Metropolitan (train)

Metropolitan Express Train (DB)

DB Metropolitan train passing Dülmen station, March 2002
Locale	Germany
Dates of operation	1999–2004
Successor	ICE Sprinter
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Headquarters	Bad Homburg
Website	met.de

The Metropolitan (official spelling: MetropolitaN) was a premium passenger train service between the cities of Cologne and Hamburg in Germany. Meant as an alternative to air transport, the first-class-only trains were operated from 1 August 1999 until 11 December 2004 by Metropolitan Express Train GmbH (MET) based in Bad Homburg, a wholly owned subsidiary of the DB Fernverkehr division of Deutsche Bahn AG. Service was discontinued in December 2004 due to low usage and profitability; the custom made coaches are since then deployed in Intercity-Express (ICE) and Intercity traffic.

The Metropolitan was introduced at the 1999 ITB Berlin trade fair; two train formations were delivered on June 14 and July 12, 1999. The push–pull train units with control cars were hauled by specifically equipped DB Class 101 highpower locomotives. Each unit comprised seven specially manufactured railway coaches based on ICE 2 cars, with flexible gangway connections and a luxurious pearwood and leather interior manufactured by Deutsche Werkstätten Hellerau. The Metropolitan's silver, black and orange corporate design clearly differentiated it from the Deutsche Bahn parent group.

Trains travelled at a maximum speed of 220 km/h (140 mph), surpassed only by ICE multiple units. From Monday to Friday the pairs ran four times daily in both directions, on Saturday once and on Sunday twice. They only called at the main stations of Cologne, Düsseldorf, Essen and Hamburg, with a total travel time of 3 hours 29 minutes even undercutting parallel ICE connections. On each waggon there was a train attendant ensuring the safety and comfort of passengers aboard.