The Intercity-Express (formerly InterCityExpress and, commonly known as ICE is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Austria, Denmark, France, Switzerland, and Germany and surrounding countries. It is the highest service category of rail offered in Europe and is the flagship train of the German state railway, Deutsche Bahn. There are currently 259 trainsets in use. ICE trains are the highest category trains in the fare system of the Deutsche Bahn. Their fares are not calculated on a fixed per-kilometre table as with other trains, but instead have fixed prices for station-to-station connections, levied on the grounds that the ICE trains have a higher comfort level than ordinary trains. Traveling at a high speed of 320 km per hour, they are tailored for business travellers or long-distance commuters and are marketed by Deutsche Bahn as an alternative to flights. Apart from domestic use, the trains can also be seen in countries neighbouring Germany. There are, for example, ICE 1 lines to Basel and Zurich. ICE 3 trains also run to Liège and Brussels and at lower speeds to Amsterdam. On 10 June 2007, a new line between Paris and Frankfurt/Stuttgart was opened, jointly operated by ICE and TGV trains. ICE trains to London via the Channel Tunnel were planned for 2018, however DB has stated it is awaiting new class 407 rolling stock before it can run the route. DB received its certificate to run trains through the tunnel in June 2013. While ICE 3M trains operate the Paris-Frankfurt service , SNCF's TGV runs from Paris to Munich , with mixed crews on both trains. German and Austrian ICE T trains run to Vienna. On 9 December 2007, the ICE TD was introduced on the service from Berlin via Hamburg to the Danish cities of Aarhus and Copenhagen. The Spanish railway operator RENFE also employs trains based on the ICE 3 called AVE Class 103 which are certified to run at speeds up to 350 km/h. Wider versions were ordered by China for the Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway link and by Russia for the Moscow – Saint Petersburg and Moscow – Nizhny Novgorod routes .
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