• Simply board: ICE L sets new standards for passenger comfort and features great accessibility
• First passenger service from mid-December 2025 between Berlin and Cologne

Deutsche Bahn (DB) today unveiled the first step-free high-speed train in Germany. With innovations such as mobile-permeable windows, a revised interior design and improved seats, the ICE L is the first building block for the implementation of the agenda for satisfied customers on German railways.

The presentation ceremony, which took place at Berlin-Ostbahnhof station, was attended by: Evelyn Palla, CEO of DB AG; Michael Peterson, member of the Board of Directors of DB Fernverkehr; Patrick Schnieder, Federal Minister of Transport; and Carlos Palacio, President of Talgo.

 Talgo President, Carlos Palacio (Right in the photo). To his left, Michael Peterson, member of the Board of Directors of DB Fernverkehr (DB Passenger Long Distance), to his left, Evelyn Palla, CEO of DB AG; to his left, Patrick Schnieder, Federal Minister of Transport; and to his left, the Spanish Ambassador to Germany, Pascual Navarro.

Evelyn Palla: “We want to inspire people with our trains. With the new ICE L, we are clearly focusing on greater comfort and reliability for our passengers. Every new train contributes to stable operation. That’s why we have consistently modernized our fleet in recent years and procured many new high-speed trains.”

Patrick Schnieder: “I made it clear from the beginning that the customer had to be king again on the rails. This train is a perfect example of this: from step-free access to family-friendly seating and improved mobile reception, the new ICE generation brings many noticeable improvements for passengers. Those who modernize not only improve technology, but also the travel experience for millions of people. This applies to the infrastructure as well as to the trains.”

Carlos Palacio: “Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in our relationship with DB. I can assure you that we will devote all our strength and resources to being a close, efficient, loyal and reliable partner. All this so that the operation of the ICE L built by Talgo will be a success in the immediate future. These are low-floor trains, which allow step-free boarding along the entire length of the train. As a result, they cleverly meet the new requirements for sustainable mobility.”

Talgo ICE L, Berlín-Ostbahnhof Station

Great passenger comfort

In addition to step-free entry, the ICE L has numerous features for improved travel comfort:

• The new interior design with new colours and materials, together with the shorter coaches of the ICE L, creates a pleasant, homely feeling of space. In addition, there is a lighting control system adapting to the time of day.
• The 562 installed seats are a real new development, which involved more than 1,600 test subjects. All seats have sockets and folding tables plus tablet holders.
• Windows of the ICE L allow mobile phone signals to reach directly the interior of the coach, without detouring via repeaters. This technology ensures significantly improved mobile phone reception inside the train.
• New reservation displays with coloured LED lights provide information at a glance about reserved and free seats.
• For passengers in wheelchairs, ICE L offers a wider door and electrically height-adjustable tables at the PRM spaces, in addition to the step-free entry.
• Family-friendliness is also a top priority for the ICE L. With 46 seats, the train offers the largest family area in the entire ICE fleet. In addition, there are nine seats in the children compartment, more than in any other ICE.

Use of the ICE L from mid-December

The new train will initially be used gradually within Germany from the timetable change on 14 December 2025. The first trips will take place between Berlin and Cologne (ICE 1548, departure Berlin Central Station 7.10 a.m., and ICE 1055, departure Cologne Central Station 3.36 p.m.). From 1 May 2026, the ICE L will run between Berlin, Hamburg and Westerland (Sylt) and thus for the first time on a tourist connection.

From 11 July, it will then be used on other tourist connections from Frankfurt (Main) via Gießen and from Cologne via Münster to Westerland (Sylt). The ICE L will be used in the Dortmund to Oberstdorf route, too. In the future, the train will also run to Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Vienna as soon as all the necessary conditions are met.