←back to thread

ICE test train reaches speeds of up to 405.0 km/h

(www.deutschebahn.com)
113 points doener | 3 comments | 29 Jun 25 22:43 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
Show context
chmod775 ◴[30 Jun 25 06:51 UTC] No.44420258[source]▶
This article communicates what this is about very poorly, so I'm not surprised a lot of people are asking "what is so special about this train?".

The answer is: Nothing. Many ICE trains have the capability to go that fast* - and some already surpassed these speeds on test tracks decades ago. It's really nothing special to make a train go these speeds.

What this test was supposed to show is that the real track (not a test track) between Erfurt and Leipzig/Halle can now support trains going that fast. Having compatible tracks is the real challenge (and cost sink) for high speed transport, not the trains themselves. Creating high speed track that is safe and usable in year-round conditions while being affordable to build and maintain is surprisingly hard.

* ICE-3s reached up to 368 km/h in tests, though ICE-4s are designed for more economical speeds in the 200-300 range and currently limited to 265km/h in software for safe operation.

replies(5): >>44420306 #>>44420376 #>>44420425 #>>44420533 #>>44424745 #
Hojojo ◴[30 Jun 25 07:12 UTC] No.44420376[source]▶
I feel like the article is fairly clear

> DB und Siemens Mobility haben bei Testfahrten einen neuen Geschwindigkeitsrekord für die Strecke Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle erreicht

> Der ICE-S der DB Systemtechnik wird hauptsächlich für Test- und Messfahrten eingesetzt. Er dient dazu, neue Strecken zu testen, die Infrastruktur zu untersuchen und verschiedene Hochgeschwindigkeitsprüfungen durchzuführen

The latter paragraph explicitly states the point of this specific train is to test new routes and to analyze the infrastructure.

I think, like usual, it's a case of people reading the title and then going off to write a comment.

replies(1): >>44420416 #
1. chmod775 ◴[30 Jun 25 07:20 UTC] No.44420416[source]▶
> I think, like usual, it's a case of people reading the title and then going off to write a comment.

Yes, that's poor communication. You need to read the last half of the article to really understand what the news is about. The title should be "405,0 km/h auf Schnellfahrstrecke Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle in Testfahrt erreicht". Note that this omits mentioning a specific train.

replies(1): >>44420922 #
2. trueismywork ◴[30 Jun 25 08:44 UTC] No.44420922[source]▶
Germans typically expect you to read full article before commenting. So for them it's not bad communication at all
replies(1): >>44424516 #
3. chmod775 ◴[30 Jun 25 15:30 UTC] No.44424516[source]▶
That's interesting. Can you tell me anything else about Germans? I'm particularly interested in what their school system teaches about good writing and effective communication.