In the decades following World War II, the Deutsche Bundesbahn focused on purchasing a large number of standardised electric locomotives. The goal was to promote the electrification program and to replace older types of electric locomotives. A maximum speed of was deemed sufficient. With growing economic prosperity, competition with other means of transportation, especially automobiles, was increasing. During the 1950s, plans were made to enhance pre-war Class E 19 locomotives to have a top speed of, but the technical layout was out-dated and the braking system was deemed inefficient. The plans were revised to demand a top speed of, combined with a Co′Co′wheel arrangement to limit the axle load to 18 tons. Elements of the new class, such as high speed bogies, were tested with existing Class E 10 units.
Prototypes
Four prototypes were finished in 1965. They were introduced to the public at the Internationale Verkehrsausstellung in Munich in June 1965 as Class E 03. During exhibition runs to Augsburg they reached 200 km/h on a regular basis. The experience gained on these occasions indicated that the installed power of was insufficient. In addition to stronger motors the transformer was also reinforced for serial production.
Serial Type
The first serial type Class 103.1 was put into service 27. May 1970. DB planned to introduce a new Intercity system with fast first class connections between major cities in autumn of 1971, so the specification sheet demanded Class 103.1 to be capable of pulling a train at. With a total number of 145 units Class 103.1 became the backbone of German Trans Europ Express and InterCity lines. Starting with 103 216, the locomotive body was extended by in order to provide more space in the driver's cab. In addition to the usual Sifa and PZB, Class 103 was also equipped with the LZB as an additional train safety system for speed in excess of. The so-called Automatische Fahr- und Bremssteuerung automatically kept the train's speed constant at any chosen speed.
Service
With inauguration of the new InterCity system only few lines' construction was enhanced for a top speed of, and the necessary government approvals for speeds higher than was also missing. Therefore, Class 103 in the first years did not reach its top speed in regular service. An accident furthermore delayed the introduction of regular top speed services, as on 21 July 1971 the AFB on 103 106 was suspected to be responsible for accelerating the train out of control, resulting in a derailment with 23 dead and 121 injured. In 1979, a second class was added to the InterCity system, which became widely popular. By that time the top speed of was permitted on lines with the necessary features, and the technical problems had been overcome. Now the major challenge for Class 103 was to pull the heavy trains at these high speeds. Until 1987, Class 103 had a near monopoly for high speed trains in Germany. By the early 1990s, the intensive utilisation resulted in an increasing number of defects. This tendency was intensified by the fact that DB significantly cut back on maintenance. With the first InterCityExpress commencing service in 1991, Class 103 was no longer DB's flagship. Considering wear and tear, DB decided to replace these locomotives with the new Class 101, which entered service in 1996. In the following years, Class 103 was relegated to lesser duties, but the locomotive had not been designed for frequent stops, so wear increased at an even quicker pace. After a brief comeback in 1998, when all InterCityExpress units were temporarily taken out of service after the Eschede train disaster, the remaining Class 103 units were retired from regular service by 2003. However, on 19 March 2013, these preserved Class 103 locomotives returned to daily services from Munich, wearing their original Inter City livery. Nuremberg-based No. 103245 hauled train IC2201 from Nuremberg HBf with OBB Class 1116 134. Frankfurt based Class 103s are also now scheduled to work IC118 Stuttgart to Munster, IC2099 Frankfurt HBf to Stuttgart, IC 2316 Stuttgart to Wiesbaden and LR78688 Wiesbaden to Frankfurt HBf.
Statistics
A total of 17 Class 103 have been preserved, with at least five units still operational. Two units are still part of DB rolling stock and are frequently used for test runs.
With a one-hour rating of or Class 103 are among the most powerful conventional electric locomotives ever built and it's the most powerful single-section locomotive ever built. Later, its maximum power output has been limited to.
On 14. June 1985 No. 103 118 reached a speed of.
The highest operational performance for one unit was reached in June 1972 with.
