A ceremony in Berlin has marked the completion of Deutsche Bahn’s 137-strong ICE 4 fleet.
Last Tuesday, the final train was delivered to Berlin Central Station and was christened with water from the city’s Spree River.
The arrival of the 7-car ICE 4 brought to an end the largest procurement programme in Deutsche Bahn’s (DB) history, with Siemens Mobility having delivered the first of the 137 trains in 2016.
Roland Busch, CEO of Siemens AG, said: "As the longest train in the ICE fleet, the ICE 4 has around 25% more seats, and since it is lighter and more aerodynamic, it uses 30% less energy than previous models.
"Every ICE in service is good for the climate, for mobility, and for Germany’s position as a location for industry and business.”
Over their lifetime, each of the new trains is expected to replace 20,000 cars and save up to 400,000 tons of CO2.
In total, there are three different variants of the ICE 4, with 1500 cars and around 105,000 seats across the whole fleet.
The fleet comprises 37 7-car trains, 50 12-car trains and 50 13-car XXL ICE trains. The latter offer seating for nearly a thousand passengers, five times more than a medium-haul aircraft, and will operate on high-demand routes in and around the Rhine region.
DB now has the most modern and largest ICE fleet of all time, with over 400 trains. This fleet will grow further throughout 2024, as DB will take delivery of a new ICE train every three weeks this calendar year.
Richard Lutz, CEO of Deutsche Bahn AG, said: „Siemens and DB have delivered this project right on time. Expansion of the fleet is a central lever for achieving the goal of our Strong Rail strategy: doubling the number of travellers using our long-distance rail services, because those who travel by train help protect the climate.
“We invested six billion euros in the 137 ICE 4 trains alone and we will continue putting a new ICE train in service for our passengers every three weeks in 2024.”
With heavy investment in the modernisation of its fleet, DB is continuing to drive its strategy to secure a strong rail system in Germany.
Image credit: Deutsche Bahn
