Every working day at 5:01 a.m., a small, blue and white regional train leaves Berlin-Lichtenberg station. It takes 22 minutes to reach the small town of Erkner in Brandenburg and from there another eleven minutes to its destination and final station, Fangschleuse Süd in Grünheide. It’s a fairly short journey, but it doesn’t cost passengers anything. The shuttle service to the Gigafactory’s own station is at Tesla’s expense.
In April, the US carmaker set up the early train from Berlin, and a few months later there has been a shuttle service that runs back and forth between Grünheide and Erkner 26 times a day. Tesla employees and non-employees do not pay anything for this.
Tesla says that 3,500 people have used the service every day. Nevertheless, just like the Tesla factory as a whole, its free shuttle has also been criticized. Tesla opponents complained that it was absurd that a supposedly sustainable car manufacturer would have its employees come in a diesel locomotive. But that is now over.
In mid-June, the controversial diesel feeder train will roll to Grünheide for the last time. After that, Tesla wants to connect its electric car factory with an electric train, as requested.
“In line with our mission to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy, we are proud to switch from a diesel to a battery-electric train in summer 2024,” Tesla announced in a press release on Wednesday. The company is looking forward to being able to offer its employees “an even more sustainable journey to work”.
The train with which Tesla wants to silence its critics in Berlin and Brandenburg is called Mireo Smart and does not come from the electric car specialists, but from Siemens. Last November, the company presented the electric version of its railcar model.
The train, built in Krefeld, has a capacity of 214 seats, space for 21 bicycles and two wheelchairs, and is equipped with internet, air conditioning and TFT screens. It has a top speed of 160 kilometers per hour and is powered by electric motors powered by lithium-ion batteries. Delivery time according to Siemens – 18 months. Tesla will obviously get it sooner.
As before, the factory shuttle will not be operated by Tesla itself, but on its behalf by the Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn (NEB). The company is leasing the electric train from the leasing provider Smart Train Lease, which in turn is backed by Siemens.
The Munich-based company only founded the subsidiary in February of this year with the aim of bringing its new battery, hydrogen and electric trains to market with little effort. It offers the often financially strapped operators of regional transport associations the opportunity to pursue their sustainability goals with low initial investments.
Tesla’s mobility needs in Grünheide may have come in handy for Siemens as a showcase for the new offering – just like Tesla’s train.