DB Regio was awarded a contract by Baden Württemberg Ministry of Transport, Rhine Neckar Transport Authority (VRN), southern Rhineland Palatinate regional rail authority ZSPNV-South in June to operate Lot 2 of the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn network, comprising lines S5, S6, S8 and S9 for 14 years from December 2020.

In addition to their use on the S-Bahn network, the 15kV 16.7Hz ac EMUs will operate Mannheim - Baiersbronn Murgtäler Radexpress services.

Each 70m-long Mireo set will seat 200 passengers, with an entry floor height of 76cm to enable level boarding at stations.

Siemens will assemble the 160km/h trains at its Krefeld plant. Following delivery, ownership of the trains will be transferred to a state company and the fleet will be leased by DB Regio for the duration of the 14-year contract.

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