Aachen Hbf, Edited Version, Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, 2015

I don't remember how many times I've shot cameraphone, or other, photos of Aachen station, but I have also been through the station more times than I can count. In addition to hosting DB Intercity services, seen in the background, the station also hosts Eurocity trains like the one I was on, and Thalys high-speed trains like the one in the foreground. The Thalys looks a lot like a third-generation French TGV, and in fact it is, with the caveat that it is a multi-voltage variant that was never used by regular SNCF services. The Thalys service is actually shared between SNCF (in France), SNCB (in Belgium), NS (in the Netherlands), and DB (in Germany, as seen here). The maximum service speed for the Thalys trains is 300Km/h, or 186 m.p.h., but the trains operate on both high-speed lines and conventional mainlines.