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.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Time for a rethink on road user charging
    February 1, 2012
    There is no value in further US VMT charging trials, except to delay the inevitable. These trials should end after completion of the University of Iowa's National Evaluation of a Mileage-based Road User Charge. There is far greater promise in unleashing private operators to commence profitable, non-tolling services, then using these for toll assessment and collection as fuel distributors are currently used to collect fuel taxation. Bern Grush writes
    Read More
  • Sice systems future proof Fehmarnbelt Tunnel
    April 4, 2023
    Picking up the electro-mechanical contract for the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel was a milestone, according to David Calero Monteagudo, head of global ITS and tunnel business for Spanish company Sice. David Arminas finds out more
    Read More
  • Hydrogen: transportation's silver bullet?
    June 22, 2021
    As the quest for carbon-neutrality becomes a key political and economic driver, everyone is on the lookout for new sources of energy - so perhaps hydrogen’s time has come
    Read More
  • Transition to all electronic tolling leads to cost savings
    February 2, 2012
    How a temporary congestion-relief solution resulted in the North Texas Tollway Authority's transition to all-electronic toll collection and potential savings of up to $472 million by 2045. By Carla Kienast, ETC Corporation
    Read More

Highlighted Content