Alstom to equip 17 ICE3 high speed trains with ETCS

23 September 2019 – Alstom is commissioned by Deutsche Bahn AG to retrofit 17 internationally operating ICE3 high-speed trains[1] with its Atlas ETCS on-board system[2] . The contract is worth more than €30 million. The new technology will allow the medium term operational start of the trains to be equipped for the new German ETCS Level 2 high-speed line between Stuttgart and Ulm. Moreover, the vehicles will gain access  on the Belgium network and for the first time using ETCS on the French high-speed line between Paris and Strasbourg completely.

“Together with Deutsche Bahn, we are setting another important milestone for interoperability in the European rail network. We are glad to decisively shape the digitalization of the European rail industry“, says Dr. Jörg Nikutta, Managing Director for Alstom in Germany and Austria.

This order includes the ETCS development, design, manufacturing and integration of the existing national protection systems. The new train control system will be integrated into the vehicles’ control technology in cooperation with the train manufacturer. The homologation will be obtained step by step in Germany, on the border routes to Switzerland, in Belgium and in France.

The ETCS installation, including the dismantling of today‘s system, and the commissioning will take place at Alstom‘s sites in Salzgitter and Braunschweig. Alstom will be responsible for the service of the control and signalling technologies for six years.

This order will be executed in cooperation with various Alstom sites: Berlin (project management), Salzgitter and Braunschweig (installation design and rebuilding), Charleroi, Belgium (design and engineering), Paris and Villeurbanne, France (product development and manufacturing).

[1] Series type 407

[2] European Train Control System according to the TSI version of Baseline 3 Release 2