BERLIN/KREFELD (dpa-AFX) - Deutsche Bahn has ordered 90 ICE 3 Neo trains from train manufacturer Siemens to modernize its long-distance fleet - the last of which is to be delivered by August 2028. With this, Deutsche Bahn specified the exact delivery period in Krefeld on Monday. Previously, it had always stated that the express trains would be delivered by 2029. The first vehicles of the new series have already been in service since December 2024. From the second half of next year, they will then also be in service on routes abroad, from Frankfurt to Amsterdam and Brussels.

From the 17th train, which is expected to go into service in the fall of this year, the ICE 3 Neo will also have a new interior design. The seat and color design in particular will then change. The vehicles will be built at the Siemens plant in Krefeld.

In addition to the ICE 3 Neo, which will travel at a top speed of 320 kilometers per hour, primarily on the routes between North Rhine-Westphalia, Frankfurt and Munich, Deutsche Bahn has also ordered dozens of so-called ICE L trains from the manufacturer Talgo. They reach around 230 kilometers per hour and will initially run between Berlin and Amsterdam. The first of the total of 79 ICE L trains are scheduled to be in service from October 2024.

With the new acquisitions, Deutsche Bahn aims to reduce the average age of its ICE fleet from 18 years at present to 12 years by 2030./maa/DP/jha