German national rail operator Deutsche Bahn has taken one of its flagship high speed Intercity Express (ICE) trains through the Channel Tunnel to London St. Pancras International.

The move marks the start of a series of test runs and approval measures necessary for the company to use the tunnel for direct services from London to Frankfurt via Brussels and Cologne, as well as to Amsterdam via Rotterdam, in 2013. The direct high speed rail service to Cologne and Amsterdam is anticipated to reduce the travel time from London to less than four hours and to Frankfurt in just over five.

Deutsche Bahn will use the newly built 320kph (199mph) ICE 3 - class 407 - units, which will be delivered by manufacturer Siemens by the summer of 2012. The company currently offers ICE connections between Germany and Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark. Two of its subsidiaries - DB Regio and DB Schenker - already own and operate railway companies in the UK.

Image: Sebastian Terfloth. An ICE 3 train on the high speed line between Frankfurt and Cologne