Railway air brake such as the EP brakes allow for immediate application of brakes throughout the train instead of the sequential application and are used in German high-speed trains such the ICE or the Intercity Express.
Electro-pneumatic or EP brakes are a type of air brake that allows for immediate application of brakes throughout the train instead of the sequential application. EP brakes have been in British practice since 1949 and also used in German high-speed trains (most notably the ICE) since the late 1980s; they are fully described in Electro-pneumatic brake system on British railway trains. 
