Great Western Railway today published a landmark white paper outlining the success of its fast-charge battery trial and how it could help to transform the UK’s railway.
The year-long trial explored whether battery trains could provide a realistic and cost-effective alternative to diesel trains, as GWR prepares plans to renew its regional fleet, much of which is expected to go out of serviceable use in the next 7-10 years.
GWR Engineering Director Dr Simon Green, left, and Julian Fletcher, from GWR's Innovation Team
Test results on the Greenford branch line have demonstrated how discontinuous fast-charging could help to remove the reliance on more costly Overhead Line Equipment (OLE).
GWR Managing Director, Mark Hopwood, said:
“We’re proud to share the findings of this trial through our white paper, which aims to build understanding and support across government, industry and regional stakeholders.
“At the heart of this is the need to renew our regional diesel fleets, many of which are approaching 40 years’ service and expected to need increasingly costly maintenance to keep them on the tracks in the coming years.
“One of the key motivations was to explore how discontinuous fast-charging can be used to support battery-electric trains calling at interim station stops. And we’ve been able to prove that the technology works.”
Network Rail’s Western route director, Marcus Jones, said:
"We’d like to congratulate GWR on the success of this trial, which marks an important milestone in sustainable travel in the UK and highlights the opportunities that innovative technology can bring to our railway.
“Rail is already the greenest form of public transport and battery-powered trains have the potential to play an important role in our commitment to a low-emission railway, with a goal of reaching net-zero by 2050.”
Using a converted London Underground train on the 2½ mile line between West Ealing and Greenford, GWR’s Innovation team assessed the performance of its fast-charge technology and developed planning tools to calculate where to place charging points.
This has given it confidence that fast-charge battery trains could help to deliver services across branch lines in the Thames Valley, and in Devon and Cornwall. Crucially, the results could also be applied to similar routes across Britain.
The trial also demonstrated favourable results in terms of the environment, with the battery train showing an 80% reduction in carbon emissions compared to its diesel equivalent.