MOST of the Stadler-built Flirt Akku BEMUs introduced in the north German state of Schleswig Holstein in October 2023 have been taken out of service following a series of train failures.
The first of what will be a 55-strong fleet of two-car class 526 BEMUs owned by Schleswig Holstein transport authority NAH.SH was introduced on services from Kiel by contracted operator Erixx Holstein.
In early December a series of train failures led to services between Kiel and Kiel Oppendorf being replaced by buses, while services on the longer route from Kiel to Lübeck were cancelled or partially replaced by buses and the older diesel trains that the BEMUs had replaced.
Stadler confirmed to IRJ that the train failures were caused by software issues onboard the trains. These were compounded by heavy snowfall in early December that led to trains being trapped in sidings as switches were inoperable due to ice.
“We will solve the software problems with an update,” Stadler told IRJ. “In order to roll out the update, certain documentation and test obligations must first be fulfilled, and the components and systems must be tested together.”
The maintenance depot for the new BEMU fleet in Rendsburg is still under construction so maintenance is taking place at other locations. The update process is likely to take several weeks at a minimum to complete.
“In order to increase vehicle availability in the meantime and to rectify the faults at short notice, the company, as an ad hoc measure, more than doubled the staff on site and in the mobile teams,” Stadler says. “The work is being done in several shifts each day.”
Erixx Holstein is currently only offering a "very limited" rail service on the routes concerned, in part because DMUs replaced by BEMUs in 2023 were transferred as planned to another operator from December 10 according to information on the company's website
