GERMANY: DB Regio has finalised its contract for Alstom to supply 29 Coradia Stream High-Capacity electric multiple-units to be used on Kinzigtal services RE50 Frankfurt - Wächtersbach - Fulda - Bebra and RB51 Frankfurt - Wächtersbach from December 2025.
The double-deck EMUs will feature four-seat bays with large tables in first class and small wall-mounted tables in second class, with at-seats power sockets and free wi-fi throughout.
A boarding height of 600 mm will provide step-free access to all doors at most stations, and the trains will have 30 bicycle spaces.
Alstom is to manufacture the EMUs at its Salzgitter plant, with project and contract management, testing, commissioning, documentation and training also undertaken in Germany.
The rolling stock order announced on April 4 comes after the Rhein-Main and Nordhessen transport authorities announced in February that they had selected incumbent DB Regio for the next contract to operate the Kinzigtal services from December 2025.
Changes to long-distance services will require a new timetable on the route. This will cut 8 min from the RE50 journey time between Frankfurt and Fulda, with some services extended to Bebra.
‘With an expanded service and a high level of travel comfort, these new vehicles will make local transport in Kinzigtal much more attractive for passengers’, said Maik Dreser, Chairman of local subsidiary DB Regio Mitte.
