Battery traction news – Page 14
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NewsBattery train fast charging station tested
GERMANY: A prototype Voltap rapid charging station for battery trains has been tested under real-world conditions for the first time Voltap has been developed by railway electrification technology specialist Furrer+Frey and Tübingen municipal utilities company SWT. The aim is to produce a ...
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Rail Business UKRevolution Very Light Rail demonstrator offers options for branch line revival
Rail Business UK takes a ride on the Revolution Very Light Rail vehicle, which is designed to provide an attractive, low-cost option to facilitate the reopening of disused branch lines and extending existing lines.
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NewsNew leasing company targets non-electrified routes with SmartHybrid locos
EUROPE: Private equity infrastructure investor InfraVia Capital Partners has formed Nexrail Lease to supply low-emission locomotives for unelectrified routes. The new leasing company has placed a framework order for up to 50 Vossloh Locomotives DE18 Stage V SmartHybrid locos, and taken over 53 existing locos. CRRC ...
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NewsIron ore miner orders heavy-haul battery locomotive
AUSTRALIA: Mining company Roy Hill has ordered a Wabtec FLXdrive battery-electric heavy-haul freight locomotive. This will replace one the four ES44ACi diesel-electric locos used to haul its 2 700 m long iron ore trains, and is expected to reduce fuel costs and emissions by ‘double digit’ ...
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NewsThailand looks at battery traction
THAILAND: The Ministry of Transport is pushing ahead with the procurement of battery railcars, and consideration is being given to local production and the conversion of existing diesel locomotives to battery power. The Department of Rail Transport and State Railway of Thailand have been tasked with ...
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NewsBattery electric multiple-unit demonstrated
GERMANY: Alstom has demonstrated its prototype battery-powered Talent 3 electric-multiple unit in Sachsen, with the company’s President for Germany, Austria & Switzerland Müslüm Yakisan emphasising that the company ‘has the clear goal of becoming the international leader in alternative drive technologies for rail travel’. The prototype ...
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In depthComment: Modal shift still key to rail’s green agenda
In the transport sector, the urge to decarbonise is manifesting itself in an increasingly frenetic push for the roll-out of hydrogen fuel cell and battery technology to replace internal combustion in everything from cars to small aircraft. These offer significant potential for decarbonising rail too, but should not be prioritised over the need to deliver modal shift from more polluting forms of mobility, argues our Managing Editor Nick Kingsley.
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News‘Enormous potential’ to cut CO2 emissions with battery traction
GERMANY: A strategy for widespread adoption of battery-electric trains for local and regional passenger services has been put forward by Germany’s Railway Industry Association. With academic input from the technical universities of Berlin and Dresden, the report is presented as a background and position paper intended ...
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Rail Business UKHybridFLEX prototype battery-diesel multiple-unit launched
UK: Chiltern Railways has unveiled its prototype HybridFLEX multiple-unit fitted with a hybrid traction system which can offer zero emissions and near silent operation at stations and in other sensitive locations. Developed by the operator, leasing company Porterbrook and MTU PowerPack supplier Rolls-Royce, the HybridFLEX uses ...
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Rail Business UKIndustry welcomes electrification and modal shift commitments in transport decarbonisation plan
UK: Commitments to electrification, network expansion and modal shift are included in the Decarbonising transport: a better, greener Britain plan published by the government on July 14, along with the selective deployment of hydrogen and battery trains. ‘Transport decarbonisation is a dull way of describing something ...
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NewsBattery-hybrid Venture trains in $3·4bn Amtrak inter-city fleet renewal order
USA: Amtrak has awarded Siemens Mobility contracts to supply 73 trainsets including electro-diesel and diesel-battery hybrid vehicles to operate medium-distance inter-city routes. ‘These new trains will reshape the future of rail travel by replacing our ageing 40 to 50 year old fleet with state-of-the-art, American-made equipment’, ...
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NewsBattery power banks to boost Polish traction supply
POLAND: Traction power supply infrastructure company PKP Energetyka has built a lithium-ion battery energy storage facility designed to stabilise the traction electricity supply and allow for more efficient use of renewable energy sources. PKP Energetyka says the energy storage facility installed at Garbce, 50 km from ...
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NewsFuel cell and battery hybrid locomotive development agreement signed
RUSSIA: An agreement to co-operate to develop hydrogen fuel cell and lithium-ion battery hybrid locomotives has been signed by Russian Railways, locomotive supplier Sinara Group and nanotechnology investor Rusnano. The agreement provides for research, development and design work, analysis of the infrastructure which would required and ...
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NewsCAF selected for major battery train order
GERMANY: CAF has been named as preferred bidder for what it says is the largest order to date for battery trains. This covers the supply and maintenance of more than 60 electric multiple-units which will be able to operate on non-electrified sections of the Niederrhein-Münsterland network. ...
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Rail Business UKStadler unveils independently-powered electric multiple-unit
UK: Stadler has unveiled a Class 777 electric multiple-unit which has been fitted with a prototype battery energy storage system to enable operation on non-electrified tracks. The independently-powered electric multiple-unit is being supplied to Liverpool area transport authority Merseytravel in addition to ...
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NewsElectric-battery locomotive lease fleet framework agreement signed
GERMANY: A framework agreement for the supply of up to 50 electric-battery shunting and main line locomotives has been signed by Paribus Rail Investment Management and Vossloh Locomotives. Paribus Rail Investment Management and Paribus Group’s rail leasing business Northrail worked with Vossloh Locomotives and its parent ...
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Rail Business UKGWR to test battery train on branch line
UK: Great Western Railway has invited expressions of interest in trialling a battery powered train on the 4 km non-electrified branch line from West Ealing to Greenford in west London. The operator notes that the trial ‘will support the objectives of the Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy ...
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NewsWabtec and GM to co-operate on battery and hydrogen locos
USA: Wabtec and General Motors have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to collaborate to develop and commercialise GM’s battery and hydrogen technology for Wabtec locomotives. Wabtec will bring expertise in energy management and systems optimisation, and GM its Ultium battery technology ...
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NewsAutonomous railbus project approved
GERMANY: The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs & Energy has approved funding for development of the Aachener Rail Shuttle concept, which envisages a 100 km/h autonomous battery-powered railbus to reduce the cost of providing rail services on secondary lines in rural areas.
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Metro Report InternationalCatenary-free Wenshan State Tram opens
CHINA: A catenary-free tramway serving Qiubei county in the Wenshan Zhuang & Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan province was opened on May 15. The Y shaped network totals 14 route-km. The 11·7 km main route designated as Line 4 starts from Puzhehei station on the Kunming ...