>>1198908AFAIK, these are technically 2 separate lines, which means that those anons are partially correct.
Basically, 2 tracks are for long distance trains which will be going through from city to city. ICE, IC, TGV, EC and EN trains will be using this line. The other 2 will be used for S-Bahn, RegionalBahn and some RegionalExpress trains since these tracks will lead to stations, while the other two tracks will not feature platforms for use.
Pic related is an example, where the inner two tracks are technically a separate line which allow for IC, EC and ICE trains to pass through at full speed while the outer tracks allow for RegionalExpress trains to stop and allow passengers to get on and off.
The main reason why this is done is to allow long distance trains to have a higher top speed and a higher speed limit than regional trains.
