SIEMENS Mobility has secured an order to supply 75 Mireo trains of varying specifications for the Central German S-Bahn Network 2025+ (MDSB) centred on Leipzig and Halle.
The €500m order will comprise the supply of 41 three-car Mireo EMUs for Netrinera subsidiary, Die Länderbahn (DLB), and 18 four-car Mireo EMUs and 16 two-car Mireo Plus B battery electric multiple units (BEMUs) for DB Regio.
DLB and DB Regio were awarded 12-year operating contracts last summer for the MDSB, which will commence in 2026. The contracts included the procurement of the new trains, which will cover a total of 10.6 million train-km per year on the MDSB network and will operate on the following lines from 2026.
Four-car Mireo EMUs:
- S4: Torgau - Eilenburg - Taucha - Leipzig Main Station - Oschatz - Riesa
- The new S6: Leipzig-Stötteritz - Leipzig Main Station - Leipzig-Messe - Naumburg route, and
- S10: Schkeuditz - Leipzig Main Station
Three-car Mireo EMUs
- S3: Geithain - Borna - Leipzig Main Station - Schkeuditz - Halle (Saale) - Halle-Nietleben
- S5: Halle-Trotha - Halle (Saale) – Flughafen Leipzig/Halle - Leipzig Main Station - Altenburg - Gößnitz - Glauchau/Werdau - Zwickau, and
- S5x: Halle-Trotha - Halle (Saale) - Flughafen Leipzig/Halle - Leipzig Main Station - Altenburg - Werdau - Zwickau/Plauen.
Two-car Mireo Plus B BEMUs
- S1: Leipzig - Miltitzer Allee - Leipzig Main Station - Leipzig Stötteritz - Borsdorf - Grimma - Döbeln.
Largest Mireo order to date
Siemens describes the order as its largest to date for the Mireo platform. The new trains offer 100 seats in the two-car version, 150 seats in the three-car and 200 seats in the four-car variant. Each train also provides spacious multi-purpose areas and a separate first class section with leather seats.
Passengers will also benefit from a free Wi-Fi service, a family area, barrier-free access, numerous power sockets and USB ports, and a real-time passenger information system. The trains are also equipped with specialist high-frequency window panes developed by Siemens Mobility that significantly improve mobile phone reception.
Siemens says the Mireos will also offer more doors than previous fleets, improving the boarding and alighting process for passengers.
“With the delivery of the Mireo trains, we are enabling greater flexibility for public transport in Central Germany, higher capacity per train and more comfort for passengers,” says Mr Gerhard Greiter, CEO North East and Eastern Europe at Siemens Mobility. “This order marks a further step towards achieving a transition in rail transport: by offering more space, better equipment and features, and higher operating frequency, rail transport is becoming more and more attractive.”
The joint commissioning bodies for the MDSB 2025+ network are Leipzig public transport authority ZVNL, which is working in cooperation with special-purpose Saxon transport associations, Central Saxony Special Purpose Transport Association (ZVMS) and Vogtland Public Transport Association (ZVV), as well as the Thuringian Ministry of Infrastructure and Agriculture (TMIL) and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Digital Affairs (MID) of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
“ZVNL and its partners in the Central German S-Bahn network have high expectations for the use of these modern, environmentally friendly vehicles,” says Mr Kai Emanuel, ZVNL chairman. “We are hoping for a high level of acceptance, which will be reflected in rising passenger numbers.”
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