Battery-powered trains are looking to shape the future of Europe’s rail after the first successful trial of an intercity battery train in the northeast of England. This ‘tribid’ train easily switches between battery, diesel, and electric power.

Right now, the UK’s railways run diesel trains, which draw their power from overhead electrified wires or onboard diesel generators. However, the last generation of diesel trains is due to be replaced, and so a phase-out to cleaner alternatives is underway.

The trial happened in the region that first brought coal-powered engines to the world and as Britain celebrates 200 years of the modern railway next year.

High-speed and cheaper? Battery-electric trains show promise

Using just one powerful 700kw battery, this innovative technology can run trains at speeds over 75mph (120kph), making them high-speed.

During the trial, the train operated solely on battery power for 70km before switching back to its diesel engine, but the engineers say this range is enough to cover a typical intercity route that includes bridges, tunnels, and stations.

When launched, it’s expected that the train will have a range of between 100 and 150kms.

Single-battery trains not only boast superior performance, but they’re also more cost-effective than diesel trains.

They can reduce fuel costs by around 35 to 50 per cent, according to this trial which was run by Angel Trains, Hitachi Rail, and TransPennine Express.

Passengers will no doubt hope that any cost savings will be passed on to them, particularly given rising ticket costs, which go up every year in many parts of Europe.

Battery-powered trains are more environmentally considerate

Electric trains are currently considered the best solution to delivering clean trains as part of the global railway industry’s transition to net zero. Other options, such as trains that use grey hydrogen, are carbon-intensive, as Euronews Green has previously reported.

Using battery-powered trains reduces the need for rail operators to install or upgrade overhead wires on any unelectrified tracks. In turn, this could save Europe billions of euros in electrification projects.

It’s good news for those who live near train stations, too. Battery-run trains can enter and leave stations in zero-emission mode, drastically reducing noise and air pollution.

“The success of this trial will pave the way for even greener, more reliable journeys for millions of passengers,” said the UK’s rail minister, Lord Hendy.

When will everyone get to travel by battery-powered trains?

The evolution of battery-electric technology is moving quickly.

Hitachi Rail is already considering this next-generation technology for railway networks and other large vehicles globally. This latest success comes after delivering the world’s first passenger battery train in Japan and Europe’s first battery ‘tribrid’ train in Italy, the Masaccio, a couple of years ago.

A EuroMasaccio platform is already on track to be rolled out across European countries, and if Italy’s project is any indication, this could immediately cut CO2 emissions in half when replacing existing diesel train fleets.

Meanwhile, Siemens Mobility has also developed bi-mode battery trains that are already being used by passengers in the Ortenau region of Germany, saving 1.8 million litres of diesel every year. Plans are underway to roll them out across more countries, including the UK and more regions in Germany, within the next decade.

Siemens’ new trains only require small sections of track to be electrified, as the company supplies its own fast-charging points along the route, known as Rail Charging Converters (RCCs).

In France this week, the national union of airline pilots (‘Syndicat national des pilotes de ligne’ or ‘SNPL’) is calling a strike to protest the rise in air taxes. Concerns have been voiced that the latest planned amendment to aviation taxes could lead to tens of thousands of job losses in the country and affect tourism.

Air passenger taxes across Europe have increased this year. Read on to discover how this impacts the cost of your next flight.

What is air passenger duty tax?

Air passenger taxes are usually in addition to other taxes you pay when you book a flight.

Governments add them to encourage flyers to consider the environmental impact of their travel choices and discourage unnecessary air travel.

As you would expect, each country calculates their taxes differently based on the size of airports, popular regions, and types of aircraft, such as commercial planes and private jets.

Collecting these taxes is the responsibility of airlines, who charge them to customers as part of their ticket. The money is then spent at the discretion of each country’s government, often to fund public services.

These air passenger levies can raise substantial sums – for example, the UK government raised over £3 billion (€3.75 billion) between 2019 and 2020.

Some taxes, such as the French Eco Air Tax, are specifically designed to fund climate and environment-related issues, such as raising revenue for alternative transportation modes and more sustainable aviation infrastructure.

Who is for and against air passenger taxes?

Airlines are concerned about what extra taxes mean to passengers and call them “anti-growth”.

IATA director general Willie Walsh slammed the German tax this year, while Ryanair’s chief executive Michael O’Leary said that the UK’s planned Air Passenger Duty (APD) rise would cause the budget airline to cut its flights to and from the UK by 10 per cent, which is the equivalent of five million passengers.

Environmental campaigners say that air passenger duty taxes could go much further to discourage flying.

Hannah Lawrence at Stay Grounded, a network to counter aviation, says, “Measures to stop the growth of air traffic are exactly what we need.”

“We need to see effective policies implemented across Europe that fairly reduce air traffic, such as the implementation of a Frequent Flying Levy. [This] would reduce emissions by reducing excessive flights for wealthy passengers.”

When Switzerland proposed a ticket tax (or ‘flugticketabgabe’) in 2021 to reduce aviation’s impact on climate change, over half of Swiss voters rejected it.

A year later, however, a representative survey conducted by the market research institute GfS Zurich and commissioned by environmental organisation Umverkehr indicated that almost three-quarters of respondents supported the Swiss ticket tax for climate reasons.

