The Anonymous Widower

Hitachi Targets Next Year For Testing Of Tri-Mode IET

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Magazine.

This is the first two paragraphs.

Testing of a five-car Hitachi Class 802/0 tri-mode unit will begin in 2022, and the train could be in traffic the following year.

It is expected that the train will save more than 20% of fuel on Great Western Railway’s London Paddington-Penzance route.

This is the Hitachi infographic, which gives the train’s specification.

I have a few thoughts and questions.

Will The Batteries Be Charged At Penzance?

Consider.

• It is probably not a good test of customer reaction to the Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, if it doesn’t work on batteries in stations through Cornwall.
• Every one of the eight stops in Cornwall will need an amount of battery power.
• London trains seem to take at least half-an-hour to turn round at Penzance.
• London trains seem to take around 7-13 minutes for the stop at Plymouth.

So I think, that batteries will probably need to be charged at Penzance and possibly Plymouth, to achieve the required battery running,

There is already sufficient time in the timetable.

A charging facility in Penzance station would be a good test of Hitachi’s method to charge the trains.

Will Hyperdrive Innovation’s Battery Pack Be A Simulated Diesel Engine?

At the age of sixteen, for a vacation job, I worked in the Electronics Laboratory at Enfield Rolling Mills.

It was the early sixties and one of their tasks was at the time replacing electronic valve-based automation systems with new transistor-based systems.

The new equipment had to be compatible to that which it replaced, but as some were installed in dozens of places around the works, they had to be able to be plug-compatible, so that they could be quickly changed. Occasionally, the new ones suffered infant-mortality and the old equipment could just be plugged back in, if there wasn’t a spare of the new equipment.

So will Hyperdrive Innovation’s battery-packs have the same characteristics as the diesel engines that they replace?

• Same instantaneous and continuous power output.
• Both would fit the same mountings under the train.
• Same control and electrical power connections.
• Compatibility with the trains control computer.

I think they will as it will give several advantages.

• The changeover between diesel engine and battery pack could be designed as a simple overnight operation.
• Operators can mix-and-match the number of diesel engines and battery-packs to a given route.
• As the lithium-ion cells making up the battery pack improve, battery capacity and performance can be increased.
• If the computer, is well-programmed, it could reduce diesel usage and carbon-emissions.
• Driver conversion from a standard train to one equipped with batteries, would surely be simplified.

As with the diesel engines, all battery packs could be substantially the same across all of Hitachi’s Class 80x trains.

How Many Trains Can Eventually Be Converted?

Great Western Railway have twenty-two Class 802/0 trains.

• They are five-cars.
• They have three diesel engines in cars 2, 3 and 4.
• They have a capacity of 326 passengers.
• They have an operating speed of 125 mph on electrification.
• They will have an operating speed of 140 mph on electrification with in-cab ERTMS digital signalling.
• They have an operating speed of 110 mph on diesel.
• They can swap between electric and diesel mode at line speed.

Great Western Railway also have these trains that are similar.

• 14 – nine-car Class 802/1 trains
• 36 – five-car Class 800/0 trains
• 21 – nine-car Class 800/3 trains

Note.

1. The nine-car trains have five diesel engines in cars 2,3, 5, 7 and 8
2. All diesel engines are similar, but those in Class 802 trains are more powerful, than those in Class 800 trains.

This is a total of 93 trains with 349 diesel engines.

In addition, there are these similar trains in service or on order with other operators.

• LNER – 13 – nine-car Class 800/1 trains
• LNER – 10 – five-car Class 800/2 trains
• LNER – 12 – five-car Class 801/1 trains
• LNER – 30 – nine-car Class 801/2 trains
• TransPennine Express – 19 – five-car Class 802/2 trains
• Hull Trains – 5 – five-car Class 802/3 trains
• East Coast Trains – 5 – five-car Class 803 trains
• Avanti West Coast – 13 – five-car Class 805 trains
• Avanti West Coast – 10 – seven-car Class 807 trains
• East Midland Railway – 33 – five-car Class 810 trains

Note.

1. Class 801 trains have one diesel engine for emergency power.
2. Class 803 trains have no diesel engines, but they do have a battery for emergency power.
3. Class 805 trains have an unspecified number of diesel engines. I will assume three.
4. Class 807 trains have no batteries or diesel engines.
5. Class 810 trains have four diesel engines.

This is a total  of 150 trains with 395 diesel engines.

The Rail Magazine finishes with this paragraph.

Hitachi believes that projected improvements in battery technology, particularly in power output and charge, could enable diesel engines to be incrementally replaced on long-distance trains.

Could this mean that most diesel engines on these Hitachi trains are replaced by batteries?

Five-Car Class 800 And Class 802 Trains

These trains are mainly regularly used to serve destinations like Bedwyn, Cheltenham, Chester, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Hull, Lincoln, Oxford and Shrewsbury, which are perhaps up to fifty miles beyond the main line electrification.

