Deutsche Bahn (DB) has announced it will build a new ICE maintenance workshop in Dortmund and plans to begin operations as soon as 2027.
The rail company is investing more than 400 million EUR (420.96m USD) into this project, which will create up to 500 new jobs.
The facility will be built to the west of the city’s port on the site of a former freight yard and include a 450-metre-long maintenance hall with four tracks.
It will be possible to work on up to 17 ICE trains per day and operations will be carbon neutral thanks to the use of renewable energy sources such as solar thermal for heating and hot water.
Work is now underway on the planning of the site, which is being led by Project Manager Miriam Kiesel. She has also been involved in the planning of DB’s new Cottbus maintenance workshop.
In order to meet DB’s tight timescales, the original plan was for the Dortmund site to mirror that of DB’s Cologne-Nippes facility.
As the project moved forward it become clear that this would not be possible, as changes had to be made to the model to factor in different operational processes and mechanical specifications.
“There are differences in every type of train and different requirements for every ICE series.
“I find it very exciting to bring these specifications together and create a work that is as flexible as possible.”
Kiesel and her team must complete the planning approval process by October in order to meet the current DB timescales.
Further milestones included design planning by next spring and implementation planning by the end of 2024.
Construction is scheduled to begin at the start of 2025.
