Siemens Mobility and Südwestdeutsche Landesverkehrs-GmbH (SWEG) are opening a new rail depot in Offenburg, Germany to maintain the Mireo Plus B battery-powered trains that are expected to enter service in Ortenau in December 2023.
This announcement follows one-and-a-half years of construction on the depot, which SWEG will lease to Siemens Mobility for 30 years from June 2023.
As part of the opening ceremony, a Mireo Plus B train 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 to transfer the operation of the network from the state to SWEG for 15 years from 10 December 10 2023.
“With this new depot, we have created a new home for sustainable mobility together with SWEG. The completion of the new facility lays the foundation for operating our first battery-powered train fleet in Germany that will provide climate-friendly, local zero-emission passenger transport. Our contract to provide the trains’ maintenance and repairs will ensure reliable and punctual regional rail service over the long term. Our goal is to secure 100-percent availability of the train fleet over its entire lifecycle.”
The new depot has been built near the Offenburg train station and covers an area of 1,350 metres-squared.
The facility includes two pit tracks, roof work stands, and a full-length gantry crane. It also features two outbuildings to provide space for storage, offices and social areas. Siemens Mobility will also use existing onsite SWEG infrastructure such as the outdoor car wash.
The depot warehouse will house minimum stock, as Siemens Mobility will use its MoBase e-commerce platform for managing spare parts. With this system, required parts can be delivered on demand within 24 hours in response to condition-based, predictive maintenance of the trains.
