GERMANY: An initial four Siemens Mobility Mireo Plus B battery-electric multiple-units entered passenger service on Netz 8 Ortenau routes in Baden-Württemberg on April 8.
‘We are writing a new chapter in railway history’, said the Land‘s transport minister Winfried Hermann. ’Trains operating in the Ortenau region as of today are more climate-friendly than those using diesel. Baden-Württemberg is a pioneer with innovative train technology. All trains should be climate-friendly. We are relying on alternative, climate-friendly solutions wherever there are still no overhead power lines.’
Baden-Württemberg’s rolling stock agency SFBW placed the first order for a battery variant of Siemens Mobility’s Mireo EMU family in 2020, and it has now ordered a total of 27. They will be used by SWEG which has an operating contract running to December 2038, and will be maintained by the manufacturer for 30 years at a depot in in Offenburg which opened in June 2023.
The BEMUs will initially be used on the routes from Offenburg to Bad Griesbach and Hornberg, replacing RegioShuttle RS1 diesel railcars. They will then be gradually introduced on other routes in the network, saving 1·8 million litres of diesel and 5 000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
A revised timetable was launched in December 2023 ready for the arrival of the new fleet, providing at least an hourly service on all routes.
The two-car BEMUs have 120 seats, a toilet and air-conditioning. They have a design speed of 160 km/h, although the infrastructure will limit the SWEG services to 140 km/h.
Battery power
Siemens Mobility says the Mireo Plus B has a range of up to 120 km using battery power in real-world conditions. The two underfloor lithium-ion batteries are recharged from the 15 kV 16·7 Hz overhead equipment while the train is running on electrified lines, and also by using regenerated braking energy. Charging infrastructure has also been installed at Achern and Biberach (Baden) stations. The BEMUs will not need to pause for recharging during operations, and the battery is not expected to drop below 70% charge in regular service.
Siemens Mobility says the lifespan of the battery will depend on the usage, but it expects to need to replace the battery once during a train’s 30 year lifespan.
The company has now sold about 90 Mireo Plus B units in Germany and also has orders from Denmark. It is currently looking at opportunities in Austria, the Netherlands and Belgium.
It expects BEMUs to work out around 25% cheaper than diesel trains, and the target market is regional routes where relatively low numbers of services or the presence of infrastructure such tunnels with restricted clearances means the costs of full electrification is not seen as viable. BEMUs could also be used where there are aesthetic objections to overhead electrification.
In response to customer requests, Siemens Mobility has investigated converting existing diesel trains to battery power. It has concluded this would be difficult as DMUs were designed around the diesel engines, unlike the Mireo EMU family which was conceived with battery and hydrogen traction options in mind.
