Expansion of the ICE fleet
Deutsche Bahn orders 43 more ICE 3neo trains
Deutsche Bahn is expanding its long-distance train fleet and is buying 43 more ICE 3neo trains. The high-speed trains were ordered from Siemens for around 1.5 billion euros. Together with the 30 trains already ordered in 2020, the ICE 3neo fleet will grow to 73. According to the plan, the first trains will be used on connections between North Rhine-Westphalia and Munich from the end of 2022. Transport Minister Volker Wissing was very pleased and optimistic on Tuesday in Berlin: “It is our declared goal to double the number of passengers on the rails in the next eight years. For this we need more capacities on the rails as well as more capacities. Here the total of 73 ICE 3neo come into play, which will be finally ordered here today.” All ICE 3neo should be delivered by 2029. Overall, the ICE fleet would grow to around 450 trains by the end of the decade. Railway boss Richard Lutz also underlined the investment in the future: “The train also symbolizes the digitization of long-distance traffic. It is equipped with all its services for the digital rail and will be the heart of seamless mobility. In short: the ICE 3 is here and is an enormous gain in comfort, capacity and quality – not only for our customers, but also for the climate and for the mobility revolution.” Among other things, the new trains should also have space for bicycles and more luggage. They should be able to reach speeds of more than 300 kilometers per hour and would therefore be faster than the actually newer ICE 4.
Deutsche Bahn is adding to the long-distance fleet: the group has ordered more than 40 more ICE 3 trains from train builder Siemens. Above all, they should bring improvements in comfort for the passengers.
Deutsche Bahn is expanding its long-distance fleet and has ordered 43 ICE trains from Siemens for 1.5 billion euros. “More rail is the key to many things that we as a society have set ourselves: to achieve our climate goals, to enable modern mobility and to keep our country connected everywhere,” said Deutsche Bahn boss Richard Lutz at the presentation of the new ICE 3neo train type on Tuesday in Berlin.
With the order, the group will expand its ICE 3 inventory. As early as July 2020, Deutsche Bahn ordered 30 trains of the new type for one billion euros from the Munich technology group Siemens. The first of the 73 vehicles that have now been ordered should be on the road from the end of the year – initially between North Rhine-Westphalia and Munich. The last ICE 3 Neo is to be delivered by 2029.
“These trains provide 32,000 additional seats,” emphasized Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing with regard to the seating capacity in long-distance traffic. With the new models, the railway follows on from the older ICE 3 series, which runs on the Velaro platform from Siemens and has been on the road in Germany for many years. The ICE 3 achieves top speeds of 320 kilometers per hour on the planned routes, while the ICE 4 reaches up to 265 kilometers per hour.
The display board of the new ICE 3neo of Deutsche Bahn.
© Fabian Sommer / DPA
Improved cell phone reception
The new models should bring some improvements for the passengers: Frequency-permeable panes should significantly improve mobile phone reception. A lift will make it easier for wheelchair users to get in and out. The trains will also be equipped with eight bicycle parking spaces and redesigned luggage racks with more storage space.
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The trains are built in the Siemens factory in Krefeld. Deliveries come from Nuremberg and Austria, among others. According to Siemens boss Roland Busch, the ICE 3neo will mean thousands of jobs in Germany. “At Siemens there are around 1,500 colleagues. Additional jobs come from around 230 suppliers, mostly from Germany.”
In order for the new train to be able to extend its speed, however, the infrastructure must be upgraded. There is a need for expansion, especially on the east-west corridor, said Lutz. The CEO referred to the planned expansion of the high-speed routes between Hanover and Bielefeld and Hanover and Berlin.
The ICE 4 remains an important part of the long-distance fleet, he emphasized. The latest series has been in regular operation since 2017. Deutsche Bahn has ordered a total of 137 trains from Siemens, which should be delivered by 2024.
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