Deutsche Bahn has signed a framework agreement with manufacturers MAN and Ebusco for approximately 1,200 new buses to be delivered between 2023 and 2026.
As the largest provider of bus transport in Germany, Deutsche Bahn served around 420 million passengers in 2021. The new buses will modernise the agency’s fleet at a cost of around 400 million EUR.
260 of the new buses will be electric models manufactured by Ebusco, while MAN will supply buses with combustion engines. The electric buses are locally emission-free and do not require any additional fossil fuel heaters.
“With these new buses, we are significantly increasing the proportion of vehicles with electric and hybrid drives in our fleet. We are thus significantly reducing our CO₂ emissions and are taking another big step towards climate-neutral local transport, including on the road.”
In addition, a large proportion of the diesel buses have a fuel-saving hybrid drive and the engines can be refuelled with alternative fuels such as hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO).
This order also includes Deutsche Bahn’s first purchase of battery-electric articulated buses.
The vehicles have been designed to prioritise safety, as they are fitted with a turning assistant to warn the driver of people in the blind spot, as well as a reversing camera, LED headlights, and a fire extinguishing system in the engine compartment.
To improve security of supply, DB has also concluded framework agreements with secondary suppliers incase the first supplier is unable to deliver the vehicles. Scania was selected for the diesel buses and MAN was selected for the electric buses.
