"We feel well equipped for the British rail market," says Jürgen Knigge, Voith Sales Manager for Cooling Systems, and he quotes a number of reasons for this. The most important aspect for him is the fact that Voith knows the rail market in the United Kingdom from all angles. When the cooling systems of the previous HST vehicles were specified, Voith had been successful not least because the customers invariably regarded them as the best available technology (BAT).

Superior technical solutions are also required for the more than 400 powercars of the five and eight-car trains to be built within the IEP. The new trains will be using purely electric as well as diesel-electric technology. Some operators would like to run their multiple train units completely flexibly from 2013 (this is the year stated in the IEP schedule in which the first trains will enter service). For this reason, multiple-drive systems are being planned, which means that a train with two powercars will have one with an electric drive, while the second powercar is driven by diesel-electrics.

The project team around Jürgen Knigge is not discouraged by this prospect. "Voith has already successfully implemented the cooling of such a hybrid structure –not in a multiple unit but in a single railcar." Here, the Project Manager refers to the DEE mainline locomotive Bitrac 3600, which will shortly be put in service by the Spanish manufacturer CAF. The special feature of this vehicle is its drive concept: apart from two 1800 kW-diesel engines, traction is provided by a further 4450 kW-electric motor. Voith has developed a combined cooling system for this powerhouse among rail vehicles. "We would like to incorporate this know-how into the hybrid concept of the Intercity Express Programme in the United Kingdom," states Knigge.

Voith Turbo, the specialist for hydrodynamic drive, coupling and braking systems for road, rail and industrial applications, as well as for ship propulsion systems, is a Group Division of Voith AG.

Voith sets standards worldwide for papermaking technology, power transmission, energy technology, and industrial services. Voith was founded in 1867. With approximately 37,000 employees, annual sales of € 4 billion and over 270 locations worldwide, Voith is one of the largest family-owned companies in Europe.

Voith is an official partner of the initiative "Germany – Land of Ideas."