First battery powered trains for Denmark

Siemens Mobility is to provide seven Mireo Plus B trains to Danish rail operator Midtjyske Jernbaner to go into operation in late 2024.

The trains, expected to be the first battery powered units in Denmark, will form part of a pilot towards the replacement of all the diesel rolling stock throughout the country.

The two-car Mireo Plus B trainsets are scheduled to run on two lines in the central Midtjylland region of Denmark.

“This is a crucial step in our own green transition, but also a significant step towards the goal of CO2 neutral train traffic throughout Denmark,” commented Martha Vrist, CEO of Midtjyske Jernbaner Drift A/S.

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The Mireo Plus B trainset is an extension of the Mireo platform with a high performance battery to provide a hybrid drive system that can operate on routes with or without overhead power lines. It is thus well suited to routes that are only partially electrified.

The two-car trainsets can accommodate 120 seated passengers and can travel up to 140km/h with a range of around 80km in battery operation.

The batteries can be charged both via the 25kV overhead line in electrified sections and through regenerative braking.

Albrecht Neumann, CEO Rolling Stock at Siemens Mobility, says that with the acquisition of the Mireo Plus B trains, Midtjyske Jernbaner replaces conventional diesel vehicles with state-of-the-art, completely emission free trains.

“This will significantly contribute to the local area by offering a sustainable and environmentally friendly mobility option.”

The order is the third for the Mireo Plus B and the first outside of Germany. The Landesanstalt Schienenfahrzeuge Baden-Württemberg has ordered 20 Mireo Plus B trains to start running in 2023 and Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn has ordered 31 units to go into operation in 2024.

Hydrogen power

Alongside the Mireo Plus B, Siemens Mobility is evolving the Mireo platform for hydrogen, with the Mireo Plus H, which also is expected to be ready to start operating in 2024.

In partnership with the German rail operator Deutsche Bahn and with support from the German government, the company is developing a complete hydrogen system for rail, including a hydrogen storage tank trailer for fast mobile refuelling as quickly as tanking with diesel.

The Mireo Plus H, due to start testing with green hydrogen in Baden-Württemberg in 2023, is designed to have similar power to the Mireo Plus B in terms of acceleration and maximum speed along with a range of 800km for the two-car version and 1,000km for the three-car version.

The hydrogen version is expected to be best suited to replacing diesel trains on lines where electrification is not possible or cost effective.

Initially the train will enter passenger service with Deutsche Bahn between Tübingen, Horb and Pforzheim.