German battery-powered railcars made their debut in 1907 as pioneers in local transit. They ran quietly, cleanly, and without expensive overhead wires. Today, these environmentally friendly vehicles are making a strong comeback on branch lines as modern battery-powered trains.
The Beginnings: The Royal Prussian State Railroad.
- 1907: First use of battery-powered railcars in the Palatinate and Prussia.
- ETA 177 and ETA 178 series: Well-known classics from the early years.
- Advantage: No smoke, no soot—ideal for routes without overhead power lines.
The Postwar Period: The Golden Age
- ETA 150 Series: Starting in 1954, the DB built hundreds of these red “running boxes.”
- Service: They were a staple of rail service on many branch lines in West Germany.
- Nickname: Because of their shape and quiet operation, they were often affectionately called “Battery-ETA.”
- The End: Scheduled service for the series ended in the 1980s.
The Modern Era: The Return of the Battery
- Current situation: New battery-powered trains, such as the Alstom Coradia Continental and the Siemens Mireo Plus B, are once again running on battery power.
- Goal: They are replacing old diesel railcars on non-electrified routes.
- Technology: The batteries charge while the train runs under the overhead wire and then operate autonomously for the remainder of the route.
A major gathering of the so-called “Limburg Cigars” at the Limburg locomotive depot on August 3, 1983: units 517 002, 006, and 005. All of them now history…
Photo: Klaus Ratzinger
| Series | Numbers | Illustration | Built | Decommissioned |
| ETA 177 / 178 / 180 | 1907-1915 | 1964 | ||
| ETA 179 | 18 pieces | 1926-1928 | 1968 | |
| ETA 176 / 517 | 001-008 |  | 1952-1954 | 1984 |
| ETA 150 / 515 515.0 515.5 | 001-033; 101-138; 501-661 |  | 1954-1965 | 1995 |
| BR 686 or VT 515-U (diesel-electric conversion of former BR 515 / ETA 150) | 511 und 523 (Regentalbahn Renovation) |  | 1994-1996 | 2010 |
| Tunnel Inspection Vehicle 6209 / 711 | 001 |  | 1959 | 1983 |
| Ks Ka 381 | 4012-4015 | 1930 | 1970 | |
| Ks Ka 381 | 001-008; 010-022; 201 |  | 1930-1938 | 1984 |
| Ks Ka 382 | 001; 101 |  | 1955 | in service |