Bombardier showed off an electro-hybrid train in Germany in early September. The train can charge its batteries from an overhead line and then continue to operate on non-electrified sections of track. Around 40 percent of Germany's railroads are non-electric.

German rail company Deutsche Bahn plans to start a 12-month trial run. Credit: BombardierThe train includes four traction batteries and can travel around 40 kilometers, roughly 25 miles. In 2019, an upgrade is expected to expand that range to 100 kilometers, or around 62 miles. German rail company Deutsche Bahn plans to start a 12-month trial run with the current prototype in the Alb-Lake Constance region.

Development of the battery-operated train is being subsidized by the German federal government with 4 million euros ($4.68 million).

Project partners include the DB Regio subsidiary DB ZugBus Regionalverkehr Alb-Bodensee (regional transport for the Lake Constance region), Nahverkehrsgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg (Baden-Wuerttemberg Regional Transport company) and the Nationale Organisation Wasserstoff- und Brennstoffzellentechnologie (National Organisation for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology) and the Technical University of Berlin.