German railway orders 30 high-speed trains for $1.1 billion

Germany’s national railway operator is ordering 30 new high-speed trains from industrial conglomerate Siemens for some 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion). State-owned Deutsche Bahn said Wednesday that the new ICE trains will go into service from 2022, initially between the populous western North Rhine-Westphalia region and Munich. The company said the order means that its long-distance fleet will expand by 20% in the coming years. It also has an option to buy 60 more high-speed trains.