GERMAN Rail’s (DB) recently published annual results for 2025 include details of a €1bn sale and leaseback transaction involving part of the national operator’s ICE high-speed train fleet.
DB agreed to sell 25 newly-built class 408 ICE3neo trains in November 2025 to a consortium led by German bank BayernLB and also including German equipment leasing firm Deutschen Anlagen-Leasing (DAL) and Siemens Financial Services (SFS).
DB has leased the trains back for an initial period of 10 years, believed to be the first time the operator has concluded this type of agreement for high-speed trains. By December 2025 14 trains had been sold and leased back under the agreement.
DB has previously disclosed fleet sales by its rail freight subsidiary DB Cargo, including the sale and lease back of the class 77/266 diesel locomotive fleet to Beacon Rail, plus the sale and leaseback of 21 new DB Long Distance class 248.5 Vectron Dual Mode locomotives.
Unlike the class 248.5 fleet which was sold to European Loco Leasing (ELL), which also became responsible for maintenance and availability, DB Long Distance will retain maintenance responsibility for the entire class 408 fleet.
Siemens is supplying DB with 90 ICE3neo trains. Around 50 are currently in operation operating both domestic and cross-border services. The leasing agreement is aligned with green loan principles and is EU-taxonomy compliant, with the trains placed within recognised sustainable finance categories.
For detailed information on fleet orders across Europe, subscribe to IRJ Pro.
