DB to modernise Intercity-Express 3 fleet

2177
An ICE-3 train completely stripped back. Credit: DB.
An ICE-3 train completely stripped back. Credit: DB.
Listen to this article

Deutsche Bahn is spending €210 million on modernising its ICE-3 high-speed trains to improve reliability and passenger comfort.

The 66 trains will be sent to the firm’s maintenance facility, DB Fahrzeuginstandhaltung, in Nuremberg to be redesigned after 15 years in operation.

Additional space will be created for luggage, strollers and wheelchairs, modern seating will be installed as well as a real-time information system. At the same time they will be fitted with the European Train Control System (ETCS).

Three trains are transported at a time to the plant where it takes nine works to complete the redesign. Three have been overhauled already and the entire fleet is expected to be complete by 2020.

DB’s Berthold Huber said: “The ICE-3 modernisation is another milestone in our future railway program.”

 Uwe Kessler, head of the Nuremberg plant at DB Fahrzeuginstandhaltung, added that it represented a ‘major contract’ for the facility and its 150 employees.