Class 605 (ICE TD)

Updated: August 2026 – An ICE that sounds like diesel: Class 605, better known as the ICE TD, is the only vehicle in the ICE family with an internal combustion engine. 20 four-part tilting trains were built between 1999 and 2001, designed for 200 km/h. This page shows you how to tell it apart from the electric ICE T in seconds, and why it’s a special-occasion topic today rather than an everyday vehicle.

What is Class 605?

Class 605 is a four-part diesel-electric multiple unit with tilting technology, built between 1999 and 2001 in 20 examples by a consortium involving Siemens Mobility and Bombardier, and cleared for 200 km/h. The traction sits under the floor: diesel engines generate electricity that feeds the traction motors – hence “diesel-electric”.

The idea behind it was simple and compelling: bring ICE comfort to routes that aren’t fully under overhead wire, and take the curvy sections faster using tilting technology. Technically, the 605 therefore stands between two worlds – from the interior and nose shape an ICE, from the vehicle classification system a diesel multiple unit with the UIC type code 95.

Just how far its everyday life was from that of an electric long-distance multiple unit is shown by comparing it with the ICE T of Class 411: same basic idea, same tilting technology, completely different power supply.

The roof decides: ICE TD or ICE T?

For hardly any other German class does looking upward work so reliably. The ICE T and ICE TD are relatives with different traction – and you can see traction on the roof.

The general order for identification – vehicle type, then design, then number – is described in more detail in the guide to identifying classes. Its optical twin with overhead wire is the ICE T of Class 415, the shorter variant of the electric tilting trains.

Tilting technology: what you actually see on the train

Tilting technology is one of the few technical features you can actually see as an observer in service – provided you’re standing in the right spot.

Observation situation	What you see	Photographic value
Train in a curve, shot from the side	Car body visibly leans towards the inside of the curve	high – the classic tilting-technology shot
Train on straight track	No tilt visible	low – just a standard side view
Train at the platform	Tilt deactivated, car stands upright	medium – good for detail and number shots
Train against the light at the start of a curve	Silhouette with a lean	high, but technically demanding

Because tilting technology only delivers its real benefit on curvy routes, the 605 was never a vehicle for dead-straight high-speed lines. Regional services pursue the same idea with the far more widespread Class 612, a diesel railcar with tilting technology that stayed in everyday use for much longer.

Photo tips for a vehicle with no timetable

The 605 today is not a train you wait for on the platform. Anyone wanting to photograph it plans like a special train: date first, location second.

Three points make the difference with this train:

• Curve, not straight. Only on a curve does the train show its tilting technology. A spot with a visible curve delivers the more distinctive shot.
• Get the whole train in frame. Four cars still fit completely into a mid-range focal length – unlike a long ICE. That’s a chance worth taking.
• Include the roof. With the ICE TD especially, the roof is the information. A slightly elevated viewpoint from a publicly accessible spot shows the radiators and exhaust.

How to find dates for special trains in the first place is explained in the guide to special trains and special excursions. For the shooting technique itself – panning, shutter speed, depth of field – the guide good photos of trains is worth reading.

Why there was a diesel ICE at all

The question almost asks itself: why build a high-speed train with diesel engines when the long-distance network is largely electrified? The answer lies in the gaps in between.

Between the electrified main lines lie connections that either have no overhead wire at all, or where a system change at the border costs extra time. On such routes there are two options: make passengers change trains, change the locomotive – or deploy a vehicle that brings its own energy along. Class 605 was Deutsche Bahn AG’s attempt to take that third route with long-distance comfort.

Then came the tilting technology. Non-electrified connections often run through low mountain ranges or follow old alignments with tight curves. Exactly there, a tilt-capable train saves journey time without tunnels being bored or curves straightened. So the ICE TD combined two answers to two different problems in one vehicle – and became technically complex as a result.

This complexity is a recurring pattern in railway vehicle engineering: the more special functions a vehicle combines, the more demanding the maintenance becomes, and the more sensitively availability reacts to individual faults. Both came together in the 605, which is why its service history was marked by interruptions and reorientations.

For spotters this has a useful side effect: vehicles with unusual technology and small production numbers are photographically rewarding, because they’re rare and because their picture tells a story. An ICE with no pantograph explains itself almost immediately once you have the roof in shot. Anyone who, looking through their own archive later, still wants to understand why this vehicle was special should therefore always have a shot on hand showing the roof structures and the train shape together.

Common mix-ups and how to rule them out

Verdict

Class 605 is the special case of the ICE family: a high-speed design on a diesel basis, built in a modest number and with a service history that never quite ran smoothly. For spotters it’s therefore mainly a date-driven subject today. Identification, on the other hand, is simple – a single glance at the roof is enough.