Deutsche Bahn places massive order for ICE trains, second-largest in company history

Published on 17-05-2023 at 11:10

Talgo will manufacture 79 new ICE-L units. DB AG / Tobias Holzer

Deutsche Bahn (DB) has ordered a total of 73 new long-distance (ICE) trains. The move represents an investment of some 2 billion euros and marks the second-largest single purchase of trains in the company’s history. Spanish manufacturer Talgo is the main beneficiary.

Talgo will manufacture 56 low-floor ICE-L trains while Siemens Mobility will produce another 17 ICE 3neo units. The new trains will be delivered from 2026 onwards through 2030. The order placed with Talgo has a value of 1.4 billion euros, the purchase at Siemens is to the tune of 600 million euros.

DB first began ordering ICE 3neo trains back in 2020, and the total number of trains purchased has now reached 90. The first units were commissioned and put to use in December 2022. The last trains from the batch are expected to be delivered in August 2028.

The first framework agreement with Talgo was signed in 2019 for 29 ICE-L trains. These will hit the tracks in 2024, the other 56 will be launched throughout the current decade. The new 1.4-billion-euro deal with DB is the largest in Talgo’s history.

Deployment on international routes

While the new trains will primarily be used on the German network, the ICE-L will also be travelling to the Netherlands, Denmark and Vienna. The train, which seats 562 passengers, will be launched on the Berlin-Amsterdam route in October 2024. It has a top speed of 230 kilometres per hour.

The ICE 3neo can carry 439 seated passengers and travel at speeds of up to 320 kilometres per hour. For this reason, the trains will used on fastest sections of the German network, such as lines from the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia to Frankfurt and from departing from Munich via the new Wendlingen–Ulm high-speed route. Next year, the ICE 3neo will als be used on international routes, such as those between Frankfurt and Amsterdam and Frankfurt-Brussels. It will replace the current rolling stock there, which DB says is prone to failures.