This report describes the origin and development story of the ICE 3-M electrical multiple units (EMUs), their position within the ICE-3 family and the differences between them and the single-system class 403. The authors look, in particular, at the technical solutions implemented at the interfaces between systems. One precondition had to be met before it was possible for the trains to be used internationally: they had to obtain approvals for each of the various networks they were to operate on. The authors explain all the necessary steps in detail and describes how this task was accomplished in practice, in an environment which the European Union's directives on the liberalization of the railway market were gradually gaining a foothold.
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