Siemens tests Intercity train for Deutsche Bahn in the Climatic Wind Tunnel in Vienna
<b>The ICE 4 in the Climatic Wind Tunnel – Snow, ice, wind, rain and blazing sun</b> The new Intercity train from Siemens underwent a 12-week comprehensive testing program at Rail Tec Arsenal (RTA) in Vienna. Here, in the longest climatic wind tunnel in the world, the train had to prove that it can operate flawlessly at speeds up to 200 kilometers an hour, at temperatures ranging from minus 25 to plus 45 degrees Celsius, as well as in snow, ice rain or in blazing sun.
Rail customers expect to be served by trains that function perfectly from the very first day of service. This is particularly true for the new Intercity platform that will be operated by Deutsche Bahn (DB). Expected to account for around 70 percent of revenue, the ICE 4 will be the backbone of DB's future long-distance service.
Two ICE 4 trains will enter passenger service in the fall of 2016 as part of a twelve-month period of trial operations. Until then, the trains will be subjected to rigorous testing.
Before the first passengers board the train, however, the ICE 4 has to prove that it can operate even under the most extreme weather conditions, in blazing heat as well as freezing cold.
The tests, conducted at the Climatic Wind Tunnel operated by Rail Tec Arsenal (RTA) in Vienna, subject the train to conditions far more stringent than required by European norms.
Deutsche Bahn commissioned supplementary tests that are specifically designed to ensure that the train's heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) operate faultlessly.
In addition, tests check if the pantograph moves up and down and functions in ice and snow, if the windscreen wiper keeps the driver's vision free, if the doors open and close smoothly, the folding steps function and the toilets operate without problems.
In May 2011, Deutsche Bahn awarded Siemens a frame contract for up to 300 multiple-unit trains. The first series production trains will enter passenger service with the change of the timetable in December 2017. The trains are initially foreseen for service in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Reference Number: IM2016010307MOEN
More pictures:
Siemens AG
Communications and
Government Affairs
Internal and External Communications
Ellen Schramke
Nonnendammallee 101
13629 Berlin
ellen.schramke@siemens.com
Media Contact
All latest news from the category: Transportation and Logistics
This field deals with all spatial and time-related activities involved in bridging the gap between goods and people, including their restructuring. This begins with the supplier and follows each stage of the operational value chain to product delivery and concludes with product disposal and recycling.
innovations-report provides informative reports and articles on such topics as traffic telematics, toll collection, traffic management systems, route planning, high-speed rail (Transrapid), traffic infrastructures, air safety, transport technologies, transport logistics, production logistics and mobility.
Newest articles
Recovering phosphorus from sewage sludge ash
Chemical and heat treatment of sewage sludge can recover phosphorus in a process that could help address the problem of diminishing supplies of phosphorus ores. Valuable supplies of phosphorus could…
Efficient, sustainable and cost-effective hybrid energy storage system for modern power grids
EU project HyFlow: Over three years of research, the consortium of the EU project HyFlow has successfully developed a highly efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective hybrid energy storage system (HESS) that…
After 25 years, researchers uncover genetic cause of rare neurological disease
Some families call it a trial of faith. Others just call it a curse. The progressive neurological disease known as spinocerebellar ataxia 4 (SCA4) is a rare condition, but its…
