Stadler builds new maintenance facility for battery trains in Germany
Swiss train manufacturer Stadler is constructing a new maintenance facility for battery trains in Rendsburg, Germany. The workshop will support the maintenance of the FLIRT Akku battery-electric regional multiple unit fleet of local operator NAH.SH from the spring of 2024 onwards. The project’s stakeholders celebrated by laying the foundation of its newest service location in Germany last Monday.
Stadler secured a tender almost four years ago to deliver 55 FLIRT battery trains and provide maintenance services for 30 years to the Schleswig-Holstein local transport association (NAH.SH). These trains will start operation in late summer 2023, covering approximately 10 million battery-electric train kilometers across eleven railway lines. This represents 40 percent of rail traffic in the state Schleswig-Holstein.
With an investment of around 30 million euros, Stadler is establishing an advanced maintenance workshop in Rendsburg. The new maintenance workshop, built on a 77,000 square metre site, will include a vehicle hall, workshops, offices, and a social wing. It is specifically designed to handle battery treatment, charging, and storage for the FLIRT Akku trains. The facility will feature transfer tracks, eight parking spaces for interior cleaning and battery recharging, and diagnostic containers for secure storage of removed batteries. Over the coming months, the project is expected to create up to 30 new jobs.
Daniel Baer, Head of the Service Division at the international Stadler Rail Group: “By combining new production and maintenance of rail vehicles over many years from a single source, we create sustainable added value and thus achieve an optimal service life for the trains over several decades.”
Schleswig-Holstein’s Transport Minister Claus Ruhe Madsen highlighted the significance of battery trains in expanding diesel-free routes in Schleswig-Holstein. “With the battery trains, we are able to more than double the number of diesel-free routes in Schleswig-Holstein in one fell swoop. The maintenance workshop in Rendsburg is an important building block for the climate-neutral battery train future in our country. For the city of Rendsburg, the workshop also means that skilled workers can be retained in a future-proof industry. A great development both for our climate protection goals and for Schleswig-Holstein as a business location.”
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