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Passengers can board the new ICE L at ground level
Photo: Oliver Lang / Deutsche Bahn AG
Boarding an ICE without outside help: In the future, this will also be possible for people with restricted mobility.
Deutsche Bahn (DB) presented the first carriage of the new ICE L in Berlin – with level access.
Even passengers with a lot of luggage, prams or bicycles can get on these trains more easily than on the other ICE series.
From autumn 2024, trains from the Spanish manufacturer Talgo will gradually strengthen DB's long-distance fleet, according to a Deutsche Bahn statement.
They replace Intercity and Eurocity trains - even on routes that are not electrified.
This is possible because the ICE L is pulled by a locomotive that can also be replaced by a locomotive with a different drive such as diesel - in contrast to classic ICE trains, which consist exclusively of electric multiple units.
The manufacturer speaks of a »return of the conventional train«.
Talgo is known for its idiosyncratic train concept, which allows fast journeys on winding routes with short car bodies and also a low entrance.
The ICE L means the breakthrough for the Spanish company in Germany.
The major order for up to 100 trains with a total value of 2.3 billion euros was awarded in 2019, at that time still under the abbreviation ECx.
The L in the new name ICE L stands for the English term »low floor«.
According to the announcement, the trains will first be used on the Berlin-Amsterdam line - initially with Siemens locomotives, because Talgo says it was only able to start production with a delay due to the Corona crisis.
In 2026, the trains will also run on the tourist connections to Sylt and Oberstdorf.
The interest group "Self-determined living in Germany" welcomed the new train model and called for stepless entry as standard.
That will be the case for future tenders, announced Deutsche Bahn board member Michael Peterson at the presentation of the train in Berlin.
"Our goal as DB is: rail travel for everyone, rail travel without barriers." By 2030, however, Deutsche Bahn will still have numerous new ICE trains with levels from existing contracts.
The ICE L should be 230 kilometers per hour fast and be made up of 17 passenger coaches including a control car and a multi-system locomotive over a length of 256 meters, which should make cross-border use possible.
It has 477 seats in second class and 85 seats in first class.
In the interior there are more comfortable and "completely newly developed seats," according to the DB.
There is also a particularly high-performance WLAN, mobile phone-permeable windows, plenty of space for families with children, a restaurant car, eight bicycle parking spaces and passenger information with real-time data.
After the ICE 3 neo announced for 2023, the ICE L will also get the new ICE design presented in May.
ani/dpa