The European Investment Bank (EIB) is set to provide an investment loan of up to $107.24m (€95m) to railway company Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn (NEB) for the development and acquisition of new battery-driven trains. Starting from December 2024, these trains will take the place of NEB’s diesel locomotives.
The company has placed an order with Siemens for 31 new Mireo Plus B trains for ten East Brandenburg tracks that run between Berlin and the Polish border. These energy efficient trains will utilise overhead contact lines on the route’s electrified segments to charge the batteries for operating the trains on non-electrified sections. The trains will eventually operate on zero emissions after the railway starts receiving electricity from renewable sources.