BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Deutsche Bahn is expanding its ICE fleet and ordering 73 more trains for a total of around two billion euros. Fifty-six of the trains are the ICE L from Spanish manufacturer Talgo, Deutsche Bahn announced Wednesday. It will initially run between Berlin and Amsterdam at a maximum speed of 230 kilometers per hour.

The 17 other trains are ICE 3 Neo, some of which Deutsche Bahn already has in service. They can travel at 300 kilometers per hour and will be used in particular on high-speed routes between North Rhine-Westphalia and Frankfurt or Berlin and Munich. The ICE 3 Neo is being built by Siemens Mobility.

With this order, Deutsche Bahn is making use of existing framework agreements with the manufacturers. The federally owned group first presented the Talgo train in September last year and initially ordered 23 trains, which are to be on the road from October 2024. The additional 56 trains will be put on the rails for the first time from 2026 and are to be fully delivered by 2030, according to Deutsche Bahn.

For the ICE 3 Neo, on the other hand, Deutsche Bahn had previously ordered 73 trains to be delivered by 2029. Now this order has been extended by 17 trains.

The average age of the ICE fleet is thus expected to fall from 18 years today to 12 years by 2030. "DB is undergoing a comprehensive makeover in the coming years," announced Michael Peterson, member of the DB Board of Management responsible for long-distance transport. "Already this year, we will receive an average of three new ICEs per month."/maa/DP/tih