Siemens Mobility Receives First Order for Battery-Equipped Vectron Units

Siemens Mobility has received the first order for a set of Vectron trains equipped with a battery module.

The order, which was placed by JeMyn AG, an affiliate of Widmer Rail Services, AG, will see two Vectron battery module locomotives supplied to the company, with delivery due to be fulfilled by 2027.

The Vectron’s battery module technology allows for the locomotive to operate on short distances without the need for any overhead power lines, enabling the unit to cover the ‘last mile’ of service without any external power system.

Each module is powered independently by a high-voltage lithium-ion battery pack, each of which features an intelligent battery management system with the capability to regulate both charging and discharging.

Andre Rodenbeck, CEO of Rolling Stock at Siemens Mobility, said:

We are delighted to be further expanding our Vectron fleet with Widmer Rail Services AG and would like to thank them for their trust in our locomotive platform. With the battery power module, our customers can now cover their entire operational routes electrically and with batteries, further reducing CO2 emissions in rail transport.

For our customers, this development adds another innovative functional package to the successful Vectron family

Development on the battery module package was funded in part by the federal Future of Rail Freight Transport programme, which aims to speed up the bringing of new rail freight innovations to the market.

Pierre Widmer, CEO of Widmer Rail Services AG, said:

With its new battery power module, the Vectron is the ideal locomotive for us. Thanks to this functional package, we can now handle shunting operations even more efficiently without the assistance of additional shunting locomotives. This will enable us to further optimize our operating processes and save costs.

To date, Siemens Mobility has sold more than 2,600 Vectron locomotives to a total of 16 countries, with the fleet covering a cumulative distance of over one billion kilometres.