“Like a business class flight”
Bahn introduces two-person compartments for the ICE
April 17, 2024, 12:07 p.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
Deutsche Bahn is already planning for the next generation of ICEs. In addition to large-capacity cars and six-person compartments, there could be cozy compartments for two people in the future. And there is also an innovation in sight elsewhere.
The ICE of the future may also have two-person compartments – two seats facing each other, separated from the rest of the car by a frosted glass pane. This means that “the seat can become a personal space with significantly more privacy,” as Deutsche Bahn (DB) announced.
“Some people want more privacy, for others a compartment is too intimate. This is what the first tests of new seating areas for the trains of the future show,” writes DB board member for long-distance passenger transport, Michael Peterson, on Linkedin. The seats in the compartment also offer a reclining function. This is “like a business class flight,” said the DB board.
The railway presented the compartment as well as other new developments and projects at its “Experience Mobility” trade fair in Berlin. This summer, for example, the “digital towel” will appear on the first DB trains: According to the company, with a real-time occupancy display, travelers can secure their seat for the entire journey – even without a reservation.
New ad coming this summer
To do this, they have to use the check-in, then the occupancy is displayed not only internally, but also on the screen at the seat. “The real-time occupancy display will be used on the first trains in summer 2024,” writes the head of railway communications in Germany at Deutsche Bahn, Oliver Santen, on Linkedin.
In the future, mobility offers such as rental bikes, car sharing or express buses will also be included in the DB Navigator app – and customers will be able to pay for all trips booked there directly online using a payment system called Bonvoyo, as the company announced.
According to the information, the railway is also modernizing 20 stations this year, and numerous more are expected to follow by 2030. The travel centers in the 25 busiest long-distance train stations are also to be “completely renovated” over the next five years.