GERMAN Rail (DB) has begun testing with an ICE DMU on the new 59.7km €4.16bn Wendlingen - Ulm high-speed line.
The TrainLab ICE class 605 DMU is one of two such trains used for testing new technologies and was used for driver training ahead of the start of high-speed testing on the line, which is due to begin commercial operation on December 11.
The ICE travelled at 20km/h during the initial test. Speeds will steadily increase to 275km/h as tests continue over the next few weeks. Trains will operate at a maximum of 250km/h on the line once operations begin.
Initial testing began on the line in December. The new railway crosses the Swabian Alb mountain range and will connect the existing Neu-Ulm station in the east with the Stuttgart 21 project in the west. Both freight and regional traffic will operate on the new line as well as high-speed services. Journey times between Stuttgart and Ulm will be reduced from 54 minutes to 28 minutes.
The Wendlingen - Ulm high-speed line is one of IRJ’s 20 Projects to watch in 2022. The feature was published in the January edition of the magazine. Digital subscribers can read the article here.
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