The 160km/h trains will operate RB35 Düsseldorf – Emmerich services, which will be extended to Arnhem in the Netherlands, together with RB33 services from Mönchengladbach to Wesel.
Seven of the sets will be multi-system trains equipped for operation on the German 15kV 16.7Hz ac and Dutch 25kV 50Hz ac and 1.5kV dc electrification systems, while the remaining thirteen trains will operate exclusively on 15kV ac lines. The trains will require 25kV capability for the planned conversion of the line from Emmerich, Germany, to Zevenaar, Netherlands from 1.5kV dc as part of the extension of the Betuweroute freight line. The trains will be equipped with ETCS level 2 as well as the Dutch ATB and German PZB systems.
Under the terms of the contract, the trains must receive authorisation to place in service (APS) for both the German and Dutch networks before December 2016, although operation into The Netherlands will not commence until 2017.
The 90.8m-long single-system trains will seat 259 passengers, 32 of them in first class, while the multi-system variant will seat 251, including 24 in first class. Both types will have 43 folding seats and accommodate up to 236 standing passengers. One of the two toilets will meet Passengers with Reduced Mobility (PRM) standards.
Upon the delivery of the trains, Abellio will immediately transfer ownership to Rhine-Ruhr Transport Association (VRR), which will lease the sets back to the operator.
