For the first time, France has regional trains running solely on batteries. The first two are already carrying passengers on non-electrified lines in the south of the country, in a programme bringing together manufacturer Alstom, SNCF Voyageurs and five French regions.
The trains are not new: they are converted AGC multiple units whose diesel engines were removed and replaced with lithium-ion batteries. With this change, they gained a range of more than 80 kilometres and became quieter.
The first began running on 28 July between Avignon and Carpentras in the Sud region, and the second on 31 August between Nîmes and Vauvert in Occitanie. That region is the only one testing three technologies to cut diesel use: hybrid, battery and, soon, hydrogen trains.
The programme represents an investment of more than 41 million euros. The trains’ performance will be assessed in real conditions before the technology is extended to other non-electrified regional lines.
