The deliveries were from a €267.74m framework agreement signed at InnoTrans in September 2012 for up to 420 vehicles. However only 15% of that figure were ever ordered.
Pesa delivered a total of 23 two-car class 632 trains and 49 three-car class 633s with top speeds of 140km/h to operate passenger services in Sauerland, Dreieichbahn and Allgäu regional networks. The trains were manufactured at Pesa’s facility in Bydgoszcz.
The first vehicles were originally planned to begin operation in 2016. However, the order suffered delays of around two years following a failure to get the get the trains certified by the German Federal Railway Agency (EBA) for operation by DB despite Link DMUs being certified to enter service with Niederbarnimer Railway (NEB) in June 2016.
The delay, alongside multiple financial penalties incurred as a result, caused serious financial difficulties for the manufacturer, and contributed to the precautionary acquisition of the company by the Polish government in 2018 through its Polish Development Fund (PFR).
“It was one of the most difficult contracts that Pesa had the opportunity to deal with,” says Mr Jacek Niedziela, DB contract manager at Pesa Bydgoszcz. “Working with DB was a challenge; we had no experience working with such a demanding partner. It is a success of the entire team; several hundred people were involved in this project.”
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