Great Western Railway is moving forward with its FastCharge battery trial, with “real world” testing beginning this Spring in West London.
GWR says that this technology, which is capable of charging trains at up to 2,000kW (8 times more powerful than a Tesla Supercharger for example), has been in development for three years and will solve the problem of delivering a reliable service with battery-only trains.
At West Ealing, the trains, which are former London Underground units, will undertake real-world trials and will charge for just 3 and a half minutes before restarting its journey on the Greenford Branch Line.
Using battery trains negates the need for overhead electric wires, which GWR says are expensive and impact the landscape.
GWR says it wants to pave the way for more battery-only trains to come into operation across the UK.
Unlike other charging systems, GWR's FastCharge technology, which was purchased by GWR from VivaRail when the company went into administration, can be installed between the running rails in a matter of hours, with little to no disruption to passengers.
FastCharge uses short charge rails that are fully covered by the train and only become ‘active' when the train is charging, which is another benefit over and above Third Rail systems, which are used in London and the south, as well as on the MerseyRail network, where the power rail is live all of the time.
GWR says it has already carried out simulations on the branch lines in the Thames Valley to explore how a wider roll out could happen in the future.
Test runs have been carried out on the test lines at Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre (RIC), but the Class 230 battery trains have now begun testing on the mainline between Long Marston, Evesham, Honeybourne and Moreton-in-Marsh before heading to GWR's Reading TrainCare Depot, before moving onto West Ealing.
GWR Engineering Director Dr Simon Green said: “This work has never been done before and we're leading the way to help the Department for Transport and Network Rail understand what is required to roll out this technology on the UK's rail network.
“Only now has there been a combination of battery capability and charging technology that enables a branch line train to operate to the same timetable as a diesel unit, and yet still charge safely and with minimal impact on the local grid power supply.
“Clearly our specialist engineering team have been working round-the-clock to ensure that this FastCharge system has been fully tested and that there will be sufficient charge for the train to operate to the timetable on the Greenford branch line.
“Each branch line will vary but this is an incredibly exciting innovation and I'm proud that GWR is at the forefront of the railway's commitment to phase out diesel-only traction by 2040.”
Network Rail Interim Regional Managing Director, Rob Cairns, said: “This trial marks an important milestone in sustainable travel in the UK. 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.”
Hopefully the trials will be successful,, they will prove of great benefit on more remote lines, in Scotland for example or Wales , that would be expensive to electrify but have relatively little traffic. The conversion and recycling of ex Metroplolitan line trains as well as the battery operation will be good for the environment
I am sceptical in view of incidents such as the electric bus that recently self-combusted in Wimbledon. Also, why is this branch still run by Great Western when all other trains serving West Ealing are TfL Elizabeth Line, while all other trains serving Greenford are LUL Central Line. This branch should be electrified on the LUL system (including dual electrification between Ealing Broadway and West Ealing) with some LUL services extended from Ealing Broadway to Greenford.
Prepare for “The wrong type of battery!” announcements!
Are these the same as the trains used on the Isle of Wight?
They are based on the same platform (ie LU D78 stock), and the refurbishment was likewise done by Vivarail, so essentially they will be the same, although there may be some differences in internal fitment.
… and of course the units on the IoW use third rail electrification and not batteries
GWR failed with Tri mode electric trains on the North Downs as the they had difficulty getting up Dorking embankment and kept breaking down.
Will it still be classed as Class 230. Or will it be classed in a different category (Class 6xx or Class 7xx). Have to say that GWR should also use them on other lines including:
Slough-Windsor & Eton Central
Maidenhead-Bourne End-Marlow
Twyford-Henley-on-Thames
Reading-Basingstoke
And to transfer the Class 165 & Class 166 Networkers to be used on other services including Reading-Gatwick Airport.
they have 5 of them, so would have the ability to use them on other lines, they have the single 3 car test unit and the 4 former LNWR diesel units(2 car) that from what i heard they intend to convert to battery, and yes theyll still be 230s, the 484s are only a different number because only really the body and interior is the same as the 230s, everything else is very different, these, are the same as the 230s on the welsh borders line, the former LNWR ones and all future ones intended to be built
As class 2xx denotes “diesel-electric” – meaning a diesel generator driving electric motors, not a bi-mode train that can use diesel OR electric power – these battery-electric trains wouldn’t be class 230, but should be numbered in the 600–699 or 750–799 range.
(eg the Stadler Flirt is class 755/756 for the bi- and tri-mode units, but 231 for the diesel-only version).
I don’t know how the well-heeled commuters of Windsor, Henley and Marlow would take to these old trains – I haven’t ridden one, but I’ve seen mixed reports on how pleasant they are to ride in! I would rather see GWR roll out battery-electric trains on the North Downs line, especially if they could use the 3rd rail while moving, because nearly half the route is already electrified, although I don’t think D-trains would be suitable for that route.
The Henley Branch uses a class 165 – hardly glamorous and not comfortable by any stretch. The branch is only 4 miles long with a 50mph limit – sounds perfect for this sort of experiment.
Given that these vehicles have in their past served Ealing Bdy (LT District) and the Greenford diesels used to run to Ealing Bdy (Western) (and fir a while, Paddington) what chance they could be made bi-mode with LT 3 or 4 rail mode running?
Could even run east on Greenford Central lines gauge-permitting?
Or put back the ‘Paddington fast’ lines at Greenford to run eastward as historically GW did?
Presumably a lot quieter than a diesel, so those living next to branch lines will benefit greatly.
I’m often sceptical of initiatives to “decarbonise the railway”, but if these fast, trackbed mounted, chargers are proven to work consistently, this looks like a winner for branchline services