Battery traction news – Page 6
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NewsBattery-hybrid trainset enters service with Grand Est
FRANCE: Commercial trials with a hybrid multiple-unit featuring conventional electric, diesel and battery traction were launched in the Grand Est région on July 15. The train will operate on the Strasbourg – Sarreguemines route until November 24, during which tests will also be undertaken using hydrotreated ...
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NewsBayern to award electric-hydrogen-battery tilting train operating contract
GERMANY: Bayern railway authority BEG has launched the process of selecting a company to operate Allgäu regional passenger services using a future fleet of emission-free tilting multiple units which would be able to use overhead electric, hydrogen and battery power. The services are currently operated by ...
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Rail Business UKLower fares to compensate passengers for battery train troubles
UK: Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram has announced reduced weekend fares on Merseyrail’s Headbolt Lane line until September, as ‘a goodwill gesture to thank passengers for their patience’ during problems with the introduction of the subfleet of Stadler Class 777 electric multiple-units fitted with batteries. ...
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NewsČD orders more Škoda BEMUs as first trainset is unveiled in Ostrava
CZECH REPUBLIC: The first Škoda battery-electric multiple-unit for state operator České Dráhy was officially unveiled at the Rail Business Days trade fair in Ostrava on June 11.
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NewsMarcopolo Rail announces hybrid railcar in expansion drive
BRAZIL: As part of an expansion of its range, rolling stock supplier Marcopolo Rail has increased the production capacity at its Caxias do Sul plant with the addition of a 2 600 m² hall, the manufacturer announced on June 5. The workshop features gantries and overhead ...
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NewsNairobi battery commuter train study
KENYA: Consultancy Systra has undertaken a study into the potential use of battery-powered trains on commuter services between Nairobi and Thika, around 40 km to the northeast. The study presented to Kenya Railways and World Bank officials in April looked at what would be involved in ...
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Rail Business UKBattery trains could save £3·5bn, says Siemens Mobility
UK: ‘Britain should never have to buy a diesel passenger train again’, said Sambit Banerjee, Joint CEO of Siemens Mobility UK & Ireland, when the company set out a case for ordering battery-electric trainsets which would use electrification where available and battery power on non-electrified tracks. ...
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Rail Business UKHitachi tests battery train as a potential rail decarbonisation pathway
UK: A Class 802 electro-diesel inter-city trainset which has been retrofitted with a battery in place of one of its three engines is being tested by Hitachi Rail, operator TransPennine Express and leasing company Angel Trains. The battery will provide top-up power for peak demand and ...
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Rail Business UKLineside batteries could smooth railway electrical demand
UK: Network Rail is seeking a partner to design, develop, construct and operate ‘multi-MW scale’ lineside battery systems to support traction power supplies. A long-term services contract worth £150m to £200m is envisaged. The infrastructure manager purchases 3·7 TWh/year of electricity for traction power, and has ...
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NewsTri-mode tunnel rescue train designed for the ‘worst-case scenario’
AUSTRIA: Stadler and Austrian Federal Railways have unveiled the first Servicejet multifunctional firefighting and rescue train, which the manufacturer says is tailor-made ‘for the worst-case scenario’ of a fire in a tunnel. The Rail Equipment GmbH subsidiary of infrastructure manager ÖBB-Infrastruktur has ordered 18 of ...
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NewsŠkoda battery multiple-unit on test
CZECH REPUBLIC: Škoda Group has sent the first 15Ev3 battery-electric multiple unit for trials at the Velim test centre ahead of deployment in the Moravskoslezský region. The BEMU which arrived at the test centre on May 2 is based on the Class 650.2 RegioPanter design used ...
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Metro Report InternationalFirst battery-electric train for Dublin’s DART+ network unveiled
IRELAND: The first battery-electric multiple-unit for the DART+ programme to enhance commuter train services around Dublin has been unveiled at Alstom’s Katowice factory in Poland. DART+ will see the 1·5 kV DC overhead around Dublin extended from 50 km to 150 km, with trains using battery ...
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NewsUnion Pacific ready to test hybrid locomotive
USA: Union Pacific is to begin testing the first of six diesel-battery-hybrid shunting locomotives during May. The railway has produced a prototype locomotive at its workshop in North Little Rock, Arkansas, working with loco control technology supplier ZTR which designed the hybrid propulsion system. A second ...
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NewsDublin – Belfast electric-battery trains funded
EUROPE: Funding is now in place for the procurement of electric-battery inter-city trains to increase frequencies and reduce journey times on the cross-border Enterprise service between Dublin and Belfast which is operated jointly by Iarnród Éireann and Northern Ireland Railways. An order for eight 1 600 ...
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NewsCN to test diesel-battery hybrid main line locomotive
CANADA: CN has purchased a hybrid diesel-battery main line locomotive from Progress Rail, which it intends to use to assess the opportunity for retrofitting a portion of its fleet. The ‘plug-in’ hybrid mainline locomotive, which CN describes as ‘a first of its kind in North America’, ...
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NewsMaintenance vehicle converted to fuel cell power
AUSTRIA: An X534 overhead electrification construction and maintenance railcar has been converted from diesel to fuel cell power. Austrian Federal Railways’ technical service unit TrainTech worked with engineering consultancy m.ZERO to integrate fuel cell power modules from Cummins’ zero-emissions business Accelera into the vehicle as part ...
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NewsSelf-propelled battery wagon deployed on mining railway
USA: Battery and automation technology company Intramotev has announced the successful deployment of its ReVolt self-propelled battery-electric vehicle as part of a standard freight train. ReVolt uses regenerative braking and batteries to reduce a diesel locomotive’s fuel consumption and thus costs and emissions. ...
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NewsZillertalbahn hydrogen plan dropped in favour of battery traction
AUSTRIA: Plans to replace diesel traction on the narrow gauge Zillertalbahn with hydrogen have been dropped in favour of battery operation. Decarbonisation is planned as part of the railway’s medium-term investment programme for 2025-30, and could save an estimated 900 000 litres of diesel per year. ...
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NewsFirst Mireo Plus B battery-electric multiple-units enter service
GERMANY: An initial four Siemens Mobility Mireo Plus B battery-electric multiple-units entered passenger service on Netz 8 Ortenau routes in Baden-Württemberg on April 8. ‘We are writing a new chapter in railway history’, said the Land‘s transport minister Winfried Hermann. ’Trains operating in the Ortenau region ...
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NewsNext-generation Multi-Purpose Vehicle on test
SWEDEN: Railcare is testing its second-generation Multi-Purpose Vehicle, which has been developed with ABB and can both operate and charge its batteries via overhead electrification. ‘Combining electric power with the possibility of switching to battery power is an advantage on sites where there is no overhead ...