BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Deutsche Bahn's ICE 4 fleet is complete. The last of the 137 trains ordered from Siemens Mobility was recently delivered and was given the name "Spree" this Tuesday in Berlin. "It marks the completion of Deutsche Bahn's largest vehicle fleet modernization programme to date," said Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) at the event at Berlin Central Station. The ICE 4 is an important building block for the German government's goal of doubling rail transport capacity by 2030 compared to 2015, the Minister emphasized.

On Tuesday, Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz called the train the "backbone of long-distance transportation" for the federally owned company. No other ICE series currently has as many vehicles as the fourth generation of the high-speed train, although it is not the fastest version with a speed of up to 260 kilometers per hour.

However, it is also clear that the train requires a modern and efficient rail network, which does not currently exist, said Wissing. "With increasing capacity utilization, our network has become more susceptible to disruption, especially on the main lines and in the junctions." The systems are outdated because too little funding has been made available for maintenance in recent years.

The federal government and the railroads want to change this by renovating busy corridors in the coming years. The network is to be completely closed at key points for several months and completely refurbished. Work will start in July on the so-called Riedbahn between Frankfurt and Mannheim. This will be followed next year by the Emmerich-Oberhausen route, which is important for freight trains, and the Berlin-Hamburg corridor./maa/DP/jha