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Battery powered train from Alstrom
Photo: Jan Woitas / dpa
Deutsche Bahn and French rail vehicle manufacturer Alstom want to test a battery train.
The trial operation in regional traffic should start next week in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria and last until the beginning of May, as both companies announced in Berlin.
With the first battery train in customer operation, the next big step is now being taken in regional transport on the way to an emission-free railway in Germany, said DB Regional Manager Jörg Sandvoß. Alternative drives are the future of mobility, said Alstom manager Müslüm Yakisan.
Trial operation in Baden-Württemberg will start next Monday.
On weekdays, the train will run with passengers on the Stuttgart-Horb route.
In Bavaria it starts on February 5th.
The Pleinfeld – Gunzenhausen line in the Franconian Lake District is served there on Saturdays and Sundays.
While the battery in Baden-Württemberg is charged during the journey, in Bavaria it can only be charged at the destination and departure stations, as the route in between is not electrified.
"We want to test different charging scenarios," a spokeswoman for Deutsche Bahn told SPIEGEL.
Alstom has been developing the train since 2016. The test was intended to gain practical experience in order to master these future technologies during operation and maintenance, said Sandvoß.
In Germany, a total of 450 lines have so far only been used with diesel trains.
Deutsche Bahn wants to be climate-neutral in 30 years.
Among other things, 1,300 diesel multiple units have to be replaced because 13,000 kilometers of rails have no overhead lines, which is at least 39 percent of the network.
Electrification is progressing slowly, but at the same time the routes without a power connection are often not particularly busy.
Deutsche Bahn also wants to test hydrogen trains.
The technology is to be tested in the Tübingen area from 2024.
The Siemens train used for this is said to have a range of 600 kilometers.
joe/dpa
