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ROLLING STOCK & DEPOTS
PHOTO: DB/FRANK BARTELD
NIGEL WORDSWORTH
The ICE-S test train operated by DB Systemtechnik.
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n much the same way that Network Rail has a dedicated train for inspecting the railway, the HST-based New Measurement Train, German state railway Deutsche Bahn has the ICE-S for the same purpose. The ICE-S usually consists of two power cars and two trailer cars, although it has been seen with any number between one and three intermediate laboratory cars. It is based on an ICE 2 unit but with a power car at each end, unlike the normal ICE 2 which only has one power car and one cab car, and runs on an overhead 15kV 16.7Hz AC supply. Operated by the technical arm of Deutsche Bahn, DB Systemtechnik, the train runs over every German high-speed line at least twice a year, checking clearances, overhead lines and track geometry. The equipment used for these tests is housed in the intermediate carriages.
Rail Engineer | Issue 168 | October 2018
However, since April, a new trailer car has been seen in the consist. Painted blue, it is quite different from the ICE 2-based carriages of the rest of the unit. For a start, it is slightly longer at 28.75 metres as opposed to the standard train’s 26.40 metres. To maintain gauge, the new coach is also slightly narrower, and it has shrouded bogies. The new car is not a development in DB’s testing regime, rather it is the first experimental carriage for Siemens’ new high-speed train, the Velaro Novo.
Velaro history The Velaro family of high-speed trains has been remarkably successful. The first model - Velaro E - was delivered to Spain, commencing in 2005. RENFE has 26 eight-car sets which operate the Madrid to Barcelona high-speed service. 60 eight-car trains for China followed, with bodies that were 300mm wider