Siemens Velaro

Siemens Velaro is a family of high-speed electric multiple unit trains built by Siemens. It is based on the ICE 3 high-speed trains initially co-manufactured by Siemens and Bombardier for German national rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB).

In 1994, Deutsche Bahn were the first to order 50 units of the high-speed trains, branded as ICE 3, that would eventually evolve into the Velaro family. This initial batch of ICE-3 trainsets was built by a consortium with Bombardier (acquired by Alstom), and first delivered for service in 1999. A version based on this train without Bombardier patents was developed by Siemens and has been marketed as Velaro since. Velaro derivatives have been introduced in Germany, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Spain, China, Russia, and Turkey.

In July 2006, a Siemens Velaro train-set (AVE S-103) reached 403.7 km/h, which was the world record for railed and unmodified commercial service trainsets.

In 2018, Siemens announced a major design iteration termed Velaro Novo. Private American rail company Brightline West was the first to select the Velaro Novo for its fleet in May 2024.

Velaro E (AVE Class 103)
The Velaro E is a version of the Velaro family used by RENFE for operations in Spain. In 2001, RENFE ordered sixteen Velaros designated AVE Class 103. The order was later increased to a total of 26 trains. The first units were delivered in July 2005 and completed their first test runs in January 2006. The trains serve the 621 km Barcelona–Madrid line at speeds up to 310 km/h for a travel time of 2hours 30minutes.

On 15 July 2006, a train achieved a top speed of 403.7 km/h between Guadalajara and Calatayud on the Madrid-Barcelona line, this is the Spanish record for railed vehicles. Until 3 December 2010 it was also a world record for unmodified commercial service trainsets, as the earlier TGV (world record of 574.8 km/h) and ICE records were achieved with specially modified and shortened trainsets, and the Shinkansen (443 km/h, 1996) record was for a test (non-commercial) trainset.

Velaro CN (CRH3C)
The Velaro CRH3C is a Chinese version of the Velaro. In November 2005, China ordered 60 trains for the Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway. The eight-car trains are very similar to Spain's Velaro E, but 300 mm wider to fit in almost 50% more seats in a 2 plus 3 layout. In the CRH3C version, a 200-metre-long Velaro train will seat 600 passengers. These trains were manufactured jointly by Siemens in Germany and CNR Tangshan in China. The first Chinese-built CRH3C was unveiled on 11 April 2008.

CRH3C reached a top speed of 394.3 km/h during a test on the Beijing to Tianjin high-speed railway on 24 June 2008.

Velaro RUS (RZD Sapsan)


The Velaro RUS is part of the Velaro family built for Russia. On 19 May 2006, Siemens announced an order from Russian Railways for eight Velaro RUS high-speed trains including a 30-year service contract. The contract is in total worth €600million. The trains, connecting Moscow with Saint Petersburg, and later also Saint Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod (the service was temporarily discontinued from 1 June 2015 till 1 March 2018 ) at a speed of up to 250 km/h, are based on the ICE3 train standard but with bodies widened by 33 cm to 3.265 m to take advantage of Russia's wide loading gauge. They are also built to the Russian track gauge, unlike other Velaro EMUs, which are standard gauge.

Four of the trains are for both 3 kV DC and operation. The total length of each ten-car train is 250 m, carrying up to 600 passengers.

Development and construction were carried out at Erlangen and Krefeld in Germany. Single-voltage EVS1 (3 kV DC) trains entered passenger service at the end of 2009 on the Moscow–St Petersburg route, and the dual-system EVS2 trains entered service on the Nizhniy Novgorod route in 2010.

It set a record for the fastest train in Russia on 2 May 2009, travelling at 281 km/h and on 7 May 2009, travelling at 290 km/h.

On 19 December 2011 an order for an additional eight sets was signed in order to facilitate an increased number of services on existing lines and the expansion of new service elsewhere in the system.

Velaro D (DB Class 407/ICE 3)


The Velaro D is specifically designed for Deutsche Bahn international services from Germany. Designated DB's Class 407, it is designed to run at speeds up to 330 km/h and comply with Technical Specifications for Interoperability and enhanced crashworthiness requirements. There are fire-proof equipment rooms and fire doors between cars. Velaro D is designed to be quieter and more reliable than the ICE 3 (Class 403/406).

The train is also expected to use up to 20% less energy than previous versions of ICE. This is achieved in part by improved body styling. It does not have the ICE3's panorama lounges which allow passengers in the end coaches a view of the tracks over the driver's shoulder. The Class 407 has 460 seats: 111 in first class, 333 in second class and 16 in the bistro car. In total this is 37 more seats than the ICE 3, even though the seat pitch is unchanged. This is achieved by putting the traction equipment in compartments at either end of the train instead of hiding it behind panels the length of the train. Unlike all previous ICE versions, the passenger seating is all open-plan and there are no compartments.

The eight-coach Class 407 trains can couple up and work with their Class 403 and Class 406 predecessors. Eight of the 16 bogies per train are powered, and there are four independent sets of traction equipment per train: if two of them break down, the train can still run. For full international flexibility across Europe, it can function on any of four voltages. The fleet will be based in Frankfurt.

In December 2008 Deutsche Bahn signed a €500million order for 15 trainsets. The train's production stages were presented to the press in Krefeld on 28 April 2010, and three completed cars were displayed by Siemens on 22 September 2010 at InnoTrans. In June 2011, Deutsche Bahn ordered an additional Velaro D set (increasing the total to 16) in order to replace an ICE3MF set damaged in an accident in August 2010.

