Trains With Zero Emissions

Arriva, a passenger transport company, said it has signed a contract with train manufacturer Stadler for the construction of 18 zero-emission trains designed for use on partially electrified tracks in the Netherlands.

The total contract value amounts to €170 million.

The Flirtino train can use either overhead electrification or hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO). They also incorporate onboard batteries to store regenerated braking energy. The train will be designed so that the HVO equipment can be replaced with larger batteries if planned partial electrification of the routes is finished. The batteries would be recharged when the units were operating on electrified sections of the network

Partial electrification is a cost-effective option to reach zero emissions operation for railway lines where it is not possible or the business case cannot be made to deliver full electrification, the company said. This is often the case on railway lines where there is a high number of bridges and viaducts. The first HVO trains will be introduced in 2020, the company said.