USA: British company Vivarail has sent a second two-car battery multiple-unit produced from former London Underground vehicles to the USA, where shareholder Railroad Development Corp will use the unit to demonstrate its ‘pop-up metro’ concept for providing ‘lower cost, lower risk, faster start’ passenger services on under-utilised railways.
The Class 230 BEMU is to be delivered to the Rockhill Trolley Museum in Pennsylvania for testing and demonstrations, joining a unit which was delivered in April 2021.
‘There is a lot of excitement about the possibilities that our Pop-Up Metro proposition brings to the Americas’, said RDC Chairman Henry Posner III on April 26. ‘With two trains we are now positioned to act on multiple opportunities at the same time. This is critical in positioning Pop-Up Metro as an alternative for the industry at a time when both rail access and decarbonisation have become national priorities. It also helps that the trains are stylish and comfortable.’
Vivarail has produced diesel and electric multiple-units using the bodyshells and bogies of former London Underground District Line metro cars for UK operators Transport for Wales, South Western Railway and West Midlands Trains. It is working with Great Western Railway to trial a battery version and a fast charger in regular passenger service on the Greenford branch in west London later this year.
