platform number, which means that unless there are irregular ops, you know at which platform you will arrive and which platform you need to go to for your connecting train.

Also, concerning reservations, given the price (3 euros in first class, unless I am mistaken), you should definitely make a reservation for your trip.

thanks very much -- you have set my mind at ease -- i love trains very much and want to ride on as many as possible and i heard the ice is the best... they have a full ice trip but its one additional hour over the ic route... i think i will do the ice/ic route - it appears that if i miss the connection, there is another ICE in 1 hr which would take me the full way.

it looks from the bahn.de site that the ICE gets into hannover hbf at 10:28 track 12, and then the IC arrives 12 mins later on the same track.. looks like it should be easy i hope!

i am making reservations everywhere - they are $11US and so i want to make sure i dont have any problems... $1 grand on train trips an extra $11 aint so bad.

ok im off to make the reservations!

I appreciate the help very much.

Do I read you correctly? Are you talking about one grand ($ 1000.-) in train tickets???
Please, there should be no reason for you to spend that much... I am worried for your wallet.
Please set my mind at ease. :(

ok here is the breakdown:

$410 for the 6 day rail pass
$135 - eurostar london - paris
$135 - eurostar brussels - london
$23 - thalys amsterdam - brussels
$56 - paris visite
$52 - heathrow 2nd class round trip
$22 - ice/ic berlin - amsterdam
last piece is the london underground pass - i think i will get that when i get there

:(

i just did the bookings about 30 mins ago...

dangit

I presume the railpass is going to be used for trips other than the ones that are listed individually?

Even so... some of the expenditure could probably have been avoided.

For example, instead of using the rip-off Heathrow Express you could use the Underground to get into London, at a fraction of the cost (in fact if you get the right London Travelcard the journey from/to Heathrow is included).

Also, the Thalys isn't THAT special - certainly not worth paying extra money for if you have a railpass which is valid on Intercity trains between Amsterdam and Brussels (which only take a few minutes longer than the Thalys)

ICE = "Intercity Express" (the prototypes were called "Intercity Experimental"). Most run only inside Germany, with some extensions to Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands. They are indeed high-speed trains (up to 220 mph on some new, dedicated routes) and are all streamlined, like the TGV, and are painted white with a red stripe. They cost extra, but the supplement is included in the Eurailpass. Reservations cost 3 Euros for an entire trip, including transfers. (Why are you paying $11?). The Italian equivalent is the "Eurostar Italia," some of which are pendular trains.

The IC trains ("Intercity") are almost 100% intra-German; the international versions are called EC ("Eurocity"), but the Berlin-Amsterdam direct train is an IC. IC and German EC trains are also painted white with a red stripe. Some of the older second-class cars do not have air conditioning. They run at speeds up to 125 mph.

The all-IC, non-stop train from Berlin to Amsterdam goes via the most direct route. The ICE route should be an ICE Berlin to Duisburg and an ICE Duisburg to Amsterdam, but some connections could involve an IC/ICE change in Duisburg and maybe even changes in Hanover (unusual) and Duisburg. I suggest you check your schedules again. All the trains will have a "bistro" car with limited full meals, but the Berlin-Hanover ICE trains usually have full diners. If you're riding in first class you should be able to look out the front window, over the driver's shoulder, between Duisburg and Amsterdam - if the seats aren't all taken already. In any case, it's a pleasant trip; enjoy it!

Another thought... is that rail pass first or second class?

If it's first then I wouldn't have bothered reserving seats. Second class is sometimes "standing room only", but you will always find a seat in first class. (At least in my experience)

this is the route I selected... the full ICE route is about 90 mins longer than the full IC route because it appears to go more south... and there is a 1 hr layover... but i wanted to ride the ICE at least for a bit...

Berlin Zoologischer Garten dep 08:56 ICE 652
Hannover Hbf arr 10:28 track 12

Hannover Hbf dep 10:40 track 12 IC 144 InterCity
Amsterdam Centraal arr 14:49

Thalys Bruxelles-AmsterdamCS
 

Don't waste your money on the "upgrade" to Thalys service for travel between Belgium and Holland.

The highspeedline is not open yet and so your trip on Thalys won't be any faster than that on the standard "Benelux" train which also operates the route.

Your railpass will give you a nice 1st class seat on a train with more room to move around in and bigger windows to look out of. Unless you are a railfan who needs to say you've been on an actual TGV train-set (which the Eurostar is a dirivative of but not as similar as as Thalys is to TGV) then skip it.

Then come back in a few years when it will be possible to travel quickly north of Bruxelles.