GWR signs deal for Vivarail battery unit trial

The Greenford branch in West London will see the first test of a new fast charging battery system in a ‘real world’ operational setting.

A BATTERY-powered Vivarail Class 230 unit is expected to enter regular scheduled service on the national rail network for the first time later this year, after a deal was signed for a trial with Great Western Railway.

No. 230001, which operated demonstration runs during last autumn’s COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (including a well-publicised trip across the Forth Bridge) is expected to enter public service on the West Ealing-Greenford branch in West London following on-site testing, which is due to commence this spring.

Last summer, GWR invited expressions of interest from suppliers willing to participate in a trial to prove the capability of a battery unit, supported by a fast charging system, on the 2.75 mile line, currently worked by Class 165 diesel multiple units.

Fast charging

It will be the first test of Vivarail’s Fast Charge system and the train, which has a range of up to 62 miles on battery power, in a ‘real world’ operational setting.

Fast Charge uses a length of track-level conductor rail (which is electronically activated by the train following arrival and deactivated as it prepares to depart) to pass energy to the batteries. Tests carried out off the rail network have shown this can be completed in 10 minutes.

The Fast Charge equipment will be installed in the bay platform used by Greenford services at West Ealing station.

£2.15 million of funding for the trial has come from the Department for Transport’s Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline, and the development of Fast Charge technology has received financial support from Innovate UK.

“I believe it will mark a step-change in showing the innovation within our industry. The support from

GWR, Network Rail and the

DfT to get this underway has been phenomenal,” said Vivarail managing director Steve McBride.

Trial period

The tender document saw a 12-month trial period with a possibility of a further extension of up to two years, with servicing and light maintenance being carried out by GWR at West Ealing EMU sidings and the supplier being responsible for heavy maintenance.

PHIL MARSH MARSTON VALE CELEBRATION: Vinyls were unveiled on Vivarail DMU No. 230005 at Bletchley on February 21, to mark the 175th anniversary of the Marston Vale Line between there and Bedford. The line was opened by the London and Birmingham Railway in 1846 – meaning the anniversary was last year, but celebrations were delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, which saw many services on the line cancelled or replaced by buses.