Deutsche Bahn confirms Talgo the largest single order of its history: 56 new Talgo 230 trains worth approximately 1,400 million euros

As part of the framework contract signed in 2019 for a maximum of 100 trains.

German federal railway company Deutsche Bahn today announced an ambitious plan to expand its ICE high-speed train fleet, which will result in the largest train supply contract for Talgo in its over 80-year history: 56 new units worth approximately 1,400 million euros. This new order is part of the framework contract signed in 2019 along with a first order for 23 trains. Both orders will take the Talgo-made ICE L fleet to reach 79 units.

The trains belong to the Talgo 230 technology platform and will be operated by Deutsche Bahn throughout Germany under the “ICE L” name, which designates long-distance, high-speed services that will also feature low-floor platform level in all their coaches (Intercity-Express Low-Floor) and will therefore be fully accessible, a unique capability of the Spanish company among the global rail industry.

The 56 new ICE L units will be identical to the 23 that are currently in production and that will gradually come into operation from autumn 2024: they are state-of-the-art trains, with more space and a high level of comfort, composed of a locomotive that provides traction to a 17 passenger coaches, of which the last one incorporates a driver's cab to make operations more flexible, in a configuration unknown in Spain but quite common in Germany.

For international routes

The multi-system locomotive, developed entirely by Talgo, is fully interoperable and will allow ICE L trains to travel not only within Germany, but also on international services connecting Berlin with Amsterdam quickly and without stopping at the border. The composition will also be compatible with locomotives from other manufacturers for operation, for example, on non-electrified lines.

Each train offers a total of 562 seats, 85 of them in first class and 477 in second class, including a bistro/cafeteria coach and another specifically designed for people with reduced mobility (PRM), and incorporates a new interior design scheme characterised by the combination of functionality and durability with the luminosity and warmth of the materials. Its new coaches also incorporate for the first time a new window designed to improve mobile phone and data coverage on board the train.

Proven reliability

With the ICE L project Deutsche Bahn is making a commitment to Talgo technology, a commitment that in September 2022 the company described as "a deliberate choice for a proven vehicle platform to achieve greater reliability through the use of tried-and-tested components".

Dr. Michael Peterson, Member of the Management Board for Long Distance Passenger Transport at DB has said today: "In the next few years, DB will undergo a major overhaul. This applies both to the rail network and to our trains. This year we will already receive an average of three new ICE trains per month. We are now accelerating the rejuvenation of our train fleet. In the process, we are also relying on additional ICE L trains from Talgo. The highlight of these trains is the level boarding and alighting, which significantly increases comfort for all passengers".

Carlos Palacio Oriol, President of Talgo, said: "The new order from Deutsche Bahn is the largest in the company's history and demonstrates the European operator's confidence in the innovations that our trains will bring to the German market, improving accessibility, comfort, energy efficiency and reliability".

"This new contract," Palacio added, "is great news for all the professionals at Talgo who work hard every day to manufacture the latest generation ICE L trains, and it is also great news for the Spanish railway industry and its technologies, due to the success of consolidating a national benchmark in the most dynamic and demanding long-distance railway market in Europe."

Last week, the Federal Minister for Digitalisation and Transport, Volker Wissing said at the FEDECOM 'Company of the Year' award ceremony held for Talgo in Berlin: "We in Europe are very ambitious when it comes to climate targets. By joining forces we can be much stronger, and that is why I am pleased that we inspire each other, that we support each other: that a Spanish company has helped to solve a problem we had in Germany.

ICE L - Technical data

- Number of trains
      o Framework contract for 100 units
      o First firm order: 23 units; February 2019
      o Second firm order: 56 units; May 2023
- Arrangement: 1 locomotive + 16 coaches + 1 cab car (of which 1 bistro coach; 1 PRM coach)
- Seating: 562 (85 first class; 477 second class)
- Accessibility: full accessibility at platform level throughout the train
- Length: 256 metres (of which locomotive 19.7 metres)
- Height of carriages: 3.6 to 3.8 metres
- Tare weight: 406 tonnes
- Number of axles: 24 (of which 4 on the locomotive)
- Maximum commercial speed: 230 km/h

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