The contract runs until the end of 2024 and covers the supply of at least 155 Esra Evolution brake control conversion kits at the rate of 30 per year.

The work will take place at DB’s workshops in Chemnitz and Erfurt. Knorr-Bremse RailService will train DB staff and assist with the initial commissioning of the trains.

The order follows the granting of an unconditional authorisation to place in service by Germany’s Federal Railway Authority (EBA) for a prototype modernised VT 642 train.

“This means that an unlimited number of vehicles can be converted to brake control units corresponding to the one with which the prototype was modernised and then used for public transport,” says Knorr-Bremse.

“The modernisation work will help prolong the service lives of the vehicles and avoid the risk of obsolescence, whereby whole vehicles have to be retired due to outdated components,” says Mr Mark Cleobury, member of the management board of Knorr-Bremse Rail Vehicle Systems. “This measure is also fully aligned with the more sustainable use of resources.”