Deutsche Bahn wants to do without steps when entering and exiting its ICE trains in the future. A Spanish manufacturer will deliver the first two dozen new trains. Due to existing contracts, trains with steps will soon be added to the portfolio. For new orders, however, accessibility should become standard.
From 2024, Deutsche Bahn will also be using ICE trains with stepless entrances. According to Deutsche Bahn, 23 low-floor trains from the Spanish manufacturer Talgo will be delivered by 2027. Passengers with restricted mobility and customers with bulky luggage, bicycles or prams can board these trains more easily than the other ICE series.
Stepless access is to become standard in future tenders, as board member Michael Peterson announced at the presentation of the train in Berlin. “Our goal as DB is: rail travel for everyone, rail travel without barriers.” By 2030, the railway will get numerous new ICE with stages from existing contracts.
The Talgo train will first be used between Berlin and Amsterdam. “In 2026, the trains will also run on the tourist connections to Sylt and Oberstdorf,” said the railway. The ICE L is 256 meters long, consists of 17 cars and has a top speed of 230 kilometers per hour. It offers 85 seats in first class and 477 in second class. The 23 trains cost about 550 million euros. The train calls them ICE-L (low floor).
