This Schleswig-Holstein facility will support the maintenance of the new "FLIRT Akku" battery-electric regional train fleet. Nearly four years ago, Stadler won the tender from NAH.SH to supply 55 FLIRT Akku trains and maintain the fleet for a period of 30 years. These trains are set to commence operations on eleven railway lines, covering approximately 10 million kilometres of battery-electric train travel starting in late summer 2023. These lines represent about 40% of the rail traffic in Schleswig-Holstein.
With an investment of around €30 million, the Rendsburg location will serve for maintenance, storage, and for charging infrastructure, scheduled for opening in 2024.
The new maintenance facility will occupy a total area of 77,000 sqm and include a vehicle hall with two tracks equipped with pits and overhead workstations, workshops, an office and social area, and an external cleaning system. The facility is specially designed to treat, charge, and store batteries that power the FLIRT Akku trains. In addition to the transfer tracks, there are plans for eight parking spaces in the outdoor area for interior cleaning of the vehicles, equipped with overhead lines for battery recharging. Proper storage of removed batteries is also a priority, and the new maintenance facility will have specially designed diagnostic containers to monitor the train batteries extensively and evaluate the data. These containers will help determine whether additional maintenance is required.