The German railway market is shifting towards the hybrid trains and locomotives. In a few weeks after DB Cargo had purchased 50 hybrid shunters, another German operator embarked on the same path. Verkehrsverbund Mittelsachsen (VMS), the public transport company in Saxony, ordered 11 battery-electric trains from the French manufacturer Alstom. These vehicles will be introduced in 2023.
Eleven battery-electric multiple units (BEMU) of the Coradia Continental type will serve the 80-kilometre non-electrified line between Leipzig and Chemnitz, two major cities of Saxony. The agreement between Alstom and VMS was signed on Wednesday, 5 February. It is valued at around 100 million euros and, among other things, includes the maintenance services until 2032. Alstom will produce these trains at its German facility in Salzgitter, Lower Saxony. At the same time, the batteries will be designed and manufactured by Alstom’s traction centre of excellence in Tarbes, France.
Coradia Continental trains
The BEMU trains ordered by VMS are based on the Coradia Continental conventional vehicles already serving the electrified routes in Saxony (Dresden, Riesa, Zwickau). They will be able to run at a speed of 120 kilometres per hour in both modes, by using the electric wires and battery energy. Each train will have a length of 56 metres, will consist of three carriages and will be able to carry 150 seated passengers. The only difference the ordered BEMU trains will have is the lithium-ion batteries installed on the roof.
Hybrid shunters
The mentioned deal is the first BEMU contract for Alstom but not for the passenger segment of the German railway market. In June 2019 the public transport authority Nahverkehrsverbund Schleswig-Holstein (NAH.SH) ordered 55 Akku battery-powered trains from Stadler Rail. They will be used on the regional non-electrified lines in the state of Schleswig-Holstein.