GERMANY: Siemens Mobility is to supply a more powerful variant of its Mireo electric multiple-unit family for use on the expanded Regensburg/Donautal group of passenger services from December 2024.
The 23 four-car EMUs will have two additional powered axles to provide faster acceleration, and a maximum speed of 160 km/h. The units have been ordered by BeNEX subsidiary Agilis to operate routes RE50 Nürnberg – Regensburg – Plattling and RB51 Neumarkt – Regensburg – Plattling. These are to be run by Agilis under a 14-year contract awarded by Bayern railway agency BEG.
‘By choosing Mireo trains from Siemens, Agilis clearly led the competition in the quality evaluation of bids submitted for the Regensburg/Donautal tender’, said BeNEX CEO Dr Michael Vulpius when the order was announced on September 29. ‘It really isn’t possible to focus more specifically on meeting regional mobility requirements’.
The articulated EMUs are to be built at Siemens Mobility’s Krefeld plant. They will have 216 seats, with a ‘spacious’ design, a large number of luggage racks, multipurpose areas at each door and a wheelchair lift for use at stations with low platforms.
There will be a real-time passenger information system showing connections, along with free wi-fi and window panes developed by Siemens Mobility to improve mobile phone reception on board.
‘Our focus was on ensuring a high level of passenger comfort provided by generously designed interiors’, said Agilis CEO Dr Axel Hennighausen. ‘We feel it’s especially important to make sure our passengers are thoroughly comfortable.’
Siemens Mobility has now sold more than 240 Mireo trainsets in total.
