CROATIA: Končar KEV unveiled its newly-developed battery and battery-electric multiple-units in its home city of Zagreb before the battery unit was sent to Berlin for display at InnoTrans.
In December 2022 Croatian national passenger operator HŽPP signed a contract for Končar to supply two prototype trainsets, one being battery only and the other a battery-electric. The contract also includes the supply of six charging stations.
The total value of the project is €17·1m excluding VAT. Grants worth €13·3m were provided from the National Recovery & Resilience Plan 2021-26.
The two-car battery train is designed for lightly used lines, with a typical daily operations averaging 480 km and up to 18 h.
The three-car electric-battery unit is also equipped to use 25 kV 50 Hz overhead on electrified routes and battery power on non-electrified lines. It can be charged from the overhead or the fixed charging points. The units feature wheelchair ramps, CCTV, wi-fi, cycle spaces and accessible toilets.
Speaking to Railway Gazette International at the unveiling of the trainsets, Končar - Electric Vehicles CEO Josip Ninić said the development of the battery trainset was a natural step forward after the company’s low-floor tram, EMU and DMU.
‘A lot of local railway lines in Croatia are not electrified, and because of that we opted to develop a pure battery train and also an electric-battery train’, he said.
‘What is also important for the battery train project is the fact that Končar is delivering the whole package to the customer – train and the charging stations, positioned strategically around the network. For now, the charging stations will be located in Split, Osijek, Varaždin, Bjelovar, Virovitica and Pula, but there would be additional stations in the future.’
He also said, ‘we see huge potential to sell battery trains outside of Croatia’.
- Also on display at InnoTrans is an inspection and diagnostic vehicle built by Končar KEV as a subcontractor to MerMec. It draws on the Croatian firm’s passenger designs, and has staff facilities including a galley and bunk beds.