GERMANY: Siemens Mobility and Lufthansa Technik Defense have agreed to develop a train that can carry more than 150 injured or sick patients under medical care, aimed at the Bundeswehr and its NATO allies. No customer, order or timetable has been announced.
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding ahead of the Berlin Security Conference and announced it on 3 November. Siemens Mobility supplies the train itself: Vectouro coaches hauled by a Vectron X or Vectron X Dual Mode locomotive. Lufthansa Technik Defense fits the coaches with stretcher racks and fully equipped intensive care beds.
The train is designed for up to 90 medical and support staff on board. The coaches can be configured for all four NATO patient categories, D1 to D4, from basic care to intensive care, and converted to ordinary passenger use.
Aircraft equipment on rails
The medical systems come from Lufthansa Technik’s aeromedical evacuation business, which the German Air Force and other armed forces have used for decades. Using the same units on the train means patients do not have to be moved to different equipment between aircraft and rail.
The companies describe the coaches as pressure-sealed, suited to high-speed lines and built for cross-border operation. The dual-mode locomotive runs on diesel where there is no overhead line or where it has failed. The vehicles are designed for more than 30 years of service.
“Especially in these challenging times of geopolitical uncertainty, the capability for medical evacuation is of high strategic importance, and this applies to both land and air transport,” said Michael von Puttkamer, vice president for special aircraft services and defence at Lufthansa Technik.
Rail makers move into defence
The agreement is the latest link between Germany’s rail industry and its defence sector. In October, Alstom agreed in principle to hand its Kassel locomotive plant to Rheinmetall, following its Görlitz plant, which passed to defence group KNDS.
Siemens is offering its newest rolling stock platforms for military use. Vectron X, the locomotive at the heart of the concept, won its first large order in September from leasing company Railpool – 80 firm units and an option on 20 more.