DB Regio and the Bavarian Railway Company (BEG) have revealed plans to redesign the interiors of all 238 ET 423 trains on Munich’s S-Bahn.
The announcement was made on the same day that BEG confirmed that DB Regio would be awarded a two-year ‘transitional contract’ to continue operating the S-Bahn network.
BEG also announced it had begun tendering for the long-term operating contract which will run for 12 years from December 2019.
DB described it as one of the biggest modernisation projects underway on the German rail network. Features will include open vestibules, more standing room, new digital passenger information systems and wider gangways to make it easier for passenger to move into the carriage. The exterior of each vehicle will also be repainted and given an anti-graffiti coating.
Design studio Neomind helped create the new interiors to increase capacity across the network to carry the growing number of passengers using the service.
The number of seats will be cut from 192 to 166 per vehicle and each vehicle will have more folding seats to make room for luggage. Total capacity per vehicle will increase from 544 to 612 passengers once the modernisation project is complete.
A demonstrator vehicle will be ready by spring 2018 after which the refurbishment of the rest of the fleet will begin. The upgraded ET 423 trains will remain in service until the mid-2020s when they will begin to be replaced by new trains.
The programme is expected to be completed by the end of 2020. Work will be carried out at DB Fahrzeuginstandhaltung’s sites in Nuremberg and Krefeld.
Images courtesy of Neomind/BEG
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