(AFP / GUILLAUME SOUVANT)
The railway manufacturer Alstom has received an order for 18 Coradia Max electric multiple units from DB Regio AG, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates regional and suburban train services in Germany, the French group announced on Thursday.
These trainsets will enter service in December 2027 on the regional express line RE1 Hamburg–Rostock, in northern Germany, “one of the region’s main vital arteries for commuters and tourists”, according to Carsten Moll, president of DB Regio Nordost, cited in the Alstom press release.
“With our new double-deck trains, we will help DB Regio to expand its travel offering in the states of Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in a sustainable and modern way,” said Müslüm Yakisan, President from the Germany, Austria and Switzerland region at Alstom.
The order, the amount of which is not specified, concerns nine three-car trainsets and nine five-car trainsets.
Compared to the trains currently in service in Schleswig-Holstein and the Hamburg region, “the new trains will offer passengers up to 50% more seats between Büchen and Hamburg during peak hours,” said the railway manufacturer.
The trains will be assembled at the Alstom factory in Salzgitter, Germany.
In July 2023, the regional state of Schleswig-Holstein had already ordered 40 Coradia Stream type trainsets from Alstom, the former name of the Coradia Max, of four cars each, for an amount of 900 million euros including their maintenance for 30 years .
More than 500 Coradia Max trains have already been ordered across Europe, according to Alstom.
In May 2022, the French group won a contract worth nearly 2.5 billion euros for the supply of 130 regional trains to Baden-Württemberg, in southwest Germany, and their maintenance for 30 years. It was the largest order placed with Alstom in the country.