In Hennigsdorf, Brandenburg, Germany, Bombardier has presented its battery-operated Talent 3 electro-hybrid train. In 2019, Deutsche Bahn (DB) will start a twelve-month trial run with passengers with the current prototype in the Alb-Lake Constance region.
The emission-free, energy-efficient and low-noise train is the first of its kind and was developed for Germany over the course of the past 60 years. It does not generate any exhaust and sets the standards for smart mobility with peak values of 90 percent in the areas of efficiency and recyclability. It is also around 50 percent quieter than modern diesel trains. According to a comparative study by the Technical University of Dresden, the battery-operated train clearly has an edge with respect to the total costs across the service life of 30 years.
“We want to continue to electrify rail transport. A train that can charge its batteries from the overhead line while driving is a huge step toward this and the epitome of innovation. On non-electrified or only partially electrified routes, the motto is: move away from diesel on the tracks and toward cleaner and more environmentally-friendly mobility,” Enak Ferlemann, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure said.
The current prototype is equipped with four Mitrac traction batteries and can travel routes of around 40 km – in 2019, the next generation of battery-operated trains will be able to cover distances of up to 100 km on non-electrified railways.
The development of the battery-operated train is subsidised by the German government in the framework of an innovation program for electromobility with EUR 4 million.
The project partners include the DB Regio subsidiary DB ZugBus Regionalverkehr Alb-Bodensee (regional transport for the Lake Constance region), Nahverkehrsgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg (Baden-Wuerttemberg Regional Transport Company) and the Nationale Organisation Wasserstoff- und Brennstoffzellentechnologie (National Organisation for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology) and the Technical University of Berlin.
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