Deutsche Bahn has ordered 43 new ICE trains from Siemens Mobility.
The trains will be ICE 3neo units. The order is worth around 1.5 billion euros. The first units are to enter passenger service in 2022.
The CEO of Deutsche Bahn AG, Richard Lutz, and the CEO of Siemens AG, Roland Busch, announced the order in Berlin today, in the presence of the German transport minister Volker Wissing.
Deutsche Bahn placed an order for 30 ICE 3neo in July 2020, meaning that DB has ordered a total of 73 ICE 3neo trains. This purchase will mean that DB will have an ICE fleet of around 450 by the end of the decade so that the operator will have the capacity to run the Deutschlandtakt 2030 timetable. The 73 new units will add a further 32,000 seats.
Every ICE 3neo will have a maximum speed of 320km/h. Additionally, each one will have:
- 439 seats
- eight bicycle spaces
- lighting with changing colour tones depending on time of day
- tablet holders and sockets at all seats
- windows that allow mobile phone signals to penetrate for better reception
“More rail is the key to climate protection in Germany. That is why everything speaks for the expansion of climate-friendly rail and that is why we remain on course for growth and investment. With the new ICE, we not only create more capacity in our trains, but also increase quality and comfort for our passengers. Our customers can already look forward to the next timetable change in December.”
Deutsche Bahn and Siemens presented the first ICE 3neo when the order was announced at the ICE plant in Berlin.
The new trains will initially run between North Rhine-Westphalia and southern Germany on the Cologne-Rhine/Main high-speed line.
