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June 16th, 2014

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According to a recently published report submitted by DSB to parliament, IC4 trains are unable to link up with one another while they are in use — a procedure known as ‘running coupling — , and the problems won’t be resolved until 2017, the engineering trade magazine Ingeniøren reports.

The trains, which were ordered 14 years ago, can't couple due to several issues, including problems with software, electrical wiring and poor design.

A nine-minute delay
The IC4 trains need to have the running coupling capability in order to to replace IC3s on longer routes. Without it, the trains need to be coupled in a garage in a process taking nine minutes, which is understandably not possible when adhering to timetables.

DSB’s head of maintenance, Steen Schougaard Christensen, explained to Ingeniøren that the company has paid 137 million kroner to Ansaldbreda, the train’s manufacturer, for a number of software packages, which are expected in the first half of next year.

“We are dependent on that for the timeframe, because that’s not something we have control over,” he said.

Christensen told Ingeniøren that he hoped running coupling would be possible a year ahead of the 2017 timeframe reported to parliament, but that “with the IC4, there’s no guarantee”.