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).

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.

Yet between 700 and 1,000 local residents remain, most of them living in the basements of apartment buildings, without running water, heating or electricity. The only place to charge phones is in the basement of the building now housing the city administration.

The exact number of people is impossible to determine because, since mid-October, no humanitarian volunteers have come to Kurakhove.

Under attack from artillery, multiple rocket launchers, aerial bombs and drones, Kurakhove has become the new Bakhmut, as Russia continues its drive westward to capture all of the Donbas region. On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the situation in Kurakhove, as well as the key city of Pokrovsk, “the most challenging.”

The hospital, schools, kindergartens, water treatment plant, refugee centre, post office, technical school and cultural centre have all been destroyed. Smoke hangs in the air as bombed-out apartment buildings burn against a backdrop of artillery fire and drones.

Artillerymen of the 33rd Brigade say they are firing around 50 shells per day on the Kurakhove front, indicating critical activity in the Russian army’s offensive operations and the brigade’s desperate attempts to stop Russian forces from encircling the city.

Local authorities remain in the city, as well as representatives of the police and local Territorial Defence Forces.

For Artem Shchus, head of police in Kurakhove, there is little hope of defending the city if it becomes surrounded.

“I don’t think it is possible, considering the reality of modern war and modern technologies. In that case, the logistics could be performed only by drones,” he says.

Shchus calls the road to Kurakhove, which is lined with burned-out civilian vehicles, the “road of death,” due to persistent Russian drone attacks. Five civilians have been killed while trying to leave.

No supplies would enter the city without the “White Angels” evacuation group, made up of local police officers and volunteers. They provide first aid to the wounded and remove the bodies of those killed in shelling, all while operating the city’s only functioning food store.

The White Angels bring in vital supplies in an armoured vehicle kitted out with electronic warfare equipment — the only way to enter the city, and still a journey fraught with risk.

“Without REB (jammers) it is just a lottery. With it, you might still have a chance to survive,” Shchus says.

The only way to escape the city is to travel with the White Angels. Each day, they risk their lives to evacuate between six and 12 people from different parts of the city and surrounding villages.

Although children are meant to have been evacuated, parents often hide them, both from the bombs and from law enforcement officers. Among the White Angels’ key missions is to find children and persuade their parents to evacuate.

When this mission is successful and children are removed from the basements, many are shocked by the state of the destroyed city, suggesting that they have been hiding underground for quite some time.

After dressing the children in bulletproof vests and helmets, the White Angels take them to the nearby city of Kostyantynopil, from where other volunteers transport them to refugee registration points in the regional centres of Dnipro or Zaporizhzhia.

“We evacuate people every day without stopping. We just dropped people off in Kostyantynopil, and we still have addresses to go through today,” Shchus explains.

Asked about adapting to work in such challenging and dangerous conditions, the police chief worries about the impact on his team.

“I think everyone has already adapted. I wouldn’t even call it ‘adaptation.’ It’s more like an unhealthy state of mind. I don’t know how this will influence them socially in the future,” he says. “These people are living in inhumane conditions, and they’re surviving on adrenaline. The war is their life. These are hard conditions to work in, but everyone is working.”