Trip report DB ICE4 | Stuttgart – Frankfurt
Hello and welcome! Thank you for joining me on this journey aboard the ICE 4. My train to Frankfurt is just pulling in from Ulm. Since this service departs Stuttgart during rush hour, our train is quite crowded. Boarding and finding my reserved seat took some time.
While seat reservations aren’t mandatory, I highly recommend securing one to avoid the possibility of standing for part of the journey. Unfortunately, the seat assigned to me for this trip turned out to be one of the least desirable in the carriage. It’s situated in a row that lacks a window. Dusty 🙁
Let’s take a look at today’s route. We will be taking ICE 514 until Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof, make one intermediate stop at Mannheim Hauptbahnhof. Most of the route is on high(er) speed lines. Distance: 189 km. Scheduled travel time is about 1 hour and 15 minutes. We departed Stuttgart right on schedule.
For the first few minutes we share the tracks with local traffic Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen Before long we enter the Mannheim–Frankfurt line and start acceleraring up to 250 km/hour. I wish I could say the seats were great, but unfortunately, I didn’t find them very comfortable at all.
While the seats are well-padded, they’re quite shallow and very upright. The recline is very limited. To be honest I would try to avoid this stock for longer journeys. The legroom is reasonable however, and I appreciate the presence of a power outlet shared between the two seats. Crossing Bahnstrecke Mannheim–Basel
Time to get some food! You can access an online copy of the menu by scanning the QR code found in the Mobil magazine located in the seat pocket. Deutsche Bahn offers a good selection of food and drinks, including hot meals like fries and flammkuchen, all reasonably priced in my opinion.
The restaurant car was very busy with people queuing to order. I opted for the currywurst, which was served in a cardboard container as I requested it “to go.” Unfortunately, my first choice, French fries, was sold out. After about 40 minutes, we entered the city of Mannheim (population 315.000).
Stadler Flirt operated by DB Suwex Siemens Mireo of S-Bahn Rhein-Neckar Rhine River I do appreciate the lighting on board this train, as it creates a pleasant and warm atmosphere. There are large luggage racks throughout the cabin, providing ample storage space. Of course, I had to do a mandatory tour of the toilets.
They were clean and in working order, although it did take me a moment to figure out how to get the water running. While the Mannheim–Frankfurt railway wasn’t originally designed as a high-speed line, it has been upgraded to allow train services to reach speeds of up to 200 km/h.
Click the link above to watch my other tripreports aboard high-speed trains. A little over 1 hour after leaving Stuttgart we are approaching Frankfurt. I hope you’ve enjoyed watching this video. If so, please consider subscribing to my channel. See you next time.
Join me aboard the ICE4 from Stuttgart Hbf to Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof, operated by Deutsche Bahn.
Chapters
00:00 Boarding at Stuttgart
01:22 Route map
01:44 Departing Stuttgart
02:45 Seat tour
03:24 Stuttgart – Mannheim
03:24 Diner time
04:45 Mannheim
05:41 Mannheim – Frankfurt (1/2)
06:03 Toilet tour
06:36 Mannheim – Frankfurt (2/2)
07:10 Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof
Route information
Departure: Stuttgart Hbf, Gemany
Arrival: Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof, Germany
Line number: ICE514
Travel time: 1:16 hour
Travel distance: 189 km
Average speed: 150 km/hour
Train information
Operator: Deutsche Bahn Fernverkehr
Type: BR421 (ICE 4)
Manufacturer: Siemens Mobility
Ticket information
Class: Second
Ticket price:
Price/km:
Date of travel: 30 september 2022