Tesla shuttle returns with battery trains

GERMANY: The free shuttle train to Tesla’s Gigafactory plant in Grünheide to the east of Berlin restarted on August 7, using two Siemens Mobility Mireo B battery-electric multiple-units instead of a pair of Bombardier Transportation Talent diesels.

Theresa Eggler, Project Manager at Tesla, told local radio station RBB that ‘we are particularly pleased that the Tesla train shuttle is now battery-electric because it is in line with our company mission to accelerate the transition to renewable energy’.

Service RB TES was first launched in September 2023 to connect Erkner station on S-Bahn S3 and regional route RE1 to the new Fangschleuse Tesla Süd station at the factory. It is funded by Tesla and operated by Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn.

It is aimed at factory workers, although it is open to the public, and was carrying 3 500 passengers/day before being temporarily suspended in June pending the switch of rolling stock. The two replacement trans are leased from Siemens Mobility subsidiary Smart Train Lease.