DENMARK: Local railway operator Lokaltog has awarded Stadler a firm order to supply a further 10 Flirt Akku battery multiple-units, which will be used on the 49 km Odsherredsbanen from Holbæk to Nykøbing Sjælland.
The order announced on August 11 has been placed as an option on an October 2024 contract for an initial 14 two-car units for the Tølløsebanen and Østbanen which are scheduled to be delivered from August 2028. Services on the 51 km Tølløsebanen will be extended to Holbæk once these are in services.
The latest batch of BEMUs is to be delivered in the first half of 2029, replacing IC2 diesel multiple-units which have been in operation since 1997.
The battery trains will have low-floor entrances, wide doors, spaces for wheelchair users and bicycles, a semi-automatic boarding ramp for wheelchair users, air-conditioning, free wi-fi, information screens, and an accessible toilet.
They will have a range of up to 100 km on battery power, with recharging under overhead lines and through regenerative braking.
Lokaltog CEO Lars Wrist-Elkjær said he was pleased that the Sjælland region had given the go-ahead for the order as the battery trains would contribute to more robust and environmentally friendly operations.
Stadler said it has a 50% share of the European battery train market. The Flirt Akku is ‘a proven solution that provides zero-emission operations without compromising reliability or passenger comfort’, said Radosław Banach, CEO of Stadler Polska which will build the trains at its plant in Siedlce.
