CRRC’s second double-decker EMU arrives for testing in the Czech Republic
This is the fourth type of Chinese rail vehicle tested in the Czech Republic.
The second DDEMU2 unit, which will run for the Austrian Westbahn in the future, arrived yesterday at the Railway Research Institute (VUZ) test track. The manufacturer is the Chinese company CRRC.
The Chinese manufacturer will make headway with the tests necessary to get the unit approved for operation in Europe. The first unit arrived in Europe late last year and has been in the Czech Republic since May.
The six-car unit has a capacity of 571 passengers and a maximum speed of 200 km/h and is designed according to TSI. Part of the tests required for approval, particularly those relating to electromagnetic compatibility, are carried out in the Czech Republic.
CRRC says it used more composite materials in the design and claims the unit is only 10% heavier than a single-decker. The train is equipped with first and second class seating and has space to carry wheelchairs and bicycles. Westbahn plans to lease the trains once they are approved for operation in Austria and five other countries yet to be named.
Negotiations between the Chinese manufacturer and the Austrian carrier began in 2019, when Westbahn first announced plans to buy new units from CRRC. However, the company eventually changed its mind and ordered fifteen six-car Stadler Kiss 3 units. Westbahn then decided to lease four more units from the Chinese manufacturer.
CRRC has been testing a Sirius unit on the Cerhenice test track for three years now. Originally, Leo Express was to buy the unit but the contract was canceled. A CRRC hybrid locomotive for Rail Cargo Hungary, a subsidiary of the Austrian Federal Railways, has already been on the test track for several months. The Chinese manufacturer is exhibiting a multisystem locomotive for Rail Cargo Hungary at InnoTrans. This, too, ran on the test track.
Edited and translated by Lucie Trávníčková.