Thailand’s 1st homegrown battery-electric locomotive begins trials

The prototype was developed under the “EV on Train” project, a collaboration between State Railway of Thailand (SRT), King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) and Energy Absolute Plc (EA).

The project aims to develop electric locomotives to gradually replace fossil-fuel counterparts in line with the government’s target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% within 2030.

The prototype was finalised in 2022 and testing started on Wednesday, with the battery-powered electric locomotive pulling carriages along tracks at Krung Thep Aphiwat station. The trial was overseen by Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob.

The battery locomotive has a range of 200 kilometres on one full charge and boasts up to 60% lower energy costs than a diesel locomotive, said SRT.

SRT aims to produce three more battery locomotives and procure another 50 elsewhere this year, to replace its fleet of diesel engines. Thailand should have around 54 battery-powered trains by the end of 2023, four of which will be domestically made.

SRT also procured 50 diesel-electric locomotives last year, 20 of which have been delivered with the remainder due to arrive this year. The diesel-electric locomotives are now being tested for safety before being put into service.