The order, with the train manufacturer Siemens, is worth 1.5 billion euros (1.7 billion dollars).

“With the new ICE, we are not only creating more capacity in our trains, but also increasing quality and comfort for our passengers,” Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz announced on Tuesday.

The new order is in addition to the 30 new long-distance trains the group ordered from Siemens in 2020. The first of these will roll off the assembly line at the end of this year. The last of the now 73 ordered ICE 3 Neo trains is expected to be delivered by 2029.

According to Deutsche Bahn, the new ICE 3 trains will increase the seating capacity of long-distance services by a total of 32,000 seats across the German rail network.

The ICE 3 Neo train can travel at 320 kilometres per hour, and will be used primarily on the fast long-distance routes between Germany’s biggest cities.

The Neo model has important innovations such as frequency-permeable windows. These are intended to significantly improve mobile phone reception during the journey.