Climate-friendly travel by train? So far, this has only been the case to a limited extent with diesel trains. The railway also wants to say goodbye to fossil fuels in regional transport - and starts in Upper Swabia.
Aulendorf (dpa / lsw) - In Upper Swabia, the first regional train of Deutsche Bahn with biofuel has been on the road since Thursday. The change would save around 90 percent of CO2 emissions compared to the use of diesel, said the railway and the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Transport. 57 trains are to be filled up at the converted petrol station in Aulendorf station (Ravensburg district) and are to be used in a more climate-friendly manner in the Donau-Ostalb region. Gradually, all regional trains in the rail fleet nationwide are to be converted to biofuels.
Baden-Württemberg's Transport Minister Winfried Hermann said in Aulendorf on Thursday that the state was working on a strategy to get away from diesel. "Where electrification is not yet possible, we rely on alternative fuels," said the Green politician.
So far, according to the ministry, about 70 percent of the routes in the country have overhead lines. Many routes without contact wire are therefore in the south-east of Baden-Württemberg. The state is promoting the conversion to biofuel in the Upper Swabia region with 400,000 euros by next year.
According to a railway spokeswoman, the fact that the country's first biofuel filling station for a regional train is being put into operation there, at the comparatively small Aulendorf train station, is due to the trains that run there. The tilting technology railcars and the somewhat smaller regional shuttles could simply be refueled with biofuel instead of diesel - without major conversions being necessary.
Evelyn Palla, Deutsche Bahn's board member for regional transport, emphasized that the conversion was an "immediate climate protection measure". The biofuel should be used "this year" at other locations throughout Germany. Deutsche Bahn intends to completely ban diesel fuel from its fleet by 2040. In long-distance transport, all diesel locomotives are to be converted to biofuel by 2025.
Since July, the Sylt shuttles between Niebüll on the Schleswig-Holstein mainland and Westerland on Sylt have been refueled with more sustainable fuel. Biofuel is also used in freight transport at three filling stations in Germany. According to Deutsche Bahn, the fuel is made from biological residues and waste. This means that there is no competition with the production of food and feed.
According to Deutsche Bahn, the biofuel is hydrogenated vegetable oil. The fuel is currently around 30 cents more expensive per liter than conventional diesel. However, the regional trains could continue to be operated in a more climate-friendly manner until they have to be discarded. That saves resources and serves sustainability, said the railway. The petrol station in Aulendorf, which has been converted for biofuel, should also be used by other railway companies without any disadvantages.
