The train was developed as a prototype at Alstom’s Hennigsdorf site in Germany. The project began in 2016 as a research partnership with the Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin), which covered the development, approval and operation of battery-powered passenger trains, as well as looking at the overall economic viability of battery operation for mainline railways.
The project also included the preparation of recommendations for politicians, operators and public authorities for the use of battery-powered trains on non-electrified or partially-electrified lines. The key aspect of the propulsion technology is a drive system that includes an innovative traction battery which was developed and tested in Mannheim, the home of Alstom’s specialist battery and high-voltage laboratory.
The battery-powered train itself was developed in cooperation with various project partners, including DB Regio, the regional transport network for Baden-Württemberg, the German National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology and TU Berlin. The German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) is funding the project with a contribution of around €4m (US$4.7m).
Scientific research at TU Berlin has revealed that a large proportion of the lines currently operated with diesel vehicles include non-electrified sections of well under 60 miles. The use of the existing catenary infrastructure allows battery-powered electric vehicles to be operated on these lines without major upgrades to the existing infrastructure.
Professor Birgit Milius, doctor of engineering from the Department of Railway Operations and Infrastructure at TU Berlin, explained, “Our studies have clearly shown that in local rail passenger transport, battery-powered electric vehicles have the potential to successfully replace diesel vehicles. Our considerations have always taken the overall system into account. Aspects covering the vehicle, operation and infrastructure were analysed under various operating conditions in order to obtain reliable results.”
The train will go into service in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria in December 2021. It will be the first battery-powered train to be approved for regular passenger service in Germany since the 1960s.