European rolling stock leasing company Alpha Trains has upgraded the Desiro Mainline (ML) series trains currently leased to German rail company Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn (ODEG).
Siemens Mobility, on behalf of Alpha Trains, carried out upgrade works involving converting multiple trains from three to four carriages.
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With this conversion, Siemens Mobility marked the completion of the approval procedure to increase the Alpha Trains Desiro ML-trains’ capacity for the first time at European level.
As specified in the EU’s Fourth Railway Package, an expansion from three to four carriage trains must be green lighted by the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) in association with the national supervisory authorities.
The expansion is enabled by the flexible single-car concept of the Desiro ML platform, which allows the addition of a new unit to the train.
According to Alpha Trains, the entire length of the train will be used optimally to make more than 90% of the vehicle available to commuters.
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By GlobalDataAlpha Trains Group CEO Shaun Mills said: “As the original launch customer for the Siemens Desiro ML series, we are particularly proud to be pioneers in the expansion of these trains as well.
“The combination of our know-how and a wealth of experience enabled us to offer a fast, flexible solution that will add to the satisfaction of customers and passengers alike. With this move we hope to make rail travel more attractive than ever as a sustainable and therefore future proof means of transport.”
In 2018, Siemens Mobility received an order from Alpha Trains to deliver seven three-carriage regional trains of the Desiro ML series.
The order included a subsequent expansion option for adding a fourth carriage to the vehicles.
ODEG is leasing these trains for operations in ‘Baltic Sea Coast-East network part II’. The German company has been operating this network since December 2019 on behalf of Verkehrsgesellschaft Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (VMV).
The trains currently run on the RE9 (Rostock–Stralsund–Binz/Sassnitz) and RE10 (Rostock–Stralsund–Züssow) lines.
