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There were a lot of Velaro D (class 407) high-speed EMUs in Wegberg. Like, all of them. I actually don't know this for certain, but of sixteen that were built so far, I counted at least nine and know where a further three could have been hiding easily. But as wide areas of the test center were gated off, I wasn't able to verify this information. Train 407 006 is one of (at least) three you can see in this picture alone. Sadly, none of the many trains were open to visitors, which I think is a real shame.

DB's official marketing name for these units is not ICE 4 or anything, but "The new ICE 3", which is way too confusing for rail fans. Class 407 or Velaro D (Siemens's name; the older ICE 3s of class 403 and 406 are the predecessors of the Velaro family, not part of it) is preferred. Fifteen sets were ordered for cross-border traffic in Germany and France, in the future also Belgium and the Netherlands. A sixteenth was ordered to replace two partially damaged older ICE 3; the remaining cars of those two will be recombined into a new set.

You may have noticed that I did not include the UK and the Channel Tunnel in the list of countries where DB wants to use them. The reason is that even though DB has very publicly announced their intentions to this effect, they haven't actually ordered the necessary upgrade from Siemens yet. Still, they keep complaining that it is Siemens's fault that the service won't be able to start in 2013 as originally planned. On the other hand, it is Siemens (or specifically Siemens's supplier's) fault, too, because approval for France and Belgium is severely behind schedule. And approval for Germany, too. But at least one train is approved right now and the others will soon be. Sadly only in single, which makes them operationally useless, but full approval in single and double sets for all of Germany is bound to come by the end of the year, after which they will reinforce the (way-to-small) domestic fleet for a while.

Along with new crash worthiness standards, the train also got a new nose. I know no person that likes this nose better than the original. On the other hand, the new nose is supposed to close more reliably than the often-open end of the ICE 3.

By the way, if you're wondering about the cable hanging in the middle of the track, and the yellow handle at the third rail: This creates a ground connection, ensuring that the overhead and third rail lines are both without electricity. This was necessary because Siemens built a walkway over these tracks, as a basic aluminum bridge, which brought people closer to the overhead lines than would be safe otherwise. Of course, trains can't run while those things are in place, but that is kind of the idea anyway.

Description
There were a lot of Velaro D (class 407) high-speed EMUs in Wegberg. Like, all of them. I actually don't know this for certain, but of sixteen that were built so far, I counted at least nine and know where a further three could have been hiding easily. But as wide areas of the test center were gated off, I wasn't able to verify this information. Train 407 006 is one of (at least) three you can see in this picture alone. Sadly, none of the many trains were open to visitors, which I think is a real shame.

DB's official marketing name for these units is not ICE 4 or anything, but "The new ICE 3", which is way too confusing for rail fans. Class 407 or Velaro D (Siemens's name; the older ICE 3s of class 403 and 406 are the predecessors of the Velaro family, not part of it) is preferred. Fifteen sets were ordered for cross-border traffic in Germany and France, in the future also Belgium and the Netherlands. A sixteenth was ordered to replace two partially damaged older ICE 3; the remaining cars of those two will be recombined into a new set.

You may have noticed that I did not include the UK and the Channel Tunnel in the list of countries where DB wants to use them. The reason is that even though DB has very publicly announced their intentions to this effect, they haven't actually ordered the necessary upgrade from Siemens yet. Still, they keep complaining that it is Siemens's fault that the service won't be able to start in 2013 as originally planned. On the other hand, it is Siemens (or specifically Siemens's supplier's) fault, too, because approval for France and Belgium is severely behind schedule. And approval for Germany, too. But at least one train is approved right now and the others will soon be. Sadly only in single, which makes them operationally useless, but full approval in single and double sets for all of Germany is bound to come by the end of the year, after which they will reinforce the (way-to-small) domestic fleet for a while.

Along with new crash worthiness standards, the train also got a new nose. I know no person that likes this nose better than the original. On the other hand, the new nose is supposed to close more reliably than the often-open end of the ICE 3.

By the way, if you're wondering about the cable hanging in the middle of the track, and the yellow handle at the third rail: This creates a ground connection, ensuring that the overhead and third rail lines are both without electricity. This was necessary because Siemens built a walkway over these tracks, as a basic aluminum bridge, which brought people closer to the overhead lines than would be safe otherwise. Of course, trains can't run while those things are in place, but that is kind of the idea anyway.