For train manager Anja Szeglat, her ICE train journey from Hamburg-Altona to Frankfurt am Main begins with a delay: her train has no power. The night shift begins at the ICE workshop in Hanover. Markus Dolle and his team are under time pressure. In just three hours, an ICE train is scheduled to depart for Stuttgart. But a door is broken. Federal police officers also have to act quickly. They are searching for a passenger who has fled Hanover Central Station without a ticket. And near Bad Münder, vegetation experts have to fell a tree right next to the tracks.

Train driver Anne Heim drives for Nordwestbahn on one of the most unpunctual routes in the entire north. On the journey to Osnabrück, there's also a police operation. At Hanover Central Station, Günther Wollschläger can hardly breathe. The track supervisor has to ensure that trains depart on time. But a stretch of track is closed due to people on the tracks. In Bad Pyrmont, the express track-rebuilding train "Mammut" suddenly has to stop. It's supposed to replace sleepers, but the warning system is causing problems.

ICE stewardess Ingrid Kesseler brings drinks to the seats. The challenge: don't spill anything. At speeds over 200 km/h, that's not easy. There's an emergency call at the onboard catering logistics center in the tunnel system beneath Hanover Central Station. Currywurst is missing from an ICE train and needs to be resupplied quickly. And in the ICE workshop in Hanover, the windshield wiper on an express train isn't working. If the team can't repair it, the ICE train can't be used.

Federal police officers at Hanover Central Station were called to platform 12. A former prisoner is traveling on an ICE train without a ticket, and the train staff are afraid of him. At the Hanover operations center, Robin Rühmann is dealing with a train cancellation. He's trying to organize a platform turnaround for the ICE train. The train would turn around without leaving the platform. And in Bremerhaven, the Nordwestbahn graffiti removers have to remove graffiti from the train. Otherwise, they face a fine.