Many of the respondents were clear on the potential of such a fund: 75 per cent wanted the tax revenue to go towards Swiss climate protection projects, while 55 per cent wanted to see the money support international rail transport.

Interestingly, younger travellers were less in favour of the Swiss ticket tax.

How do European countries compare on their passenger air tax?

Passenger taxes are in addition to other taxes, including airport taxes based on the traffic volume at different airports and civil aviation tax.

France

France has an eco tax, known as ‘éco-taxe’ or ‘éco-contribution’, which first came into effect in January 2020. It applies to travellers departing from French airports.

Passengers travelling to destinations in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom and Switzerland are charged either €2.63 or € 20.27 per passenger, depending on their class of travel.

For all other destinations, passengers pay €7.51 on the lower rate and €63.07 on the higher rate per passenger.

Germany

Germany’s aviation tax covers passengers on commercial flights, and a price increase came into effect on 1 May 2024.

The rates are fixed at €15.53 per passenger for short-haul domestic flights and €39.34 per passenger on long-haul flights no more than 6,000 kilometres, and includes countries in North and Central Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia.

For some destinations, including transatlantic flights, the rate is €70.83 per passenger.

Italy

Any passengers arriving or departing from an Italian airport pay the Italian aero taxi tax, known as ‘imposta erariale sui voli dei passeggeri di aerotaxi’, which is similarly based on the distance travelled.

The lowest rate is €10 per passenger when the distance is below 100 kilometres and can be up to €200 per passenger for distances over 1,400 kilometres.

Commercial flights that sell seats rather than rent out the entire aircraft and private, non-commercial flights are both exempt from the tax.

UK

The UK’s APD was first introduced in 1994. Fees are based on distance in miles from London. The system also considers different classes of travel, with business and first-class passengers paying higher rates.

It was recently announced that the APD will increase from April 2026, meaning an extra £2 per passenger will be charged for economy tickets on short-haul international flights.

The lowest rate starts at £8 (€9.53) per passenger for domestic flights and can be as high as £1,141 (€1359.72) for private jet passengers.

According to Ryanair, this latest APD tax rise means that a family of four flying to Spain from the UK will need to pay an extra £60 (€71.50).

There remains an unusual loophole in Britain’s scheme, known as the ‘Inverness Immunity’.

Savvy travellers can avoid paying any APD by opting for return flights from Inverness, a small airport in the Scottish Highlands, to hubs like London and Amsterdam. As long as connecting flights are within a 24-hour window, passengers can avoid the tax due to an exemption that protects the region’s remote rural and island communities.

Denmark

Denmark is still to launch its passenger tax on air travel (‘passagerafgift på flyrejser’), which will come into effect on 1 January 2025. The specific goal of this tax is to support the country’s green transformation by investing in more sustainable aviation and transport technologies.

There are three tax rates based on the final destination of a journey, including intra-European, medium-distance, and long-distance journeys.

The tax applies to all commercial flights from Denmark, except flights from the Faroe Islands and Greenland.

The Netherlands

The Netherlands first implemented its air passenger tax in January 2021 and has one of the highest in Europe, costing €29.05 in 2024, regardless of a passenger’s final destination.

Children under two years of age, flight crew on active duty and inactive flight crew travelling to another airport for the purpose of work, as well as transit and connecting passengers, are exempt from paying.

Portugal

Portugal adopted its aviation carbon tax, known as ‘taxa de carbono sobre viagens aéreas’, in July 2021.

The tax law has undergone significant changes and now covers both commercial flights and non-commercial private jet flights, but for the average commercial passenger, it’s €2 each.

The conference, known as COP29, begins on Monday in Azerbaijan and is one of the most important multilateral talks to include the Taliban, who do not have outside recognition as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan.

The National Environmental Protection Agency posted on social media platform X that a technical delegation had gone to Baku to participate.

Matiul Haq Khalis, the agency’s head, said the delegation would use the conference to strengthen cooperation with the international community on environmental protection and climate change, share Afghanistan’s needs regarding access to existing financial mechanisms related to climate change, and discuss adaptation and mitigation efforts.

Experts told The Associated Press that climate change has led to numerous and negative impacts on Afghanistan, creating serious challenges because of the country’s geographical location and weak climate policies.

“Climate change has resulted in higher temperatures, which reduce water sources and cause droughts, significantly affecting agricultural activities,” said Hayatullah Mashwani, professor of environmental science at Kabul University. “The reduction in water availability and frequent droughts pose severe threats to agriculture, leading to food insecurity and challenges to livelihoods.”

In August, the international aid agency Save the Children published a report saying that Afghanistan is the sixth most vulnerable country to the impacts of climate change and that 25 of its 34 provinces face severe or catastrophic drought conditions, affecting more than half the population.

Afghanistan also had the highest number of children made homeless by climate disasters of any country as of the end of 2023, according to the report.

Professor Abid Arabzai, from Kabul University, said the climate conference would help to secure international assistance and funding to address Afghanistan’s climate challenges.

“Afghanistan can clarify its climate actions and commitments to the global community, enhancing its international reputation,” said Arabzai.