BBC correspondent David Shukman reports from the scene of the rescue operation

Sixty of the trains will be pulled out of service while the inspections proceed. Forty trains, built to a newer model, will stay in operation.

The train, travelling from Munich to Hamburg, went off the rails in the town of Eschede, 35 miles (50km) north of Hanover, at 1100 local time (0900 GMT) on Wednesday.

Most of the damage appears to have been caused by a concrete bridge that collapsed on top of the train, which was travelling at 200km/h (120 mph).

Germany is in mourning

A precise death toll will not be known until the rescue operation is complete. So far 92 people are known to have died, and more bodies remain trapped in the wrecked train. Hundreds were injured in the crash.

A team of over 1,000 firemen, police, and military and medical personnel have been working round the clock since Wednesday morning, to free survivors and retrieve bodies from the wreckage. The rescuers' efforts have been hampered by the concrete segments of the bridge which lay across two of the carriages.

With no hope of finding more survivors, rescuers remove a body from the wreckage

By Thursday evening they were still trying to get inside the second of the two carriages, but had abandoned hope that there might still be people alive in the wrecked train.

Investigators are still trying to establish the cause of the crash.

Officials say they have found damage to the railway line nearly 6km before the scene of the accident.

The BBC's David Shukman talks about evidence that mechanical failure may have caused the disaster

It has now emerged that the Intercity Express trains have experienced wheel problems before, and there is speculation that a broken wheel might have caused the accident.

Investigators have already ruled out the theory that a car fell on to the line in front of the train.

The car found among the wreckage is now thought to have fallen from the collapsing bridge when the train rammed into it.

There are reports that a number of railway workers seen near the tracks before the accident are missing, presumed dead. It is not clear whether repairs to the track had anything to do with the accident.

Chancellor Kohl thanked emergency staff

Chancellor Helmut Kohl visited the scene of the crash, after cutting short a visit to Italy. He thanked rescue workers and medical staff for their efforts.

BBC correspondent David Shukman reports that the railways now face a massive task in restoring Germans' confidence in rail travel.

Trains are a popular means of transport in Germany. The Intercity Express units had cut travel times between cities, and were thought to be built to exacting safety standards.

The accident is being treated as a national disaster, and Germany is gripped by a sense of sorrow and disbelief.