ICE 3 tested for cross-border operation

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Preliminary testing has been completed to enable cross-border operation of Siemens ICE 3 trainsets in France.

DB Systemtechnik and Siemens has conducted tests on an eight-car DB 407 unit equipped with eight custom wheelsets. Two of the trains eight cars were weighted to simulate passenger service.

Siemens is supplying Deutsche Bahn (DB) with 17 Class 407 trains. Following a series of delays, the ICE 3 was cleared by the German Federal Railway Authority (EBA) in December 2013. Since the original order for 15 trains was placed in 2008, Siemens has agreed to supply two extra vehicles – one to compensate for the delay and another to replace an ICE3MF set which was damaged in an accident in 2010. The eighth and final domestic ICE 3 unit was delivered in April.

The test train was fitted with a variety of sensors measuring things like the impact on the infrastructure and ride comfort.

The trials are needed to ensure the ICE 3 can operate safely on the French rail network given that it has a UIC60 rail inclined at 1/20 compared to 1/40 in Germany.

The test runs found that the ICE 3 trains could reach a maximum speed of 22o km/h on conventional lines and 320 km/h on high-speed lines.

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