Germany’s most modern ICE maintenance facility officially opened in Cottbus
Deutsche Bahn is keeping its promises: Just 20 months after the ground-breaking ceremony, the new ICE maintenance workshop in Cottbus was officially opened by DB in record time. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Brandenburg’s Minister President Dr. Dietmar Woidke and DB CEO Dr. Richard Lutz jointly opened the almost 450-metre-long workshop, where the comprehensive maintenance of DB’s ICE 4 fleet will take place.
LOGSOL has accompanied the IPA project “Neue Werk Cottbus” from the very beginning as an alliance partner and took over the logistical planning of the two maintenance halls. As a general contractor, LOGSOL is now also responsible for the procurement and implementation of the entire logistics infrastructure for the first time.
The Cottbus site will initially create 450 new highly qualified industrial and apprenticeship positions and is expected to create a total of 1,200 by 2026. DB has intensified its vocational training and significantly increased the number of apprenticeships to ensure that half of the jobs to be filled at the plant can be taken on by its own apprentices by 2026.
The ICE 4 forms the backbone of Deutsche Bahn’s long-distance services, with 137 trains on order. DB is continuously expanding its ICE fleet as part of the Group’s “Strong Rail” strategy. By the end of the decade, around 450 ICE trains of various types will be on the rails. The increased demand for trains also requires an expansion of maintenance capacities. Innovative technologies at the new plant in Cottbus will ensure that the trains are back on the track quickly, enabling more people to travel in comfort and with less impact on the climate, while at the same time supporting the transport transition in Germany.
Heavy maintenance in the plant, which is specially designed for the ICE 4, only takes around two weeks, which is faster than in other DB plants. The almost 450-metre-long workshop offers space for XXL ICEs with 13 coaches and 918 full-length seats. Two of the shorter seven-car ICE trains can be parked one behind the other on the maintenance tracks without having to split the trains. This makes it possible to work on all carriages at the same time.
Another hall with four tracks is already under construction and is scheduled to go into operation in 2026. The significantly earlier commissioning of the ICE plant is due to various factors. One key success factor is the shared responsibility of all those involved. As part of the cooperative “rail partnership model”, in which LOGSOL acts as an equal cooperation partner to Deutsche Bahn, all project partners share responsibility for the successful completion of the project. This cooperative approach promotes close collaboration and a joint commitment to the success of the project.