The article has nothing to do with pollution.

The reference to Dieselgate might be because a geofencing condition was found in the code running the trains that caused certain misbehaviour when they were at the manufacturer’s competitor’s maintenance depots.

TFA is talking about train software that deliberately renders it nonfunctional when it detects it is being serviced by a third party. This isn't about environmental concerns.

But there’s an end game to batteries given they have a decade+ useful life, and most can be recycled and reused. You belch out the diesel and your only option is to belch out more.

It is clear you haven't even clicked on the article.

Shame on you. This deserves a ban from HN. Just reading the headlines and contributing to a discussion about that article as if you actually read it is deceptive and wrong. It's killing our ability to meaningfully discuss content when people just read the headlines. If you don't want to read articles and instead post about what you think the articles must be based on headlines, go elsewhere on the internet.