Alstom and Deutsche Bahn, in cooperation with Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, started the first fully approved battery train test with passengers onboard.
In Baden-Württemberg the revenue service was launched on January 24, 2022, and from 5 February will begin in Bavaria. DB will operate the low-emission vehicle with its regional transport subsidiary DB Regio. The test operation will run until the beginning of May 2022.
“Deutsche Bahn wants to be climate-neutral by 2040 and this first battery train in passenger service represents the next big step towards emission-free trains in Germany’s regional transport. With this test, DB Regio wants to gain practical experience in order to master these future technologies in operation and maintenance,” DB Regio CEO Jörg Sandvoss said.
On weekdays the battery train test in Baden-Württemberg will be performed on the Stuttgart – Horb line and in weekend, on the Pleinfeld – Gunzenhausen line in the Franconian Lake District. This arrangement will maximise the train’s mileage while testing a variety of route profiles and battery charging scenarios. While in Baden-Württemberg charging takes place during the ongoing journey, in Bavaria charging can only take place at the electrified destination and departure stations, as the route in between is not electrified.
DB Regio will operate the train in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. Associated project partners are Nahverkehrsgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg (NVBW) and the Bayerische Eisenbahngesellschaft (BEG).
Since 2016, Alstom has been developing the battery-electric train together with the Technical University of Berlin and with support from the National Organisation for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NOW) and funding from the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport.
“We need this future technology on the railways. Alternative propulsion technologies in rail transport are important for the transition towards climate-friendly mobility. On lines where the construction of an overhead line is difficult and therefore too expensive, or can only be realized in the future, battery or hydrogen trains will gradually be used and replace the current diesel operation,” Baden-Württemberg’s Minister of Transport, Winfried Hermann said.
The project is intended to be a sustainable solution for Germany’s rail network where a total of 450 lines are operated exclusively with diesel trains. Alternative drives enable efficient and emission-free operation and this nearly four-month test on passenger routes in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg is the next step towards decarbonating German rail transport. In the future, the BEMU (battery electric multiple unit) technology will be applied to the Alstom Coradia platform.
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