Austria, Germany: Talgo showed the first low-floor ICE L train coach commissioned by Deutsche Bahn (DB). In turn, Siemens Mobility presented the interior of a new generation of Viaggio passenger coaches for OBB.
The first ICE L coach was produced by Talgo under a contract received from DB in 2019. Its firm part provides for the delivery of 23 passenger trains for €550 mln, and the framework agreement includes a potential supply of up to 100 trains. Deliveries should start in the second half of 2024 and end in June 2025. ICE L trains are designed to replace the rolling stock of the Intercity 1 service: as part of it, the rolling stock was put in operation from the 1970s to the 1990s, when high-speed trains began to enter the DB fleet, and the coaches were also modernized in the early 2010s.
Each ICE L train will consist of a multi-system electric locomotive compatible with different power supply and signaling systems and 17 passenger cars, including one dining car, the number of which is subject to change later. The total length of the ICE L with the locomotive will be 256 m. The trains will have 562 seats, 85 of which are first class and 477 are second class.
ICE L trains are expected to operate at a max speed of up to 230 km/h for long-distance passenger services (the Berlin-Amsterdam route should be the first direction). Talgo says the ICE L will be 20% lighter (per passenger) than competitors’ trains. Significant attention is paid to the convenience of passengers with limited mobility travelling by the new rolling stock. Thus, the doors are located at the level of platforms with a height of 760 mm, each car has three places for wheelchairs with tables adjustable in height. In addition, the coaches have tactile mapping.
Interior of the first ICE L coach by Talgo. Source: Deutsche Bahn
Doors are at the level of the platforms in the ICE L coach by Talgo. Source: Deutsche Bahn
In turn, Siemens presented the interior of locomotive-hauled passenger cars for Nightjet overnight service of OBB at its plant in Vienna. The revival of night rail passenger transportation in Europe is associated with the need to reduce emissions made by transport. Nightjet trains will run at speeds of up to 230 km/h (the speed of the Siemens Vectron locomotives hauling them).
Siemens Mobility is manufacturing a new generation of Viaggio long-distance coaches for Nightjet: there is a contract for 231 coaches and 33 seven-car trains which will be composed. The first trains will be put into operation in 2023 on routes from Rome to Vienna and Munich. By 2025, 33 next-generation Nightjets will be in service in Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands, replacing most existing trains.
The Viaggio locomotive-hauled coach by Siemens Mobility at its production site in Vienna. Source: Siemens Mobility
Siemens indicates that each train will include 2 seating coaches (control coach and malfunction coach), 3 couchette coaches (including a capsule version of a place for one person) and 2 sleeping cars with separate toilets and showers in each compartment. The capacity of each train is 254 passengers. Siemens notes that Wi-Fi access, gadget charging, storage space, a movable folding breakfast table with a built-in mirror, coat hooks, a reading lamp and lockers for luggage, etc. will be integrated in the new rolling stock for passengers.
