Germany’s Deutsche Bahn (DB) will immediately resume acceptance of Siemens’ ICE 4 trains. Siemens Mobility and Bombardier Transportation reached an agreement with Deutsche Bahn and the Federal Railway Authority on a reworking and testing concept for welds that were occasionally not executed in the specified quality on ICE 4 body shells. Since these deviations do not preclude safe operation, the affected cars can be used in passenger service.

As a result of the agreement, five ICE 4 trains will be accepted by DB in the coming days and enter service. At that point, the customer will have 30 ICE 4 trains available. Subsequently, DB will continue receiving ICE 4 trains as planned and immediately place them in service.

The reworking will be carried out during ongoing operation as part of the warranty of Bombardier Transportation and should not have any effects on passenger service. A detailed timetable for the reworking is currently being worked out between the manufacturers and DB. According to current plans, the reworking should begin early in 2020 and be completed by mid-2023.

Siemens Mobility is the general contractor for the ICE 4 trains. Bombardier Transportation’s scope of supply is approximately one-third of the total and includes the delivery of all painted body shells, all inboard bearing bogies, and the complete assembly of three types of cars, including end cars.