future technology
Battery train with guests: test in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria
A battery-powered train of the “Talent 3” type. Photo: Jan Woitas/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Deutsche Bahn and Alstom are beginning to test battery-powered trains – with passengers. The companies want to gain practical experience.
Deutsche Bahn and Alstom want to start trial operation of a battery train. The test in regional traffic should start in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria and last until the beginning of May, as both companies announced on Friday in Berlin.
DB Regional Manager Jörg Sandvoß said that with the first battery train in customer service, the next big step is now being taken in regional transport on the way to an emission-free railway in Germany. And Alstom manager Müslüm Yakisan explained that alternative drives are the future of mobility.
Just for a test
Trial operation in Baden-Württemberg will start next Monday. On workdays, the train will run with passengers on the Stuttgart – Horb route. In Bavaria it starts on February 5th. The Pleinfeld – Gunzenhausen line in the Franconian Lake District is served there on Saturdays and Sundays, as both companies announced. While in Baden-Württemberg charging takes place during the journey, in Bavaria charging can only take place at the electrified destination and departure stations, since the route in between is not electrified.
Alstom has been developing the train since 2016. Sandvoß said the test was intended to gain practical experience in order to master these future technologies in operation and maintenance. In Germany, a total of 450 lines have so far only been used with diesel trains.