Rapid-charging battery train trial launched
Great Western Railway is conducting a 12-month pilot of the technology on the two-and-a-half-mile Greenford branch line in west London.
From the article, looks like this thing can time travel too.
“This is a vital step towards our ambition to remove all diesel and new trains from the UK rail network by 2014."
I really hope they can get rid of all those new trains too . Rail travel just isn't the same without the dank smells
Makes me wonder if this is cheaper than refitting a train line with overhead wiring and if not possible, power rails.
Almost certainly not, expanding 2.5 miles of additional catenary or especially third rail really isn’t going to have that much of a cost compared to specialized rolling stock. It’s also worth noting that the longer the route the less practical it is just down to the scale of battery needed and time it wastes charging.
Well, trials are there for a reason. Battery-only-powered trains could be a good idea or a bad idea.
Remember the trial project for overhead wiring for trucks on the motorway? It ran for a couple of years, and the end result was that it wasn't feasible, despite some interesting benefits. But if it weren't for the trial, some people would still think it was feasible, while others would think it was unfeasible.
I'm leaning more on the unfeasible side with this train, but let's just see what happens.
The article covered that. This is designed to be cheaper apparently....
Thanks, glimpsed over that line too fast. So durability concerns are most likely the limiting factor, hence the trial run. If, say, the battery can't keep up wih continuously getting topped up and fails after a short time, it's impractical/expensive. But could be the other way around as well.
The most efficient and sustainable battery is none at all, in some cases this is not possible, but for trains the alternative is literally older than sliced bread.
These are much more then “former District Line trains” - they re-used the aluminium body shells and some of the internal structures (including a number of seat frames) since they were very much still in good condition, but the rest of the train is completely overhauled.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A rapid-charging battery train trial, which could help end diesel operations on branch lines, has been launched.
Great Western Railway (GWR) is conducting a 12-month pilot of the technology on the two-and-a-half-mile Greenford branch line in west London.
The system involves batteries fitted to a former London Underground District line train being topped up during four-minute turnarounds at West Ealing station.
GWR managing director Mark Hopwood said the technology will be a “vital” part of the industry’s efforts to phase out diesel-only trains by 2040.
Rail minister Huw Merriman said: “This trial proves the potential for battery technology to accelerate decarbonisation of our railways and deliver real environmental benefits through removal of harmful diesel emissions at pace.
GWR is operating its usual service on the Greenford line alongside the trial, but it hopes fare-paying passengers will be able to travel on the battery-powered train during the programme.
The original article contains 500 words, the summary contains 147 words. Saved 71%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!