Completion of the ICE 4 Fleet: Deutsche Bahn Celebrates New Milestone

The Deutsche Bahn's renewal wave culminates with the completion of the ICE 4 fleet upon receiving the final, 137th high-speed train from Siemens Mobility, which was christened "Spree" in the heart of Berlin. This act marks the end of the railway's extensive modernization program and represents a key component in the federal government's initiative, as Federal Minister of Transport Volker Wissing emphasized, to double rail traffic performance by the year 2030 compared to 2015. Railway CEO Richard Lutz honors the ICE 4 as the fundamental backbone of long-distance travel within the state railway company, pointing out that no other ICE generation can boast such an extensive quota as this fourth edition. Although it has a top speed of 260 kilometers per hour, the ICE 4 does not lead the speed ranking, yet its quantity in the fleet strength is unmatched. However, Wissing underlines the necessity for a modern and functional track network, which currently reveals deficient trains. He addresses the growing failure risks due to overloaded main lines and network hubs and attributes this to historically neglected maintenance investments. The federal government and Deutsche Bahn are tackling these challenges with plans for the comprehensive renovation of heavily trafficked routes in the coming years. The effort begins this July with the Riedbahn between Frankfurt and Mannheim. Next year is set to see further significant refurbishment projects on the Emmerich-Oberhausen and Berlin-Hamburg lines, with freight railways particularly expected to benefit from these improvements.