UK: Great Western Railway recruited 250 volunteers to help assess the energy consumption of its Class 230 battery train when fully loaded.
The prototype battery trainset converted from former London Underground vehicles has now completed more than 900 return trips between West Ealing and Greenford since testing began in March 2024. This has enabled GWR to study the capabilities of the fast charging battery technology that it acquired after the demise of original developer Vivarail.
GWR hopes that the battery train will enter passenger service in the future.
‘We continue to work with the Department for Transport to gain valuable insight into the operation of a pure battery train’, said GWR Engineering Director Dr Simon Green on April 7. ’Over the past 12 months we have taken every opportunity to test both the fast-charge technology and the performance of the battery train, gathering insights to be fed into GWR’s decarbonisation plans as well as those of the wider rail industry.
‘The work has successfully raised the profile of fast-charge technology as part of the potential solution to decarbonisation of lines that are difficult or expensive to reach through traditional electrification.’