Velaro D was meant to go into service starting December 2011 on services from Frankfurt to southern France via the new LGV Rhin-Rhône, and subsequently within Germany and on other international services to France, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Due to a series of delays in manufacturing and licensing no Velaro D trainsets were in service as of November 2012 and there was no schedule for their delivery. Only in December 2013 the first four trains delivered to DB were licensed for domestic operation as multiple units and started with passenger traffic. Four more trains were due to be delivered in spring 2014, whereas the remainder of eight trains shall be used for test runs in France and Belgium to gain type approval there.

The specification of the Velaro D allows its access to the Channel Tunnel, enabling DB to use it on the services it plans to operate from London to Amsterdam and Frankfurt. Deutsche Bahn submitted safety documentation for the operation of Velaro D high speed trainsets through the Channel Tunnel to the Intergovernmental Commission in July 2011, which in June 2013 granted a licence for passenger trains to DB.

In 2012 and 2013, Siemens discussed with Deutsche Bahn the delivery of one more Velaro D set, free of charge, as compensation for the delivery and certification delays. This train was originally built for test purposes and features a different propulsion setup, utilizing permanent magnet AC synchronous motors as opposed to the traditional AC asynchronous motors. Siemens stated that this will allow a reduction in the number of propulsion units per train, while still maintaining train performance.

Velaro MS (DB Class 408/ICE 3neo)


In 2019, Deutsche Bahn felt the need of further trains able to run at 300 km/h or faster for national and international use. Siemens offered both its Velaro Novo, which was under development, and an evolution of the Velaro D, designed for operation at 320 km/h and equipped with multi-system (MS) capability, hence labelled Velaro MS. Demanding a service-proven model, Deutsche Bahn ordered 30 Velaro MS for delivery starting in 2022.

The first of these trains was completed in late 2021 and presented to the public in February 2022, marketed as ICE 3neo by Deutsche Bahn and bearing the DB class number 408. At the same time, the order was increased by 43 trainsets, with all 73 trains supposed to be in service by early 2029. The first class 408 unit entered revenue service in December 2022. In May 2023, the order was increased by another 17 units, bringing the total number to 90. In October 2023, a new interior design for the Deutsche Bahn long-distance fleet debuted on a class 408 train with the 17th serial unit. All subsequent units will be rolled out with the redesigned furnishing.

Velaro e320 (Eurostar)
On 7 October 2010, it was reported that Eurostar had selected Siemens as preferred bidder to supply ten Velaro e320 trainsets at a cost of €600million (and a total investment of more than £700million with the refurbishment of the existing fleet included) to operate an expanded route network, including services from London to Cologne and Amsterdam. These would be sixteen-car, 400 m long trainsets built to meet current Channel Tunnel regulations, and would not be the same as the Velaro D sets which Deutsche Bahn propose to operate services between Germany and London. The top speed will be 320 km/h and they will have 894-950 seats, unlike the current Eurostar fleet manufactured by the French Alstom, which has a top speed of 300 km/h and a seating capacity of 750. Total traction power will be rated at 16 MW. On the British system they are classified as Class 374 units.

Velaro TR (TCDD HT80000)
The Velaro TR is a Velaro D derived eight-car standard gauge high-speed train for the Turkish State Railways (TCDD). The eight cars, totalling a length of 200 m, can accommodate 519 passengers and reach a top speed of 300 km/h. 25 kV 50 Hz AC power the train with a total of 8 MW.

In 2013, TCDD concluded four contracts with Siemens for the acquisition of 19 units in total (one unit for the first, six for the second, ten for the third and two for the last contract) with a combined value of €685million. (Excluding the last two sets.) Furthermore, Siemens would provide 7 years of maintenance and cleaning for the first 7 sets, and also provide a simulator. For the remaining 12 sets Siemens would provide 3 years of maintenance and cleaning. The Velaros are to be deployed on the Turkish high-speed railway network. The first Siemens Velaro (the only Velaro D type train of TCDD, code numbered HT80001) entered service on 23 May 2015 between Ankara-Konya. The second Velaro of TCDD, which is the first Velaro TR type train, with the code number HT80101 (this type of train was involved an accident in Ankara) arrived in Ankara on 17 February 2016. The last Velaro TR arrived to Turkey in 2021.(HT80118)

Unlike the traditional white - red - dark blue color scheme used on the TCDD HT65000 high-speed trains, a white - turquoise - grey color scheme has been selected for the livery of TCDD's Velaro trains.

Velaro Egypt
In May 2022 it was announced that Egyptian National Railways had ordered 41 Velaro eight-car sets, amongst other railway equipment, for a 2000 km railway development. In May 2024, the first of the "Velaro EGY" high speed trainsets was undergoing dynamic testing at the Wegberg-Wildenrath circuit in Germany ahead of delivery later the year.

Velaro Novo


The Velaro Novo is Siemens's concept for the next generation of high speed train, announced in June 2018. It would be lighter and more efficient than previous designs, with a top speed of 360 km/h. The company claims to achieve these improvements via lightweight construction techniques and reduced aerodynamic drag by fully covered, inside bearing bogies. By 2024, no full trainset had yet been produced except for one prototype car that has been running as part of a Deutsche Bahn ICE-S test train since April 2018.

Siemens has branded the Velaro Novo for the US market as the American Pioneer 220. In May 2024, Siemens announced that Brightline had selected them to produce ten seven-car trainsets for their Rancho Cucamonga–Las Vegas route (Brightline West) that is planned for completion in 2028 (before the 2028 Summer Olympics).

Specifications
The Velaro platform has been customized for each variant according to operational needs: