The Anonymous Widower

Great Western Railway’s Battery Train Sets New Distance Record

The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Great Western Railway.

This is the sub-heading.

Great Western Railway’s innovative FastCharge battery trial has achieved another significant step – just days after laying claim to a battery train UK distance record without recharging.

These two paragraphs add more detail.

The train demonstrated its capability on Wednesday by travelling a UK record of 86 miles (138km) on battery power alone and without recharging.

Today the Class 230 battery train completed a 70-mile move from Long Marston to Reading Train Care Depot – using just 45 per cent of its battery capacity. GWR’s team of specialist engineers on board the train claim it could have travelled more than 120 miles on a single charge.

There is also this impressive video.

Note.

1. In the video, the train is cruising at 36 mph.
2. The top speed of the D78 Stock was 45 mph.
3. The train looks in excellent condition.

This is a total game-changer for battery-electric trains in the UK.

The train makers, who have demonstrated battery-electric trains; Alstom/Bombardier, CAF, Hitachi, Siemens and Stadler will have to up their distances on battery power to at least 86 miles and possibly 120 miles, as who would want their new product to be outdistanced by second-hand forty-year-old upcycled London Underground trains?

I have some further thoughts.

The Trains Performance In The Real World

Dr. Simon Green, who is GWR’s Engineering Director, said this.

It’s also worth noting that in reaching the 86 miles on Wednesday, the train was operating in a real-world environment, at speeds of up to 60mph, stopping and starting over a hilly route, with elevation changes of up to 200m.

The train exceeded the 84 miles (135km) recorded by a Stadler Class 777 under test conditions in 2022 – believed to have been the greatest distance travelled by a battery train designed for the UK.

Note that the train was running at up to 60 mph.

Timings For The Mid-Cornwall Metro

This map shows the Mid-Cornwall Metro.

I have been looking at the Mid-Cornwall Metro and this service will share the Cornish Main Line with faster services between Par and Truro.

• Expresses and the Mid-Cornwall Metro will both stop at Par, St. Austell and Truro.
• Par and Truro is a distance of 19 miles.
• Expresses between Penzance and Plymouth take around 22-23 minutes to go between Par and Truro.
• This is an average speed of around 50-52 mph.

It looks to me, that there is scope for the Mid-Cornwall Metro and the express trains to run at similar speeds between Par and Truro.

• If the Mid-Cornwall Metro used Class 230 trains running on batteries, these trains should be fast enough to keep out of the way of the expresses.
• Par station has an island platform, where the Mid-Cornwall Metro uses one side (Platform 3) and expresses use the other (Platform 2).

Perhaps, if the timetable was something like this, it would give the best services to passengers.

• All expresses would use Platform 2, if they were stopping at Par station. The current track layout allows this.
• For Westbound passengers the Mid-Cornwall Metro would stop in Platform 3 and the express would stop in Platform 2, so that passengers going to beyond Truro on the Cornish Main Line could to the express on the other platform.
• Between Par and Truro, the Mid-Cornwall Metro would run a couple of minutes behind the express.
• Passengers for the Falmouth Branch could swap trains at Par on wait for the Metro at St. Austell or Truro.
• For Eastbound passengers, between Par and Truro, the Mid-Cornwall Metro would run a couple of minutes behind the express.
• At Par, the Mid-Cornwall Metro would stop in Platform 3 and the express would stop in Platform 2.
• The express would wait at Par for the Mid-Cornwall Metro.
• Passengers for Plymouth and London Paddington would change trains at Par for the express on the other platform.
• Passengers for the Newquay Branch on the express would swap trains at Par or wait for the Metro at St. Austell or Truro.

I suspect there are other patterns, but something like this will combine express services with the Mid-Cornwall Metro.

Simon’s Vision

Simon Green also says this about his vision of how the trains and the related FastCharge technology could be used.

GWR’s FastCharge technology has been designed to solve the problem of delivering reliable, battery-only trains capable of fulfilling timetable services on branch lines, eliminating the use of diesel traction and helping to meet the Government and wider rail industry’s target to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The use of batteries for extended operation has typically been constrained by their range and meant widespread implementation has, until now, not been possible. It also negates the need for overhead electric lines which are expensive, time consuming to install and impact the landscape.

He’s judging the system as a whole, which is the only way to do it.

Where Could Class 230 Trains Be Used On The Great Western Railway?

These are a few ideas.

• Slough and Windsor & Eton Central – 2.8 miles – 3 cars – FastCharge at Slough
• Maidenhead and Marlow – 7.1 miles – 2 or possibly 3 cars – FastCharge at Maidenhead
• Twyford and Henley-on-Thames – 4.6 miles – 3 cars – FastCharge at Twyford
• Reading and Basingstoke – 15.4 miles – 3 cars – FastCharge at Basingstoke
• Weston-super-Mare and Severn Beach – 32.5 miles – 3 cars – FastCharge at Severn Beach
• Bristol Temple Meads to Avonmouth 8.9 miles – 2 cars – FastCharge at Avonmouth

Bourne End station, where there is a reverse may restrict the length of the service to Marlow.

February 18, 2024 - Posted by AnonW | Design, Transport/Travel | Battery-Electric Trains, Class 230 Train, Cornish Main Line, D78 Stock, Falmouth Docks Station, Great Western Railway, Mid-Cornwall Metro, Newquay Station, Par Station