climate protection
Deutsche Bahn lets battery trains run with passengers for the first time
A Deutsche Bahn battery train. The project is important for the company to become emission-free in the long run
© Silas Stein / dpa-infocom GmbH / DPA
Deutsche Bahn is getting closer to its climate goal: the company sent an electric train from the manufacturer Alstom onto the track. Now the test traffic is to start in regional operation.
For the first time, Deutsche Bahn has sent a battery train with passengers on its journey. After an empty run, the train with customers on board drove from Herrenberg to Eutingen im Gäu on Monday within Baden-Württemberg, said a spokeswoman for the railway. So far, operations have been running smoothly. The electric train should therefore make 20 trips per day.
Battery train of the Deutsche Bahn will start trial operation in May
Deutsche Bahn and the manufacturer Alstom want to test the battery train by May 1 in a trial operation in regional traffic. The railway had called the project “the next big step on the way to an emission-free railway in Germany”. During the week, the train will now run 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.
There are differences when charging the battery, the spokeswoman said. In Baden-Württemberg, the train can therefore be charged via overhead lines while driving. In Bavaria, the train has to be charged at electrified destination and departure stations because the route in between is not electrified.
In Germany, the total of 450 lines have so far only been used with diesel trains.
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