New trains for DSB in Danish transport plan

Under the programme agreed by the coalition government, public transport fares will be reduced by DKr 662m ($US 112m) per year, which will make off-peak journeys around 20% cheaper, while DKr 2.6bn will be invested in a variety of public transport projects.

A total of 15 inter-city emus will be ordered for use on Copenhagen – Fredericia – Esbjerg services, and will enter service following the completion of the Kolding – Esbjerg electrification in 2015. These services will operate half-hourly between Copenhagen and Kolding/Lunderskov, with alternate trains continuing to Esbjerg. The delivery of the new trains will release IC3 dmus for use on regional routes, and strengthen inter-city services to northern Jutland.

The government is keen to avoid the problems that have beset the AnsaldoBreda IC2 and IC4 dmus, which were designed specifically for use in Denmark, and says the strategy for future rolling stock acquisition will be based on proven designs, with small batches of pre-series sets being ordered for testing prior to the delivery of production trains.

In addition, the government will also provide funding for 55 push-pull double-deck coaches. At present DSB operates 112 Bombardier double-deck coaches on regional services in Zealand, which were leased due to the late delivery of the IC2 and IC4 fleets. The lease agreements on these vehicles expire between 2013 and 2017. The government says that pending developments with the AnsaldoBreda dmus, which have not yet been accepted by DSB, it wants to retain at least 45 of the coaches on a single lease, and acquire 10 additional vehicles to supplement the fleet. It will also decide next year whether to renew the lease on any of the remaining 67 vehicles.

Furthermore, the programme includes funds for the refurbishment of DSB's fleet of 44 IR4 emus, and DKr 50m for rail infrastructure improvements.

The government will also make funding available for studies on proposed light rail lines in Copenhagen and Odense, as well as a project to increase capacity on the Copenhagen Metro by 20%.