Rhine-Ruhr Transport Authority (VRR) signed a €1.7bn contract with Siemens in March to supply 82 four-car Desiro High Capacity double-deck EMUs and maintain the fleet for 32 years.

Alongside EIB, Germany's KfW IPEX Bank and Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen will also provide financing for the new trains.

The five-line RRX network is intended to bring a consistently high-quality fast regional rail service to Germany's most densely-populated region, with trains running at 15-minute intervals on the core Dortmund – Cologne line.