Siemens Mobility and NEB Introduce Mireo Plus H and Mireo Plus B
Siemens Mobility and Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn (NEB) have completed the inaugural journey of the Mireo Plus H in Berlin and Brandenburg alongside the launch of the Mireo Plus B battery train in East Brandenburg.
Siemens Mobility and Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn (NEB) have completed the inaugural journey of the Mireo Plus H in Berlin and Brandenburg alongside the launch of the Mireo Plus B battery train in East Brandenburg.
Representatives from the federal states and the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (VBB) joined the launch event, which introduced the Mireo Plus H for the Heidekrautbahn and the Mireo Plus B battery train for the East Brandenburg network.
Uwe Schüler, State Secretary at the Brandenburg Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Planning said:
“Around 73 percent of regional transport in Berlin and Brandenburg currently runs on climate-friendly electricity via overhead lines. The states of Berlin and Brandenburg and the VBB have set themselves the goal of making all remaining non-electrified routes independent of fossil fuels by 2037. To ensure that local public transport remains the most climate-friendly form of motorised mobility, rail transport is to become diesel-free. We are reaching an important milestone on the way to achieving this today.”
These vehicles will help accelerate decarbonisation without requiring full electrification of rail routes. Instead, hydrogen trains need refuelling stations, and battery-electric units can operate with partial line electrification.
The switch to these trains is expected to save about 4.4 million litres of diesel annually on the East Brandenburg network alone.
Ute Bonde, Senator for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and the Environment said:
“Instead of using diesel vehicles on routes without overhead lines as in the past, the states of Berlin and Brandenburg, together with the VBB, have commissioned transport services with innovative drive concepts in order to make public transport even more environmentally friendly. I am delighted that passengers on the Heidekrautbahn and Ostbrandenburg networks will have access to modern vehicles with high-quality equipment in the future.”
The new hydrogen and battery trains are part of a broader strategy to phase out diesel from the region’s rail networks.
From December 2024, both the Mireo Plus H and Mireo Plus B fleets will gradually replace diesel trains on the Heidekrautbahn and East Brandenburg rail networks.
This week, the Mireo Plus H hydrogen train is running on Berlin’s Stadtbahn system as part of the InnoTrans trade fair.
Albrecht Neumann, CEO Rolling Stock at Siemens Mobility said:
“Together with NEB, we are delighted to present our climate-friendly and sustainable trains powered by hydrogen and battery drives for service in the Berlin and Brandenburg region. The Mireo Plus B and Mireo Plus H trains combine innovation and sustainability in places where electrification of the rail line is not possible or not economical.”
Both models boast high drive power of 1.7 MW, enabling acceleration up to 1.1 m/s² and speeds of up to 140 km/h. Their lightweight aluminium construction, energy-efficient systems, and advanced on-board power management minimise resource use and emissions.
The hydrogen trains can travel up to 1,000 kilometres on a single tank, while the battery trains can cover distances of up to 120 kilometres on battery power.