The ICE L has been running to the Allgäu for four days – and replaces the last IC1 to Oberstdorf!

For the Allgäu, this train change is more than just a new vehicle type in the timetable. Since July 12, 2026, the new ICE L has been running to Oberstdorf in scheduled service. Officially, this is progress: more comfort, level boarding, modern passenger information, a restaurant car and a vehicle concept that is particularly interesting for tourist destinations without full electrification.

For railway enthusiasts, however, it is also a farewell. With the ICE L, the previous IC 2012/2013 “Allgäu” with classic IC1 coaches disappears from this service. Deutsche Bahn had already announced for the 2026 timetable that the new ICE L would replace older Intercity coach sets on the train pair from Dortmund via Düsseldorf, Cologne and Bonn to Oberstdorf from July 2026.

This turns IC 2012/2013 into ICE 2012/2013 in everyday operation. At first, that sounds like just another train category, but technically and emotionally it is a major shift. The old Intercity stood for classic locomotive-hauled long-distance culture: individual coaches, older IC1 sets, diesel sections, a train path deep into the Allgäu and a connection that many railway fans found interesting precisely because it was imperfect. The new ICE L, by contrast, is a modern Talgo low-floor train designed to replace exactly that old IC1 world.

The end did not come quietly. According to Eisenbahn.de, the last IC 2012 left Oberstdorf on July 9, 2026 and reached Dortmund Hbf 98 minutes late. Three days later, the first scheduled ICE L to Oberstdorf had a much better start: ICE 2013 departed Cologne at 10:53 and arrived in Oberstdorf with only four minutes of delay. For a connection that had recently been known for extreme unreliability, that was a surprisingly clean start.

Technically, the ICE L is interesting for exactly these routes because it is not a classic ICE multiple unit. ICE 1, ICE 3 and ICE 4 are known as high-speed trainsets. The ICE L, however, is a locomotive-hauled coach set: one locomotive, followed by 17 Talgo coaches including a control car. DB lists the ICE L as 256 metres long with locomotive, with a top speed of 230 km/h and 562 seats, of which 85 are in first class and 477 in second class.

The letter L stands for Low Floor. That is one of the strongest arguments for the new train. The ICE L offers level boarding at standard 76-centimetre platforms. For Oberstdorf as a tourist destination, this is especially relevant: travellers with luggage, prams, bicycles, rollators or wheelchairs benefit much more than in classic IC1 coaches with steps.

Inside, the step is also significant. The ICE L brings Wi-Fi, ICE Portal, real-time passenger information, luggage areas, eight bicycle spaces, three wheelchair spaces, a large family area with 46 seats and a compartment for small children. It also includes a restaurant or bistro car. For regular passengers, this is difficult to deny: compared with old IC1 coaches, it is a clear gain in comfort and accessibility.

The real trick in the Allgäu, however, is not only the coach set, but the traction. The route towards Oberstdorf is not fully electrified. That is exactly why not every electric ICE can simply run there. With the ICE L, the coaches can be coupled to other locomotive types; according to DB, dual-mode locomotives with an additional diesel engine are planned for non-electrified routes.

In the Allgäu, the Siemens Vectron Dual Mode is used in long-distance service, known at DB as Class 248.5. Test runs with such a dual-mode locomotive already took place in the Allgäu and on the Geislinger Steige in March 2026. These included starting tests and measurements, because the combination of a heavy Talgo coach set, gradients, diesel operation and a tourist end route has to work reliably in daily operation.

This is what makes the new Oberstdorf service so interesting for railway fans: It is not simply “an ICE running further”. It is an ICE L coach set operating on a not fully electrified route with a dual-mode locomotive. At the start on July 12, Eisenbahn.de reported 248 506 at the head of the train and 248 509 at the rear.

This also makes the ICE L to Oberstdorf a technical compromise. On electrified main lines, the train can deliver the ICE comfort promise more fully. On the way into the Allgäu, however, infrastructure remains the limiting factor. IHK Schwaben points out that the route between Ulm and Oberstdorf is not fully electrified and that overhead wires there may not arrive before 2035.

That is exactly why the ICE L fits here so well: It combines a modern long-distance coach set with a locomotive that can operate both under overhead wire and away from it. For regions such as Oberstdorf or Westerland, that is decisive. A normal electric ICE multiple unit could not run on such non-electrified sections. The ICE L can close this gap because it remains locomotive-hauled.

Still, the new connection is not starting completely smoothly. B4B Schwaben reports that ICE 2013 towards Oberstdorf will initially start only from Köln Hbf until probably October 9. Anyone coming from Dortmund therefore has to change trains during this initial period. In the opposite direction, ICE 2012 from Oberstdorf reportedly runs through to Dortmund.

Construction work also plays a role. Between September 7 and October 6, the connection between Oberstdorf and Stuttgart will be suspended again. Reasons include track renewal between Immenstadt and Kempten as well as platform works along the Kempten–Oberstdorf route. In the Allgäu, the ICE initially stops only at Oberstdorf, Kempten and Memmingen; according to current timetable information, Immenstadt is expected to follow from August 25, with Sonthofen and Fischen later.

For railway nerds, that is also interesting because it shows: the ICE L does not automatically solve all route problems. The vehicle is new, but the infrastructure remains demanding. Platform heights, construction work, non-electrified sections, rolling-stock diagrams and operational restrictions still determine how well long-distance service to the Allgäu actually works.

For passengers, however, the new train is still real progress. The old IC 2012/2013 was not only nostalgic, but also problematic. Before the change, IHK Schwaben wrote that IC 2013 had not reached its destination on time once in its final 30 days and was on average 40 minutes late; on nine days, it did not reach Oberstdorf at all.

This is where the conflict lies. Railway fans lose a classic IC1 coach set that was emotionally and operationally more interesting to many than a modern comfort train. Passengers, however, get a train that is more accessible, more comfortable and ideally more reliable. From a railway-romance perspective, this is a loss. From a passenger perspective, it is hard to argue against level boarding, modern equipment and more comfort.

The timing is especially bitter because the classic IC1 era is ending overall. DB itself describes the ICE L as a vehicle intended to replace the old Intercity 1 trains. That makes Oberstdorf not just another new ICE destination, but part of a larger fleet transition: away from the old long-distance coach train and toward a modern, standardised low-floor ICE.

In the end, the picture is mixed. The ICE L to Oberstdorf is technically fascinating because it combines low-floor long-distance service, Talgo articulated coaches, dual-mode traction and a tourist diesel end route. It is important for transport policy because the Allgäu remains directly connected to North Rhine-Westphalia. And it is progress for passengers because accessibility and comfort improve.

But for railway fans, the farewell to the IC1 remains painful. The IC 2012/2013 was not a perfect train, perhaps often not even a reliable train – but it was a piece of classic German long-distance rail. For four days now, the ICE L has been running into the Allgäu. Modern, quieter, more comfortable, more accessible. And yet with every ICE 2012/2013, there is also a feeling that an era on the way to Oberstdorf has finally come to an end.

Is the ICE L to Oberstdorf a real step forward for you – or does the loss of the classic IC1 on IC 2012/2013 matter more? Have you already seen the ICE L in the Allgäu? Do you miss the IC1 on IC 2012/2013?

Copyright: Deutsche Bahn AG / Thomas Niedermüller