• They have three diesel engines, which are used when there is no electrification.
• I can see many other destinations, being added to those reached by the Hitachi trains, that will need similar trains.

I suspect a lot of these destinations can be served by five-car Class 800 and Class 802 trains, where a number of the diesel engines are replaced by batteries.

Each operator would add a number of batteries suitable for their routes.

There are around 150 five-car bi-mode Hitachi trains in various fleets in the UK.

LNER’s Nine-Car Class 800 Trains

These are mainly used on routes between London and the North of Scotland.

In LNER Seeks 10 More Bi-Modes, I suggested that to run a zero-carbon service to Inverness and Aberdeen, LNER might acquire rakes of carriages hauled by zero-carbon hydrogen electric locomotives.

• Hydrogen power would only be used North of the current electrification.
• Scotland is looking to have plenty of hydrogen in a couple of years.
• No electrification would be needed to be erected in the Highlands.
• InterCity 225 trains have shown for forty years, that locomotive-hauled trains can handle Scottish services.
• I also felt that the trains could be based on a classic-compatible design for High Speed Two.

This order could be ideal for Talgo to build in their new factory at Longannet in Fife.

LNER’s nine-car Class 800 trains could be converted to all-electric Class 801 trains and/or moved to another operator.

There is also the possibility to fit these trains with a number of battery packs to replace some of their five engines.

If the planned twenty percent fuel savings can be obtained, that would be a major improvement on these long routes.

LNER’s Class 801 Trains

These trains are are all-electric, but they do have a diesel engine for emergencies.

Will this be replaced by a battery pack to do the same job?

• Battery packs are probably cheaper to service.
• Battery packs don’t need diesel fuel.
• Battery packs can handle regenerative braking and may save electricity.

The installation surely wouldn’t need too much test running, as a lot of testing will have been done in Class 800 and Class 802 trains.

East Coast Trains’ Class 803 Trains

These trains have a slightly different powertrain to the Class 801 trains. Wikipedia says this about the powertrain.

Unlike the Class 801, another non-bi-mode AT300 variant which despite being designed only for electrified routes carries a diesel engine per unit for emergency use, the new units will not be fitted with any, and so would not be able to propel themselves in the event of a power failure. They will however be fitted with batteries to enable the train’s on-board services to be maintained, in case the primary electrical supplies would face a failure.

The trains are in the process of being built, so I suspect batteries can be easily fitted.

Could it be, that all five-car trains are identical body-shells, already wired to be able to fit any possible form of power? Hitachi have been talking about fitting batteries to their trains since at least April 2019, when I wrote, Hitachi Plans To Run ScotRail Class 385 EMUs Beyond The Wires.

• I suspect that Hitachi will use a similar Hyperdrive Innovation design of battery in these trains, as they are proposing for the Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train.
• If all trains fitted with diesel engines, use similar MTU units, would it not be sensible to only use one design of battery pack?
• I suspect, that as the battery on a Class 803 train, will be mainly for emergency use, I wouldn’t be surprised to see that these trains could be the first to run in the UK, with a battery.
• The trains would also be simpler, as they are only battery-electric and not tri-mode. This would make the software easier to develop and test.

If all trains used the same battery pack design, then all features of the pack, would be available to all trains to which it was fitted.

Avanti West Coast’s Class 805 Trains

In Hitachi Trains For Avanti, which was based on an article with the same time in the January 2020 Edition of Modern Railways, I gave this quote from the magazine article.

Hitachi told Modern Railways it was unable to confirm the rating of the diesel engines on the bi-modes, but said these would be replaceable by batteries in future if specified.

Note.

1. Hitachi use diesel engines with different ratings in Class 800 and Class 802 trains, so can probably choose something suitable.
2. The Class 805 trains are scheduled to be in service by 2022.
3. As they are five-cars like some Class 800 and Class 802 trains will they have the same basic structure and a powertrain with three diesel engines in cars 2, 3 and 4?

I think shares a basic structure and powertrain will be very likely, as there isn’t enough time to develop a new train.

I can see that as Hitachi and Great Western Railway learn more about the performance of the battery-equipped Class 802 trains on the London and Penzance route, that batteries could be added to Avanti West Coast’s Class 805 trains. After all London Euston and North Wales and London Paddington and Cornwall are routes with similar characteristics.

• Both routes have a high speed electrified section out of London.
• They have a long section without electrification.
• Operating speeds on diesel are both less than 100 mph, with sections where they could be as low as 75 mph.
• The Cornish route has fifteen stops and the Welsh route has seven, so using batteries in stations will be a welcome innovation for passengers and those living near the railway.

As the order for the Avanti West Coast trains was placed, whilst Hitachi were probably designing their battery electric upgrade to the Class 800 and Class 802 trains, I can see batteries in the Class 805 trains becoming an early reality.

In Hitachi Trains For Avanti, I also said this.

Does the improvement in powertrain efficiency with smaller engines running the train at slower speeds help to explain this statement from the Modern Railways article?

Significant emissions reduction are promised from the elimination of diesel operation on electrified sections as currently seen with the Voyagers, with an expected reduction in CO2 emissions across the franchise of around two-thirds.

That is a large reduction, which is why I feel, that efficiency and batteries must play a part.

Note.

1. The extract says that they are expected savings not an objective for some years in the future.
2. I have not done any calculations on how it might be achieved, as I have no data on things like engine size and expected battery capacity.
3. Hitachi are aiming for 20 % fuel and carbon savings on London Paddington and Cornwall services.
4. Avanti West Coast will probably only be running Class 805 trains to Chester, Shrewsbury and North Wales.
5. The maximum speed on any of the routes without electrification is only 90 mph. Will less powerful engines be used to cut carbon emissions?

As Chester is 21 miles, Gobowen is 46 miles, Shrewsbury is 29.6 miles and Wrexham General is 33 miles from electrification, could these trains have been designed with two diesel engines and a battery pack, so that they can reach their destinations using a lot less diesel.

I may be wrong, but it looks to me, that to achieve the expected reduction in CO2 emissions, the trains will need some radical improvements over those currently in service.

Avanti West Coast’s Class 807 Trains

In the January 2020 Edition of Modern Railways, is an article, which is entitled Hitachi Trains For Avanti.

This is said about the ten all-electric Class 807 trains for Birmingham, Blackpool and Liverpool services.

The electric trains will be fully reliant on the overhead wire, with no diesel auxiliary engines or batteries.

It may go against Hitachi’s original design philosophy, but not carrying excess weight around, must improve train performance, because of better acceleration.

I believe that these trains have been designed to be able to go between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street stations in under two hours.

I show how in Will Avanti West Coast’s New Trains Be Able To Achieve London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street In Two Hours?

Consider.

• Current London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street timings are two hours and thirteen or fourteen minutes.
• I believe that the Class 807 trains could perhaps be five minutes under two hours, with a frequency of two trains per hour (tph)
• I have calculated in the linked post, that only nine trains would be needed.
• The service could have dedicated platforms at London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street.
• For comparison, High Speed Two is promising one hour and thirty-four minutes.

This service would be a Marketing Manager’s dream.

I can certainly see why they won’t need any diesel engines or battery packs.

East Midland Railway’s Class 810 Trains

The Class 810 trains are described like this in their Wikipedia entry.

The Class 810 is an evolution of the Class 802s with a revised nose profile and facelifted end headlight clusters, giving the units a slightly different appearance. Additionally, there will be four diesel engines per five-carriage train (versus three on the 800s and 802s), and the carriages will be 2 metres (6.6 ft) shorter.

In addition, the following information has been published about the trains.

• The trains are expected to be capable of 125 mph on diesel.
• Is this speed, the reason for the fourth engine?
• It is planned that the trains will enter service in 2023.

I also suspect, that like the Class 800, Class 802 and Class 805 trains, that diesel engines will be able to be replaced with battery packs.

Significant Dates And A Possible Updating Route For Hitachi Class 80x Trains

I can put together a timeline of when trains are operational.

• 2021 – Class 803 trains enter service.
• 2022 – Testing of prototype Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train
• 2022 – Class 805 trains enter service.
• 2022 – Class 807 trains enter service.
• 2023 – First production Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train enters service.
• 2023 – Class 810 trains enter service.

Note.

1. It would appear to me, that Hitachi are just turning out trains in a well-ordered stream from Newton Aycliffe.
2. As testing of the prototype Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train proceeds, Hitachi and the operators will learn how, if batteries can replace some or even all of the diesel engines, the trains will have an improved performance.
3. From about 2023, Hitachi will be able to design tri-mode trains to fit a customer’s requirements.
4. Could the powertrain specification of the Class 810 trains change, in view of what is shown by the testing of the prototype Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train?
5. In parallel, Hyperdrive Innovation will be building the battery packs needed for the conversion.

Batteries could be fitted to the trains in three ways,

• They could be incorporated into new trains on the production line.
• Batteries could be fitted in the depots, during a major service.
• Trains could be returned to Newton Aycliffe for battery fitment.

Over a period of years as many trains as needed could be fitted with batteries.

Conclusion

I believe there is a plan in there somewhere, which will convert many of Hitachi’s fleets of trains into tri-mode trains with increased performance, greater efficiency and less pollution and carbon emissions.

January 8, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Class 800 Train, Class 802 Train, Class 805 Train, Class 807 Train, Class 810 Train, Diesel/Electric/Battery Hybrid Trains, Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, Hyperdrive Innovation | 3 Comments