BERLIN -- The German railroad launched its fastest and most modern bullet train Tuesday -- a sleek machine capable of hitting 186 mph.
Dubbed the ICE-3, for the third generation of Deutsche Bahn's IntercityExpress line, the train is scheduled to hit the tracks next week on regular trips connecting Berlin with Expo 2000 in Hanover.But the new train won't be making the trip at full throttle. It can only reach its top speeds on a new stretch of special rail laid down between Frankfurt and Cologne, and that will be ready only in 2002.
Deutsche Bahn has ordered 50 of the ICE-3 for $874 million, bringing the total number of ICE trains from all three generations to 216.
The biggest change with the new ICE-3 is that it has no separate locomotive. Instead, the drive mechanism is stashed under each car and powers half of the axles directly. That allows the train to hit higher speeds and accelerate more quickly, the railroad said.
An earlier version of the ICE, the ICE-T, was taken off the tracks for repair in March after an empty train derailed while traveling at low speed through Berlin. In 1998, an even earlier-model InterCityExpress derailed and hit a bridge at 125 mph, killing 101 people in postwar Germany's deadliest train accident.
Japan is home to some of the world's fastest passenger trains. Its bullet trains run up to 186 mph and have reached maximum speeds of 275 mph in test runs. The fastest French train goes 180 mph.