Alstom’s first pre-production Coradia Polyvalent France-Germany cross-border train has been delivered to the DB Systemtechnik centre in Minden, Germany, where it will undergo certification and approval tests.
These will include mechanical checks to establish how the train behaves on curves. It will then go to the Velim test centre in the Czech Republic for traction, braking, electro-magnetic and acoustic stress tests.
Testing on Germany’s commercial rail network will begin in 2022.
The certification and validation teams at Alstom’s Reichshoffen site will work closely with DB Systemtechnik throughout the tests process, which will last two years. The approval and certification documentation will then be submitted to Certifer in France and AEBT, Certifer’s German subsidiary, to ensure that the results comply with European railway regulations.
In October 2019, SNCF and the French Grand Est region ordered 30 Coradia Polyvalent cross-border trains with financial help from the German states of Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg. European Regional Development Fund funds from the INTERREG V Upper Rhine Programme also supported the deal.
The 160km/h four-car trains are dual mode (electric-diesel), dual voltage (25kV and 15kV) and are equipped with the bi-standard ERTMS KVB system, supplemented by the PZB STM specific to the German network. They will incorporate the new LOC & PAS and PRM 2014 standards, notably offering more spacious toilets to facilitate travel for passengers with reduced mobility.
The first of the 30 cross-border trains, designed and assembled at the Alstom Reichshoffen site, will be delivered at the beginning of 2024.
