THE French government aims to have 100 battery trains in service within 10 years as part of its drive to phase out diesel trains by 2035. New funding, the amount of which has not yet been disclosed, is set to be available from March 1 2027 to allow the regions to invest in new battery fleets.
This latest funding follows on from a €41m national retrofitting programme launched in 2021 that involved the pilot conversion of five existing diesel trains to battery power. The new funding is included in a series of 17 measures announced on October 15 to help reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels.
Most of the current fleet of regional passenger trains consists of EMUs or bi-mode multiple units. The government is supporting the development of the battery-powered Telli multiple unit which is expected to replace many of the 337 X 73500 single diesel railcars built between 1999 and 2004 and used on minor lines.
