HESSISCHE Landesbahn (HLB), Germany, has awarded a €200m contract to Alstom to supply 32 Coradia Continental EMUs comprising 12 four-car and 20 five-car trains.

The trains will be deployed on the Central Hessen subnetwork, which will be operated by HLB starting in December 2023:

  • Line RB37: Kirchain - Frankfurt main station via Marburg and Giessen
  • Line RB40: Dillenburg - Frankfurt main station via Giessen
  • Line RB41: Schwalmstadt - Frankfurt main station via Treysa and Giessen, and
  • Line RB49: Giessen - Hanau main station via Freidburg.

The 160km/h trains will have 200 seats in the four-car sets and 280 seats in each five-car unit. Multi-purpose areas will provide space for wheelchairs, bicycles, and pushchairs.

The traction equipment will be located on the roof to provide more space inside the train. The trains have wide, step-free gangways, and an adjustable boarding height and sliding steps to facilitate boarding and alighting.

The trains will have Wi-Fi, electric outlets to charge mobile devices, CCTV, and a real-time passenger information system which displays train connection information.

Alstom supplied 35 identical trains to HLB in 2018 for operation on its Southern Hessen-Untermain subnetwork.

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