Siemens Mobility to test hydrogen train on Bavarian rail route:
Siemens Mobility has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to test a hydrogen-powered train in the German state of Bavaria.
The company signed the MoU with the state government of Bavaria and local railway company Bayerische Regiobahn (BRB) to conduct the trial.
The two-car train will begin test runs from mid-2023 on the Augsburg – Füssen route and will enter passenger services in January 2024.
The pilot operations will initially run for 30 months. During this period, the train will be stationed in Augsburg.
The train is being developed on the basis of Siemens Mobility's Mireo Plus H platform. The vehicle will have a range of up to 800km and will be capable of running on non-electrified rail lines.
As primary modules of the hydrogen traction drive, two fuel cells will be placed on the train's roof. The system will utilise the newest generation of batteries from the Saft company that will be deployed beneath the floor.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by shrewdsheep on Monday July 19 2021, @07:52AM
It's pure market forces, not inability or lack of foresight. In Germany, the railway system is being held publicly, but run privately (as in a publicly traded company). This implies that electrification of a line is a pure business decision: maintenance of electricity infrastructure vs. additional cost for running diesel engines. For quite some lines, diesel is more efficient (rural, passengers only).