knowledge Overview
The DB Fernverkehr AG is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. The company was founded on 1 January 1999 as part of the second stage of the railway reform under the name DB Reise & Touristik AG and renamed DB Fernverkehr AG in 2003. It operates long-distance rail passenger transport in Germany and across borders in Europe; in 2024 the company employed around 19,000 staff and offered about 800 domestic and 250 cross-border train journeys daily.
Operations
The DB Fernverkehr AG operates all Intercity-Express (ICE) and Intercity (IC) trains in Germany as well as several EuroCity (EC) and EuroCity-Express (ECE) connections in cooperation with foreign railways such as SBB, ÖBB, ČD and Trenitalia. Among others, it operates the ICE lines 4, 10, 11, 12, 18, 25, 28, 29, 41, 42, 43 and 50. After the timetable change of 14 December 2025, the ICE network comprises around 35 lines.
History
The DB Fernverkehr AG emerged on 1 January 1999, in the course of the second stage of the railway reform, from the long-distance transport division of Deutsche Bahn under the name DB Reise & Touristik AG and has borne its current name since 2003. Since 2013, the company has also operated its own long-distance bus lines under the IC Bus brand; in the same year, DB AutoZug GmbH was merged into DB Fernverkehr AG. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn with its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main.