First of many battery unit fleets in service
THE first fleet of Battery Electric Multiple Units (BEMUs) entered service in the northern German State of Schleswig-Holstein on October 1, from Kiel, on the short non-electrified branch to Kiel Oppendorf.
Three weeks later, more of the trains began operating the longer Kiel-Lübeck-Lüneburg regional route.
The 55 new BEMUs have been bought by Schleswig Holstein transport authority NAH.SH; each of the two-car Class 526 Stadler ‘Flirt Akku’trains (Akku is German for battery) has 123 seats; the batteries are carried in roof-mounted sections or under the floor so they do not reduce capacity inside the train.