The rapid charging station for battery trains Voltap has passed its technical baptism of fire. A battery train from Stadler Rail was successfully charged with Voltap, developed by Swiss catenary specialist Furrer + Frey and local utility company Stadtwerke Tübingen.
Charging with Voltap takes place without a socket or plug. Although the point of a battery trains is that it can run on non-electrified lines, it is charged via its pantograph at an overhead line system, which together with a transformer station forms the rapid charging station. However, the rest of a line then does not need to have an overhead line to be operated with electric trains.
The Voltap system is similar in concept to charging in use in several countries for electric buses and trams. At the station in Ammerbuch-Pfäffingen in Baden-Württemberg, it was tested to see if the system works with higher voltages.
Closing the gap
The technical innovation Voltap is intended to close the gaps in the nationwide rail network that have not yet been electrified and thus pave the way for the widespread use of battery trains. In Germany around 40 percent of the rail network is not electrified.