I can only imagine what 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Farenheit) trapped in a train must feel like. The German ICE train was headed from Berlin to Cologne on one of the hottest weekends of the year. My friends in Germany have told me about the massive heatwave Germany was under last week. ICE is Germany’s high speed train and if I remember from my trips on ICE several years ago, you couldn’t open the windows.
From The Local, “Nine students and elderly passengers were taken to the hospital, where some received IV drips. The student group from Remscheid and Willich in North Rhine-Westphalia had been on its way back from a class trip to Berlin.
Witnesses described dramatic scenes on board the ICE train as dehydrated students reportedly lay down in the aisles, and one woman smashed a window during the trip in hopes of getting fresh air.”
Tags: bahn, germany, Subway, Transit News
It turns out that ALL – ICE Trains in Germany are not capable to handle heat over 32 degrees celsius (89,6 Fahrenheit) – which is a real bummer for the German Bahn these days. The a/c system completly turns off when there is too much heat and customers can't open the windows. There is actualy a political discussion going on why the trains can only handle those limited degrees celsius and not more. It is a real mess for the German Bahn and Siemens who built the trains – because they try to sell their trains also in other countries to make it a top German product. Most ICE Trains are 15 years old. New ones will be on track in the year 2013 which can handle 45 degrees celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) – meanwhile better use the early morning trains which are not that hot or rent a car with a/c when traveling in Germany. It seems German engineers only try to fullfill the European standards – which is 32 degrees celsius (15 Years ago) – and don't really listen to their customers or keep an eye on weather conditions over the last years. The group of students and their teachers think of sueing Deutsche Bahn for personal injury and denial of assistance.