Overview

• The transport ministry has approved deployment of three Siemens Mireo Plus H hydrogen trains on the Mühldorf–Burghausen regional route starting in December 2026, building on a single test unit operating from Augsburg since late 2024.
• Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter questions hydrogen technology’s suitability and prioritizes overhead electrification alongside battery-powered trains for non-electrified lines.
• Bavaria is advancing plans to electrify roughly 1,000 kilometers of track, with 680 km in the federal transport plan and 330 km under state management.
• The state is rolling out battery-powered trains in Swabia and the Bavarian Forest and installing new charging stations to cut reliance on diesel on selected routes.
• Siemens reports overall good reliability for its hydrogen prototype but notes isolated technical issues and limited data from the single-unit trial, which is substituted by diesel stock during maintenance.