Stadler tri-mode ‘93s’
Rail Operations (UK) Ltd orders ten locomotives to be powered by either AC electric, diesel or battery power.
TEN tri-mode locomotives are being ordered by Rail Operations (UK) Limited.
Built by Stadler in Valencia, the first Class 93 will arrive in August 2020. They will be leased from Beacon Rail and will be powered by either AC electric, diesel or battery power.
ROL owns Rail Operations Group, as well as three other companies under its umbrella. It plans to use the ‘93s’ to expand its operations, including the resurrection of a Rail Express Systems-style operation.
Chief Executive Officer Karl Watts, in an exclusive interview with RAIL on December 4, said: “We have gone for the Class 93 as it is the Class 68/‘88’ UKLIGHT platform.
“We needed that platform and the approvals that go with it. That is still two years from the order placed to the locomotive entering traffic in revenue-earning service. If we hadn’t got that, it would be four years.”
Watts said he had looked at the EuroDUAL locomotive offered by Stadler, but this did not fit the UK loading gauge. However, the Swiss manufacturer offered a solution involving an updated diesel alternator set plus Lithium Titanate Oxide (LTO).
He explained: “We had to be careful not to go too big. It’s an ‘88’ design with the biggest engine we could fit. It needs a bigger cooling system as a result. The LTO batteries are there to support the alternator set. The hybrid offers 1,800hp usable power compared with the 1,300hp from a ‘37’, so it is roughly comparable to a ‘47’ on diesel.”
He said the ‘93s’ will weigh 87 tonnes and be capable of regenerative braking. The batteries recharge through braking, while the traction motors will also recharge the batteries. When the pantograph is in use, the alternator will be charging the batteries.
Watts said that each battery is slightly bigger than a large suitcase, and that the ‘93s’ will be fitted with two of them. LTO batteries were chosen because they offer a rapid recharge and can maintain line speed while climbing a gradient, and will recharge when running downhill.
On performance, Watts told RAIL: “With a light load they can do 110mph in hybrid, but on
electric they will be 5,438hp.”
Watts said the initial plan is for ten to be leased purely for his company, with an option for a further ten. From January, he plans to start marketing them as soon as possible. He hasn’t ruled out the first ten ‘93s’ being leased to another operator as soon as they arrive in the UK.
“The first will arrive in 2020. I am hoping that 93001 Mercury will arrive in August 2020 for testing and approvals. Maintenance will not necessarily be Stadler. In the current plan they will be based at Arlington Fleet Services in Eastleigh, but that could change.”
As for their use, Watts said: “They can operate express freight. In Europe there are vehicles capable of 100mph running, and these are perfect for high-speed domestic freight. We have been running intermodals at 75mph since the 1960s - it’s time to change that.
“They can be used for network recovery as a more comprehensive Thunderbird. Currently, stand-by locomotives are hired or used by an operator to rescue its own trains, but these would be available for anything or anyone. I have spoken to Network Rail about this and they need convincing. But as the network gets busier, so it will be that one failure causes chaos.”
Asked if this constitued a risk for a business that was only established in 2014, Watts replied: “Business is a risk. The rail industry is not as innovative as people give us credit for. We have been described as disruptors, and we like that because we are. These will develop other markets, and that will help us with customers.
“I can say that the ‘93s’ feature in two franchise bids, although I cannot say which due to nondisclosure agreements.
“I don’t think I will be ordering only ten or 20 - there will be more. I have registered 93001 to 93050. The word hybrid opens the door.” @Clinnick1
An EXCLUSIVE interview with Rail Operations (UK) Ltd’s Karl Watts will appear in a future issue of RAIL.