Great Western Railway signs up for battery unit trial

VIVARAIL, the company reusing former London Underground ‘D’ stock vehicles, has agreed a deal with GWR to trial a new fast charging battery system in a ‘real world’ environment. As part of the experiment, a Class 230 battery powered train is expected to enter regular scheduled service on the Greenford branch in West London later this year, a first for a battery train on the national network since 1966 (see p8).

The 2.75-mile line is currently worked by Class 165 DMUs and GWR invited expressions of interest from suppliers able to provide a battery alternative last summer.

If installed as planned, this will be the first test of Vivarail’s FastCharge system in conjunction with a train, which is expected to have a range of 62 miles (around 22 single trips along the Greenford branch) in regular service. The system uses a length of track-level conductor rail (which is electronically activated by the train on arrival and deactivated before it departs) to connect a shore-based power supply to the train’s battery.

In a test environment a charge has been completed in 10 minutes. The charging equipment will be installed in the bay platform at West Ealing station. The tender document specified a 12-month trial period, with a possibility of a further extension of up to two years. Servicing and light maintenance would be carried out by GWR at West Ealing EMU sidings, with the supplier responsible for heavy maintenance.