On 14 September 2016, CEO of Deutsche Bahn, Rüdiger Grube, and the Minister for Transport Alexander Dobrindt have presented in Berlin the ICE 4, Deutsche Bahn’s new long-distance train. This is the first high-speed train in Europe to undergo an introductory phase that will last several months before it goes into regular service in December 2017.
The train already has run 250,000 test km in the course of the project. During the introductory phase, which is about to begin in late fall, two ICE 4 trains will be used occasionally on the Hamburg–Hanover–Nuremberg–Munich line. The ICE 4 will be approved on the basis of the new procedures in force in Germany, in which technical standards are specified for a period of seven years.
DB and Siemens assume that approval will be granted in time for the introductory phase. Siemens is the general contractor for the ICE 4 trains and responsible for the approval process. Bombardier Transportation contributes a supplier share of around 30 percent.
DB has ordered delivery the first of 130 trains from the total of up to 300 trains covered by the framework agreement signed with Siemens in May 2011. With a volume of roughly EUR 5.3 billion, this is the largest investment in rolling stock in the history of Deutsche Bahn.
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