Deutsche Bahn has ordered 29 Talent 2 EMU (electric multiple units) from Bombardier Transportation for the S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland commuter rail service in central Germany. The contract between the Deutsche Bahn subsidiary DB Regio and Bombardier is valued at about 146 million euros and marks the 13th call-off from a framework agreement (concluded in 2007) with an overall value of more than 1 billion euros.

Dr Rüdiger Grube, the CEO of Deutsche Bahn, said: “This investment is contributing to our continued modernisation of our rolling stock. We are preparing the company for the future while improving our competitive position. The Talent 2 trains fulfil Deutsche Bahn’s requirements perfectly in energy and cost efficiency, environment-friendliness and passenger comfort.”

The principal characteristics of this EMU platform are its modular concept and the high degree of standardisation, which allows for a flexible train configuration. Moreover, the platform concept accommodates numerous variants of the same train type, as the train sets can be equipped with a variety of different technical modules. The trains will be developed and manufactured at Bombardier’s Hennigsdorf site.