GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has called tenders for the development and supply of its next generation of InterCity Express high speed trainsets, with entry into service planned for the early 2030s.
DB said the fifth generation ICE trainsets would set new standards for energy efficiency, reliability and the travel experience, with new interior concepts and as many step-free doors as possible to provide easy access for passengers with reduced mobility.
A framework agreement covering up to 95 trainsets is planned. The single deck trainsets would be 400 m long with a maximum speed of at least 300 km/h and around 940 seats. They would be approved for Germany and cross-border operation to Basel in Switzerland.
There would be an initial order for 33 sets. Two prototypes would be delivered in 2031 for testing, with the series-built trainsets delivered in 2032-34. Further orders could be placed by the end of 2040.
The new trainsets, informally known as ICE5, would replace older vehicles including the ICE1 and ICE3 sets, and also expand the fleet to meet growing passenger demand.
Alstom and Siemens Mobility put forward initial concepts under consultancy contracts which formed the first stage of the Hochgeschwindigkeitsverkehre3.0 procurement project.
DB said the knowledge gained from this had informed the second stage call for tenders announced on December 15. This is open to all manufacturers and includes ‘ambitious, but at the same time achievable, manufacturer-neutral requirements’.
Potential suppliers are required to have experience of supplying 200+ km/h and 300+ km/h trainsets in the EU, Switzerland or the pre-Brexit UK.
- Subscribers can read more about the procurement programme in an in-depth article from the September 2022 issue of Railway Gazette International magazine.
