At the time of commissioning, the conference compartment was equipped with a large table, four freely movable chairs, an electronic typewriter, a fax machine, a telephone and power sockets. It could be used with a reservation of at least three seats. Originally, first-class tickets were necessary. If there were no reservations in the conference compartment, it could be used at the head conductor's discretion. In 1992, demand was high: the conference compartments were booked 8197 times. A year later, that number dropped to 4400. Before the refurbishment program, the train's only power sockets for passengers were located in the conference compartment.