Siemens Mobility and Südwestdeutsche Landesverkehrs (SWEG), the rail operator in southwest Germany, opened battery train depot in Offenburg, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. SWEG will lease the depot to Siemens Mobility for 30 years from June 2023.
As part of the opening ceremony, the Mireo Plus B also took its first public test run on the route between Offenburg and Gengenbach. In addition, Baden-Württemberg’s Transport Minister Winfried Hermann and SWEG CEOs Tobias Harms and Dr. Thilo Grabo signed the transport contract for Network 8 transferring operation of the network from the state to SWEG for 15 years as of December 10, 2023.
The new and modern depot will be used to maintain the Siemens Mireo Plus B battery-powered trains that are expected to enter service in the Network 8 Ortenau as of mid-December 2023.
“This December we will inaugurate the battery-electric age for regional rail transport in Baden-Württemberg in Ortenau. Passengers will travel comfortably in modern, air-conditioned, and barrier-free trains. The trains will operate emission-free on non-electrified routes and thus make an important contribution to climate protection,” the Transport Minister of Baden-Württemberg said.
The new battery train depot is located at the train station of Offenburg in the city’s northeast. Covering an area of 1,350 m2, the depot includes two pit tracks, roof work stands, and a full-length gantry crane. Two outbuildings, 350 m2 and 200 m2 in area, provide space for storage, offices, and social facilities. It was also agreed that Siemens Mobility can use the onsite SWEG infrastructure, such as the outdoor car wash. The depot warehouse can rely on a minimum of stock since Siemens Mobility uses its MoBase e-commerce platform for managing spare parts. With it, required parts can be delivered on demand within 24 hours. Condition-based, predictive maintenance of the trains is made possible by using the cloud-based Siemens Mobility application suite Railigent X. Thanks to its advanced algorithms and data analytics, possible faults are detected before they lead to failures.
“With the new depot for Siemens, an underfloor lathe, and the existing SWEG workshop, SWEG has created a comprehensive service center for rail vehicles here in Offenburg in just five years that is unique in southern Germany in terms of possibilities and modernity,” SWEG CEO Tobias Harms said.
In 2020, the Baden-Württemberg State Authority for Rail Vehicles (SFBW) ordered 27 two-car, Mireo Plus B battery-powered trains from Siemens Mobility. Running on batteries, the Mireo Plus B has a range of around 80 kilometers under real conditions.
As of mid-December 2023, Network 8 (Ortenau) will include five routes (Offenburg – Freudenstadt/Hornberg, Offenburg – Bad Griesbach, Offenburg – Achern, Achern – Ottenhöfen, and Biberach (Baden) – Oberharmersbach-Riersbach). The reactivated Hermann Hesse railway between Calw and Renningen is expected to join the network in 2025. Network services currently total around two-and-a-half million train kilometers a year.
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