GERMANY: Siemens Mobility’s Smart Train Lease business is to deliver the first of three Mireo Smart electric multiple-units for the lauch of a passenger service just six weeks after the contract was signed.
The EMUs are required by Trandev’s MittelrheinBahn for use on service RB32 which is to launch with the December 14 timetable change. This will use the Ahr Valley line, which has been repaired and electrified following serious flood damage in 2021, with MittelrheinBahn to provide an expanded service running from Ahrbrück to Remagen and then through to Koblenz and Boppard.
The train provision agreement signed by on August 19 marks the first expansion of an existing Mireo fleet using the Smart Train Lease model. It includes eight years of maintenance at the Koblenz depot which has experience with Mireo trains, and the existing service contract covering Mireo and Desiro Mainline EMUs is being expanded to included the three additional sets.
The first train is to be delivered on October 1. Siemens Mobility said the fast turn-around is possible thanks to Smart Train Lease’s standardised vehicle concept and the fact that the vehicles had already been manufactured. ‘With the new, intelligent leasing concept and the rapid provision of Mireo Smart trains for RB32, Smart Train Lease demonstrates how modern, energy-efficient mobility can be flexible and demand-driven’, said Smart Train Lease Managing Director Benjamin Dobernecker on August 27.
The 160 km/h Mireo EMUs have 214 seats, including 12 in first class, with multi-purpose areas with space for up to 21 bicycles, wi-fi, power outlets and USB charging ports.
