ICE 4 for Deutsche Bahn receives approval for Germany

Federal Railway Authority approves operation of trains in Germany
Project timetable met exactly to the day
14-month introductory phase begins

The new ICE from Siemens for Deutsche Bahn (DB) can operate in Germany with immediate effect. The German Federal Railway Authority (EBA) has granted the necessary approval for the 12-car ICE 4, and the train’s 14-month introductory phase can now begin.
“With today’s approval of operations and series homologation, we have met our timetable for the ICE 4 exactly to the day. That is a fantastic feat in view of the project’s scope. We are proud to have achieved this with the participating partners,” said Jochen Eickholt, CEO of Siemens Mobility Division.
During the introductory phase, the trains will be rigorously tested under real-life conditions before they are scheduled to enter normal service in December 2017 when the timetable change takes effect. Two trains will run during this time on the line between Munich and Hamburg, Germany. The purpose of this phase is to eliminate any “teething problems.” The introductory phase will be preceded by two-months of internal test operations. Beginning immediately, the ICE 4 will make numerous trips with test persons to check the train’s suitability for daily use before it enters regular passenger service.
The ICE 4 was approved in a new homologation process in Germany: Beginning with the train’s design phase, documentation and test certificates can be issued by recognized testing bodies. In these cases, with the exception of two specialized areas, the Federal Railway Authority only checks the completeness of the documents. Thanks to this new procedure, the large number of required documents and certificates for the ICE 4 project could be distributed among various testing bodies at an early stage, and the planned timetable could be kept.