302kmph

I love to travel by trains, especially by ICEs in Germany. Their elegant and aerodynamic look makes it more beautiful than any other trains in the world. Even though ICEs could reach the speed of 300kmph, it is allowed only on certain routes. Luckily I could pick up one such routes on my way back from Jülich to Regensburg. I took ICE 613 from Köln to Frankfurt airport, which happened to be an high speed ICE.

The train left Köln at 17:54, reached the next near by(25km) station Siegburg at 18:09 and left Siegburg at 18:11 to Frankfurt airport. The length of the train route is 143km. It reached Frankfurt station at the scheudled time 18:54. So it took 43 mins to cover 143 km. So the average speed is about 199kmph.

I knew this is an high speed track. So I sat in a place where I could see the digital screen which displays the speed of the train. The number on the screen fluctuating between 230 to 290. I was eagerly waiting to see the 300 mark. Finally it happened. I was so excited to see the number 302kmph on the screen. So On 17th Aug 2009 at 18:33 I hold the record of traveling at the speed of 302kmph on ground.

The ICE design is so good that I don't have a feeling that I traveling in such a high speed. The high speed is realized when a train passes in the opposite direction, the low pressure region between the trains pulls the train towards each other and I felt a slight shake in the train. It was a wonderful experience.