Deutsche Bahn is Testing Solar Systems on Railway Sleepers

For the test, solar panels were attached to the sleepers between the rails on a test section. According to Bankset, an average of 0.1 megawatts of electricity per kilometer could be generated with this construction. If one considers the entire length of the German route network with 33,000 kilometers (around 60,000 kilometers of track), the generation of electricity is ideally comparable to that of five nuclear power plants.

According to Deutsche Bahn, it is still unclear whether this type of power generation will actually be implemented. On behalf of the Federal Railway Authority, TÜV Rheinland is investigating how solar technology could be used on railway systems. In addition to the tracks, the roofs of train stations or noise protection walls along railway lines also offer a lot of potential space for the installation of photovoltaic systems. Several other media had previously reported.