GERMANY: DB Regio has finalised its order for Alstom to supply high-capacity Coradia Stream electric multiple-units to operate Main-Weser Express services.
Following an international tender, Rhein-Main Verkehrsverbund and Nordhessischer Verkehrsverbund announced on November 5 that the incumbent had been selected for the next Main-Weser contract to run route RE 30 between Frankfurt, Gießen, Marburg and Kassel from December 15 2024.
With the organising authorities calling for a 15% increase in capacity to accommodate rising demand, DB tendered for up to 17 trainsets with at least 420 seats and seven with at least 540 seats. The €218·2m contract announced on January 7 covers the supply 13 four-car and four five-car Coradia Stream HC units.
Based on the modular Coradia Stream EMUs being supplied to operators in Italy, the Netherlands and Denmark, the HC variants will be partially double-deck. The four-car EMUs will have two double-deck driving vehicles and two single-deck intermediate cars carrying the roof-mounted traction equipment; the five-car variant will have an additional double-deck centre car. The two versions will operate in multiple, with a nine-car formation providing a maximum of 960 seats.
All vehicles will have a uniform entrance height at 600 mm above rail, offering near-level boarding from 550 mm high platforms. This is designed to ensure accessibility for passengers with reduced mobility without the need for boarding ramps. Each trainset will have space for up to 30 bicycles. There will be four-seat bays with tables in the first-class section, and compact wall-mounted tables in second class. Free onboard wi-fi will be provided, with power sockets at every seat.
The trains are to be assembled at Alstom’s Salzgitter plant, with all project management, validation and commissioning to be undertaken in Germany.
‘We are very pleased that DB Regio has chosen our modern Coradia Stream HC trains for route RE30’, said Müslüm Yakisan, President of Alstom’s DACH region. ‘These comfortable trains will provide passengers on the Main-Weser Express with a premium travel experience and additional space.’
DB Regio Mitte Chairman Maik Dreser added that ‘with the new, modern double-deck vehicles, we are sending a strong signal — for climate protection and strengthening of the railway’.
