"Not good for reliability": First trip for long-awaited ICE 3 neo
Created: 05/12/2022, 15:24
By: Eric Sharp
For the first time, an ICE 3 neo has rolled out of Frankfurt Central Station for a regular connection.
It is high time for Deutsche Bahn.
Frankfurt – First stop: Frankfurt Central Station.
At the hub in the Rhine-Main area, Deutsche Bahn started a new era on Monday (December 5).
The new ICE 3 Neo is in operation.
On Monday, the first ICE 3 Neo started for the first time with paying passengers on board on the high-speed route from Frankfurt to Cologne.
Externally, the train built by Siemens is very similar to the ICE 3, which has been well-known since 2000. At least when you compare the two series directly, you can see that the tip of the ICE 3 Neo is much rounder, reports fnp.de.
The improvements are more on the inside: a new lighting concept, mobile phone-transparent panes, a fast lifting platform for wheelchair users and space for eight bicycles are intended to increase passenger comfort.
For the premiere of the new ICE 3neo (r), the new express train is standing next to an ICE of the old design in Frankfurt Central Station.
© Boris Roessler/dpa
Deutsche Bahn's ICE 3 Neo runs from Frankfurt to Cologne: "Not good for reliability"
Deutsche Bahn has ordered a total of 73 ICE 3 Neos with a total of 30,000 seats from Siemens, and four trains have already been delivered.
From train number 17, seats and interior fittings will also have a new design.
The last train should be delivered by 2029.
The state-owned group pays around 2.5 billion euros for this.
The trains are urgently needed, said DB Passenger Transport Board Member Michael Peterson.
“In terms of reliability, Deutsche Bahn is currently not doing well.
Unfortunately, it will remain so for a certain period of time, because we are working flat out to modernize our rail system.” Recently, the railway has had considerable problems in both long-distance and local transport, partly due to a lack of personnel.
Star affected by cancellations and delays in the summer, for example, was the route between Frankfurt main station and Brussels.
ICE 3 Neo of the Deutsche Bahn: Mainly in use on the high-speed routes
According to Deutsche Bahn, the ICE 3 Neo will travel at a top speed of 320 kilometers per hour, primarily on the so-called racetracks, initially between Dortmund, Cologne, Stuttgart and Munich.
Connections to Brussels and Amsterdam will follow in 2024.
Frankfurt Airport can be reached in the middle, so that as many domestic flights as possible become superfluous.
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In addition to the ICE 3 Neo, a total of almost 140 somewhat slower ICE 4s, which also come from Siemens, are being delivered.
According to Peterson, more than 450 ICE trains will be on the road by the end of the decade – around a hundred more than is currently the case.
By 2030, the government wants to double the number of passengers on the rails.
(esa/dpa)
Deutsche Bahn received scorn and ridicule for the concept for the regional transport of the future.
