DENMARK: Local railway operator Lokaltog has signed a contract for preferred bidder Stadler to supply 14 Flirt Akku battery trainsets in 2028.
These are to be used on the Tølløsebanen and Østbanen routes in the Sjælland region, with options for 10 more for potential use on the Lollandsbanen and Odsherredsbanen.
‘We at Lokaltog are delighted to have found a supplier for our future battery trains’, said Lokaltog Managing Director Lars Wrist-Elkjær when the contract was signed on October 8. ‘They are to replace our IC2 vehicles, which have served us well since 1997. These are the trains of the future that we are buying now, and they will hopefully be on our tracks and bringing comfort to our customers for many years.’
The two-car units will meet TSI PRM requirements for accessibility, with low-floor entry for easy boarding including from low platforms, wide doors with automatic gap bridges for independent access, designated spaces for wheelchairs and bicycles and an accessible toilet. Other features will include air-conditioning wi-fi and a modern passenger information system.
The tender called by Lokaltog in November 2023 had attracted bids from CAF, Siemens Mobility and Stadler. CAF and Stadler met its requirements, and Stadler’s bid was selected.
The Swiss manufacturer’s Executive Vice-President Marketing & Sales Dr Ansgar Brockmeyer said ‘for years we have been consistently and determinedly developing alternative drive solutions. Today, our Flirt Akku has won another competition for battery trains. And this one is in one of the European countries with the highest potential of decarbonisation in the railways, due to its low degree of track electrification.’
Stadler said it has sold more than 350 vehicles equipped to use battery-power to customers in Germany, Austria, Lithuania, the UK, the Netherlands and the USA. The ‘standard operating range’ is up to 100 km even at the end of the design life of the batteries, and a record 224 km was achieved on a demonstration run.
