Partners DB and manufacturer Siemens Mobility put its latest generation of ICE 3neo cars into service on Monday, about a week earlier than originally planned. By 2029, DB will have invested ten billion euros in new trains, including 73 ICE 3neos.
The new ICE 3neo train has started passenger services on the route between Frankfurt/Main and Cologne. From 11 December, passengers will be able to use the train on a regular service between Dortmund, Cologne, and Frankfurt and as far as Munich on the new high-speed Wendlingen-Ulm route. As of 2024, the ICE 3neo will also operate on international routes to Belgium and the Netherlands.
“Together with Deutsche Bahn, we are accelerating the transport transition in record time: Siemens Mobility has never delivered a new ICE train so fast,” said Michael Peter, CEO of Siemens Mobility and continued: “Even though we built and delivered the train in record time, we were able to incorporate many innovations in the train’s interior that will further enhance passenger comfort.”
With a top speed of 300 km/h, the ICE 3neo is an important factor in DB’s planned nation-wide synchronized timetable. The new ICE train will newly have space for eight bicycles on each train, and reservation displays with colored LED lights will show all reserved and free seats. Specially designed windowpanes will ensure the stable reception of mobile phones. A new feature is a robust and easy-to-use lift, which is installed at a door reserved exclusively for passengers in wheelchairs. DB has also trained around 5,000 employees in record time to handle on-board service, maintenance, and driving.
“The new ICE stands for progress on the rails – fast, digital, barrier-free. Initially here between Frankfurt and Cologne, soon throughout Germany. The 73 new trains with their 32,000 additional seats will make a major contribution to implementing the nation-wide synchronized timetable. This will bring us another step closer to our goal of doubling the number of rail passengers over the next eight years,” commented Michael Theurer, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Digital and Transport.
