- UK train operator Great Western Railway (GWR) has finished a year-long trial covering the viability of fast-charging battery trains, with the results showing that such a setup is possible.
- The trial comes at an important moment for the UK’s rail industry, as the fleets of GWR and other operators, which contain a significant proportion of ageing diesel units, are coming to the end of their serviceable lives.
- Replacing these units with fast-charging battery trains in areas where overhead electric lines are unavailable could help operators make rail travel even greener.
Could fast-charging battery trains play a key role in the UK rail industry?
Many of the trains on the UK’s rail network (including some of GWR’s) already run on overhead electric lines, helping to make train travel greener. However, the initial costs for such installations is high, and for lines with less passenger traffic, this cost is harder to justify. And, with so many different rail lines across the country, GWR notes that it could be ‘decades’ before full electrification is achieved across the country. This is where GWR is hoping that fast-charging battery trains could play a key role in more rapidly electrifying trains not just within GWR’s cohort, but on a wider UK scale.
Under the year-long trial, GWR trialled a converted London Underground train, running along a five-mile return trip between West Ealing and Greenford in West London. Alongside the on-board battery pack helping to power the train along, fast-charging rails are placed within existing rails, in this case at stations, allowing recharging to take place whilst the train is stationary. GWR also notes that installation of these charging rails requires little to no downtime.
The results from the trial are positive, showing that the batteries work, and that the charging infrastructure required for such trains is cheaper than overhead electrification. It also found that the battery train showed an 80% reduction in carbon emissions during operation compared to an equivalent diesel train on the same route.
With the trial now complete, GWR has also published a detailed white paper outlining the results of the scheme, and apart from a couple of minor teething issues, the firm still concludes that such trains have a ‘clear future’ on the UK rail network, even if a wider rollout could take some time.
GWR Managing Director, Mark Hopwood, commented:
“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, added:
“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.”
