German state railway DB has made the first call-off from a volume contract signed in February 2025 for digital control and signalling technology services and products worth €6.3 billion with a purchase obligation. The bidding consortium Siemens Mobility and Leonhard Weiss will replace the Cologne-Mülheim relay interlocking system, a project on the Rhine-Alpine corridor that will be implemented in two construction phases. The aim of the project is to obtain series approval for the next generation of interlocking system technology from Siemens. In Cologne-Mülheim and Bergisch Gladbach, switches and signals will in the future be controlled via track field concentrators. In addition, the line from Cologne-Mülheim to Bergisch Gladbach will be equipped with the European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2, while the existing PZB will be retained.
