Skip to main content

Bombardier's battery powered tram completes test

Rail technology company Bombardier Transportation has successfully completed a 41.6 km catenary-free test run using a Bombardier-built tram, powered entirely by its Primove battery in combination with Bombardier Mitrac. The test run was conducted in the German city of Mannheim on the Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr (RNV) network. RNV began using SuperCaps energy storage systems in 2009 and has integrated this technology into 30 of their trams. This provided sufficient energy for short CFO distances. However, the l
November 5, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Rail technology company 513 Bombardier Transportation has successfully completed a 41.6 km catenary-free test run using a Bombardier-built tram, powered entirely by its Primove battery in combination with Bombardier Mitrac. The test run was conducted in the German city of Mannheim on the Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr (RNV) network.

RNV began using SuperCaps energy storage systems in 2009 and has integrated this technology into 30 of their trams. This provided sufficient energy for short CFO distances. However, the latest generation of Bombardier's Primove battery system has been specifically developed for use with CFO where greater distances need to be covered.

The Primove battery and Mitrac propulsion equipment combination has been in successful revenue service on the Hexi line in Nanjing, China since August 2014. Six trams operate without overhead cables on 90 per cent of the lines. The batteries are charged seamlessly during passenger service via the pantograph, statically at tram stops, and dynamically during acceleration. On this demanding route, the CFO propulsion system has proven its suitability for almost any tram line worldwide.

Related Content

  • January 29, 2019
    Mercedes-Benz to trial electric buses in two German cities
    Mercedes-Benz has supplied three fully-electric buses to German municipal transport company Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr (RNV) to help improve air quality in the cities of Mannheim and Heidelberg. Dr. Peter Kurz, mayor of Mannheim, says: “The electrification of buses is now an important milestone on the way to a clean city and will make local public transport significantly more attractive.” The first eCitaro bus will operate in Heidelberg, travelling from the main train station to the Altstadt commuter rail stati
  • December 21, 2015
    Bombardier success in Germany and China
    Bombardier Transportation is to supply an additional 47 Bombardier Flexity trams to Berlin’s transport operator Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) as part of a framework agreement for a maximum of 206 vehicles signed in 2006. The Flexity Berlin concept was jointly developed by BVG and Bombardier Transportation, which they say has resulted in a 100 and barrier-free, leading edge tram providing easy access which is highly popular in Berlin and has already received several design awards.
  • September 4, 2015
    Berlin introduces wirelessly-charged electric bus Line
    Berlin has become the first capital city to introduce a wirelessly charged electric bus, as part of a project funded by Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. The Berlin Transport Authority, Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) has introduced four Solaris Urbino 12 electric buses equipped with the Bombardier Primove inductive charging system and traction equipment from Vossloh Kiepe. The buses now operate on the 6.1 kilometre line 204 between Südkreuz and Zoologischer Garten (Hertzallee). Vos
  • October 22, 2014
    Using electricity to power road freight
    Next year sees the start of the first real-life electrified road system for transporting freight. Worldwide freight transportation is predicted to double by 2050 but despite expansion of global rail infrastructure only one third of this additional freight transport can be handled by trains. This means that the largest proportion of freight transport will continue to be by road and as a result, experts expect global CO2 emissions from road freight traffic to more than double by 2050.