DB buys more ICE L and ICE 3neo trains

On 17 May 2023, Deutsche Bahn announced that it had ordered a further 73 ICEs. In one of the largest purchases in the company's history, with a total investment of approximately 2 billion EUR, the order includes 56 ICE L trains from Patentes Talgo with a maximum speed of 230 km/h and 17 Class 408 ICE 3neo high-speed trains (Velaro MS) with a maximum speed of 320 km/h from Siemens Mobility (worth around 600 million EUR). These will add 39,000 seats to the ICE fleet.

The trains ordered now are scheduled to enter service from 2026 and all will be delivered by 2030. At that time, DB will have 90 ICE 3neo EMUs and 79 ICE L units with TRAVCA locomotives in its fleet. The ICE 3neos will be built at the Krefeld works and delivered by August 2028. 

DB had previously entered into framework agreements with both manufacturers; with this order, the options for the ICE 3neos have already been exhausted (DB initially ordered 30 units in July 2020 and another 43 in January 2022), while the option for a further 21 ICE L units is still available from the February 2019 framework contract, when the first 23 units under the then ECx designation were firmly ordered at the same time.

Michael Peterson, DB Board Member for Long Distance Passenger Transport, said: „This year we are already taking delivery of an average of three new ICE trains per month. And we are further accelerating the renewal of our fleet. In doing so, we’ll also be relying on additional ICE 3neo trains from Siemens. The first trains to be delivered have been in service since December 2022 and are proving extremely successful“.