[DE] Video: Can 1 EuroDual rescue 2 ICEs on a steep high speed line?

A spectacle in the night last weekend. On 29.08.2020, HVLE EuroDual 159 003 came to the west of Germany for a test. Could the locomotive pull away two ‘stranded’ ICEs, plus a dead 101 series locomotive? And why is this a challenge?

Well, the test took place on the high-speed line between Cologne and Frankfurt am Main, which is curvy and steep (for a high-speed line that is). On this line, ICEs can run in pairs, and when such a train breaks down, or it is stopped for another reason, diesel locomotives need to come to the rescue.

At this moment DB uses old 218 series diesel locomotives for this task – but these need replacement. Is one EuroDual an option? This was tested during that night. Trains_Planes Rhein-Sieg was so kind to share his video report with us – sit back and enjoy, and give him some thumbs up!

Interesting: the 101 you will see in the video, was reportedly used to simulate the extra weight of the non-present passengers and their luggage:

Title picture: HVLE’s 159 001, seen in Leipzig-Miltitz (DE) on 07.05.2020 by Sebastian Heilander