Since the end of 2017 the technical-scientific German Association for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies (-> VDE) has been undertaking a neutral assessment of the economic viability of various alternatives as a replacement for diesel multiple units (-> DMUs) on regional rail passenger transport (-> SPNV) branch lines. The VDE decided not to limit its analysis to the technical details of vehicles with new drive types, but to focus above all on the systemic requirements that must be fulfilled in order to realise a particular alternative. It is also a priority for the VDE that its analyses take key social and political objectives – such as climate and environmental protection, the energy transition, sector coupling and mobility transitions – into account.
