Wednesday, 26 August 2026

A group of Chicago business leaders has announced the O'Hare Flyer, a fully electric non-stop express train linking downtown Chicago with O'Hare airport, according to Electrek.

The route was assembled from freight rail right-of-way held by three Class I railroads, Electrek reported: CSX, Canadian National, and Union Pacific. The group has signed a Letter of Intent with CSX and says it is moving forward with the other two carriers.

Backers describe the project as a private commercial endeavor and say they are not currently seeking government subsidies or funding, per Electrek.

A Chicago Tribune editorial published alongside the announcement projects a per-passenger fare of USD 25 to USD 35 on the proposed service.

The team plans to have the first trains running around 2030, according to Electrek.

Hyundai Motor Company will introduce its first range-extender electric vehicle next year, with EREV models scheduled to reach customers in the first half of 2027 offering more than 600 miles (965 kilometres) of range, according to electrive.

The launch sits inside a wider product push. Hyundai announced plans to launch or revise more than 100 vehicle models worldwide by 2030, electrive reported.

Electrified vehicles accounted for 23% of Hyundai's sales mix in 2025, and the carmaker is targeting a 60% share by 2030, according to electrive.

In Europe, the company aims to sell more than 420,000 battery-electric cars by 2030, up from 116,000 in 2025, per electrive. Hitting that figure would require roughly a fourfold increase over the 2025 base.

On cell chemistry, Hyundai plans to use NCM cells with a medium nickel content, which electrive reported are expected to cut battery costs by around 30%. Nickel-cobalt-manganese formulations with lower nickel loadings trade some energy density for cheaper input materials, a lever carmakers have pulled to defend margins on mass-market battery-electric models.

Manufacturing capacity is being scaled alongside the model count. Hyundai plans to add 1.27 million units of global production capacity by 2030, according to electrive.

Range-extender powertrains pair a battery-electric drivetrain with a combustion engine that acts only as a generator, never driving the wheels directly. The configuration lets a carmaker advertise long total range without the fast-charging dependency of a pure battery-electric vehicle, and Hyundai's stated figure of more than 600 miles is the number it is putting behind that pitch.

The electrified share target and the European battery-electric volume goal work on different denominators: the 60% mix figure spans electrified vehicles broadly, while the 420,000-unit number is specific to battery-electric cars in Europe. Both sit on the same 2030 horizon as the model programme and the capacity build-out.

Solaris has signed a contract to supply 20 electric buses to the public transport operator in the Czech city of Olomouc, according to electrive. Delivery is scheduled for 2028, and the contract carries an option to double the order.

The firm portion splits evenly between vehicle types: ten Urbino 12 electric solo buses and ten Urbino 18 electric articulated buses, electrive reported.

The manufacturer is not new to the operator. Solaris has delivered 96 buses to Olomouc to date, but the vehicles under this contract will be the first battery-electric Solaris buses to enter the transport company's fleet, according to electrive.