Battery traction news – Page 12
-
Metro Report InternationalSecond ‘pop-up metro’ battery train arrives in the USA
USA: British company Vivarail has sent a second two-car battery multiple-unit produced from former London Underground vehicles to the USA, where shareholder Railroad Development Corp will use the unit to demonstrate its ‘pop-up metro’ concept for providing ‘lower cost, lower risk, faster start’ passenger services on ...
-
NewsDB orders diesel-battery engineering vehicles
GERMANY: The national railway’s infrastructure construction unit DB Bahnbau Gruppe has awarded Windhoff Bahn- und Anlagentechnik a framework contract for the supply of up to 10 diesel-battery multi-purpose vehicles, with a firm order for an initial three. They will be a compact version of the VentuS ...
-
NewsElectrification islands to charge battery train fleet
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn is to install discontinuous 15 kV 16·& Hz electrification ‘islands’ on regional routes in Schleswig-Holstein by December 2023, enabling battery-electric multiple-units to replace diesel traction. In 2019 Land transport authority NAH.SH awarded Stadler a contract to supply 55 Flirt Akku battery-electric multiple-units. These ...
-
NewsMajor battery train contract signed
GERMANY: The Rhein-Ruhr and Westfalen-Lippe transport authorities have signed a contract for CAF to supply and maintain a fleet of 63 battery-electric multiple-units. This will enable the replacement of diesel traction on the Niederrhein-Münsterland regional network, which includes around 200 km of non-electrified line. Announcing the ...
-
NewsDanish battery train supplier selected
DENMARK: Local railway operator Midtjyske Jernbaner has selected Siemens Mobility to supply seven battery multiple-units. The two-car Mireo Plus B units are to be deployed on the Holstebro – Skjern and Vemb – Lemvig – Thyborøn lines in northwest Jylland from the end of 2024. They ...
-
NewsVlexx to convert six EMUs to battery-electric operation
GERMANY: The Federal Ministry of Digital & Transport has announced a grant of €6∙7m to cover part of the €17m cost of converting six of Vlexx’s Bombardier Talent 3 EMUs to battery-electric operation. The grant was announced by Transport Minister Oliver Luksic at a ceremony held ...
-
NewsOhio railway buys battery loco
USA: OmniTRAX’s Newburgh & South Shore Railroad has purchased its first battery locomotive, supported by a grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s Diesel Mitigation Trust Fund. The FRA-compliant 1 700 hp shunting locomotive was rebuilt by industrial and off-road battery equipment supplier AMPS Traction from ...
-
NewsFortescue looks to Infinity and beyond with gravity-powered battery train
AUSTRALIA: Mining company Fortescue and its recently acquired Williams Advanced Engineering business have announced plans for the Infinity Train, which is intended to capture regenerated energy from loaded downhill runs and store it to power the returning empty trip. ‘The Infinity Train has the capacity to ...
-
NewsDiesel train modified for battery traction tests
NETHERLANDS: One of Arriva’s 18 Stadler Wink diesel multiple-units has been temporarily modified to test the potential for using battery power for emission-free operation without the cost of fixed electrification infrastructure. Normally used on secondary routes around Groningen and Leeuwarden, the Wink units are powered by ...
-
NewsBattery trains on the Baltic coast
GERMANY: Having been named the winner of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s Warnow II passenger train operating contract, DB Regio Nordost has ordered Stadler Flirt Akku battery-electric multiple-units to replace diesel multiple-units on two of the routes. The Land announced the award of the Warnow II contract to the incumbent ...
-
NewsSNCF and Alstom unveil first tri-mode Régiolis conversion
FRANCE: SNCF Voyageurs and Alstom have unveiled the first tri-mode battery-electro-diesel Régiolis train, converted from an existing four-car bi-mode trainset.
-
In depthResearch: Extending the role of backup batteries
Projects in Chengdu and Moscow have confirmed that nickel battery technology, originally developed to provide onboard backup services on metro trains, can also provide a cost-effective source of power for emergency traction, eliminating the need to install separate battery packs.
-
Rail Business UKBattery train and fast charger to be tested in London
UK: Great Western Railway has signed an agreement to test Vivarail’s Class 230 battery multiple-unit and fast charging technology under real-word conditions on the 4 km non-electrified branch between West Ealing and Greenford in west London. Part of Vivarail’s family of multiple-units produced from London Underground ...
-
Rail Business UK‘Cleaner, quieter and quicker’ diesel-battery hybrid train enters passenger service
UK: Chiltern Railways has put into passenger service its HybridFLEX hybrid multiple-unit, which is fitted with a battery pack to store regenerated braking energy which can then be used to provide emission-free operation in stations and urban areas without needing new infrastructure.
-
NewsGB Railfreight tests diesel-battery hybrid locomotive
UK: GB Railfreight is undertaking a three-month trial with a Clayton Equipment Class 18 Hybrid+ CBD90 diesel-battery shunting locomotive owned by Beacon. On February 1 the locomotive was delivered to Whitemoor yard in Cambridgeshire, where it will undergo a series of test to understand its capabilities ...
-
In depthComment: Rail freight’s big battery booster
A string of recent orders for battery-electric locomotives from railways in North America and Australia offers hope of decarbonising the heavy haul freight sector, as well as the promise of innovations which railways elsewhere could adopt in the future.
-
NewsUnion Pacific to create ‘world’s largest’ battery-electric loco fleet
USA: Union Pacific has ordered 20 battery locomotives for trials as part of a plan to create what it says will be the world’s largest fleet of operator-owned battery-electric freight locomotives. Progress Rail is to supply 10 EMD Joule locos and Wabtec 10 FLXdrive locos. Associated ...
-
NewsBattery train passenger trials begin
GERMANY: Alstom’s prototype battery-electric Talent 3 multiple-unit has entered trial passenger service with DB Regio. On January 24 the battery-powered train was launched on the Stuttgart – Horb line in Baden-Württemberg, where it will operate on weekdays. From February 5 it will also operate on the ...
-
NewsFormula 1 technology company to support development of battery train
AUSTRALIA: Fortescue Metals Group’s green technology division Fortescue Future Industries is developing what it says is a ‘world leading’ battery electric train concept. The project was disclosed on January 24 when Fortescue announced it had agreed to acquire UK-based motorsports technology company Williams Advanced Engineering, saying ...
-
NewsBHP to trial battery locos on Pilbara iron ore network
AUSTRALIA: Mining company BHP has awarded Progress Rail and Wabtec contracts to supply four battery locomotives for trials on its Western Australia Iron Ore network from late 2023. Progress Rail is to supply two EMD Joule eight-axle locomotives with a battery capacity of 14·5 MWh, while ...