THE first two fleets of Siemens’ new EMU design–the ‘Mireo’, designated Class 463 in Germany–have entered servicein south western Germany.
Twenty-four are now in use by DB Regio,operating stopping services between Offenburg and Basel Bad.The first of another 57 entered serviceinDecember, also with DB Regio,working S-Bahn services north of Karlsruhe to Mannheim and Mainz.
In 2018 Siemens announced plans for a hydrogen fuel cell-powered version of the ‘Mireo’known as the‘Mireo Plus H’,although producing the prototype train is taking a long while.
Plans were announced in November to trial a twocar hydrogen-powered prototype –replacingDMUs –fromTübingen to Horb and Pforzheim in south-western Germany, with DB Regio as operatorin2024.