ICE 42 (Hamburg – Munich)
URL: https://knowledge.ivjn.us/en/concepts/ice-42.html

ICE line 42 runs two-hourly from Hamburg-Altona via Bremen, the Ruhr area, Cologne, Frankfurt Airport, Mannheim and Stuttgart to Munich.

## Overview

ICE line 42 connects Hamburg-Altona via Hamburg Hbf, Bremen, Osnabrück, Münster and Dortmund with Cologne and continues from there via the Cologne–Rhine/Main high-speed line to Frankfurt Airport, onward via Mannheim, Stuttgart, Ulm and Augsburg to Munich. It forms common hourly services with several neighbouring lines (43, 55, 11) on the respective sections. Trains of the ICE 4 series are used.

## Operator

The operator is [DB Fernverkehr (DB Long-Distance Transport)](https://knowledge.ivjn.us/en/organizations/db-fernverkehr.html).


## History

Line 42 connects Hamburg-Altona two-hourly via Bremen, the Ruhr area and Cologne with Munich. With the neighbouring lines 43, 55 and 11 it forms common hourly services on the respective sections. Individual trains run between Dortmund and Cologne via Bochum–Essen–Duisburg–Düsseldorf instead of via Hagen–Wuppertal–Solingen.
## Major stations

The line serves, among others, the following stations:

- Hamburg-Altona
- Hamburg Hbf
- Bremen Hbf
- Osnabrück Hbf
- Münster (Westf) Hbf
- Dortmund Hbf
- Wuppertal Hbf
- Köln Hbf
- Siegburg/Bonn
- Frankfurt (M) Flughafen Fernbahnhof
- Mannheim Hbf
- Stuttgart Hbf
- Ulm Hbf
- Augsburg Hbf
- München Hbf

## Further information

line_frequency: two-hourly (common hourly services with neighbouring lines)

Updated: 2026-10-28

Tags:
- 铁路 https://knowledge.ivjn.us/en/tags/rail.html

Mentioned in:
- Bremen Hauptbahnhof https://knowledge.ivjn.us/en/places/de-bremen-hbf.html
- Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof https://knowledge.ivjn.us/en/places/de-duesseldorf-hbf.html
- Frankfurt Airport long-distance station https://knowledge.ivjn.us/en/places/de-frankfurt-flughafen-fernbahnhof.html
- Hamburg Hauptbahnhof https://knowledge.ivjn.us/en/places/de-hamburg-hbf.html
- Cologne Hauptbahnhof https://knowledge.ivjn.us/en/places/de-koeln-hbf.html
- Munich Hauptbahnhof https://knowledge.ivjn.us/en/places/de-muenchen-hbf.html
- Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof https://knowledge.ivjn.us/en/places/de-stuttgart-hbf.html

Sources:
- ICE-Verkehr — Wikipedia https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICE-Verkehr Linientabelle; abgerufen 2026-10-28
- List of Intercity-Express lines — Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intercity-Express_lines Abschnitt Line 42; abgerufen 2026-10-28