ODEG Orders Desiro HC EMUs

Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn GmbH (ODEG) has ordered 23 Desiro HC EMUs from Siemens for service on the Elbe-Spree network. The order is worth around 300 million EUR. The trains are to be used on the regional lines RE1, RE8 and RB17 in the new Elbe-Spree network. In January 2019, ODEG was awarded the contract to operate these lines following a Europe-wide tender by Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (VBB). The contract includes the option to expand the capacity of the RE1 trains when the station platforms along this line are extended. Delivery of the 21 six-car and two four-car trains is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2022. The start of operations is planned for the timetable change in December 2022. The trains will be built at the Siemens plant in Krefeld.