DB Vehicle Maintenance

DB Vehicle Maintenance specializes in the field of heavy, safety-relevant maintenance and repairs to rolling stock and their components.

• Cottbus maintenance depot: As part of the expansion of the Cottbus depot, the largest and most modern ICE maintenance depot will be built, which will use a new production process to ensure that the ICE 4 trains are back in operation quickly. In January 2024, the double-track hall 2 was opened following a construction period of only about 20 months. The 374 m long XXL-ICE with 13 cars fit into the factory hall, which is almost 450 m long, in full length. Two of the seven-car ICE trains can stand one behind the other on both maintenance tracks. Employees can work on all cars at the same time. In tandem with the commissioning of hall 2, construction work began on the four-track hall 1, which is scheduled to go into operation in 2026.
• Digital component processing: In the area of digitalization, the digital component processing project is one of 2024’s highlights. This includes the digital provision and use of real-time information across the entire production process. This shall not only create greater transparency, but also improve data quality and increase efficiency.
• New maintenance hall at the Krefeld depot: In January 2024, DB Vehicle Maintenance put a new hall for the maintenance of accident vehicles into operation at the Krefeld plant. About € 12 million was invested.
• AI in maintenance: Artificial intelligence (AI) and sensor technology shall make train maintenance even more precise, economical and sustainable in the future. Replacing components as close as possible to an imminent malfunction is the aim of predictive maintenance. Sensors permanently record relevant data at the trains. AI helps to detect deviations from standards and thus impending malfunctions at an early stage. Combined with intelligent workshop planning, components that show signs of malfunction can then be replaced quickly. Funding notices totaling € 5.2 million for the DEFLECTOR and D4M projects were handed over in September for this project, which involved the Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU) Cottbus-Senftenberg, the new Cottbus depot, the Fraunhofer-Institute for ceramic technologies and Systems IKTS and partners from Lusatia.