The Netherlands is not ready to switch to battery-powered trains, despite having suitable vehicles available, as reported by the railway portal Railway Supply.

Transition to Battery Trains

Arriva Nederland, the transportation company, has announced that there will be no modernization of its 18 hybrid Stadler WINK trains to operate on battery power.

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The official reasons have not been disclosed, but according to Railvolution magazine, the company has doubts about the economic feasibility of using batteries in electric trains.

Currently, the batteries in the WINK trains are used for additional acceleration and powering their own needs during stops.

However, after modernization, there is theoretically a technical possibility to use them in fully battery-powered mode.

In February, Arriva Nederland transitioned its fleet from 50 diesel GTW trains and 18 WINK trains to running on hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO).

However, in May, the company announced that most of the units had returned to using diesel fuel due to the high cost of biofuels.

Photo: hans van der wal/flickr

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