Actually, trains with fuel cells are supposed to run around Mühldorf from December 2024 – but there is still no operator. The responsible Bavarian Railway Company (BEG) therefore re-advertised the local “Line Star” on Friday. The first procedure, which started in 2021, “did not result in an offer that could be financed by the Free State, even after several rounds of negotiations,” said the BEG. Above all, the vehicle costs were too high.
There had already been indications of problems with the award: An EU publication read that the procedure was suspended “indefinitely”. At the time, the BEG did not want to confirm this when asked by SZ, but also did not want to make any other statement about the status. Reduced vehicle requirements now apply to the new tender. Hydrogen trains would therefore commute between Mühldorf and Burghausen, while diesel locomotives were used in the rest of the network.