Designing A Battery-Powered Mountain Goat
When I wrote Up To Ebbw Vale From Newport, this comment was posted.
I’m not surprised that the Class 150 train, had no difficulty in climbing up to Ebbw Vale Town. The max gradient is around 1 in 65. There are plenty of places in Britain where gradients are steeper and indeed part of the type test for all dmus was to climb the 2 mile, 1 in 37.7 Lickey Incline starting a couple of hundred metres before the beginning of the slope.
It certainly got me thinking.
Could a line like Newport and Ebbw Vale be decarbonised, by simply fitting batteries to an appropriately-sized electric train?
- The battery would be charged using the 25 KVAC overhead electrification in Newport station.
- The train would climb the hill to Ebbw Vale Town on battery power.
- Coming down the regenerative braking would charge the battery.
- Once in the platform at Newport station, the battery would be topped up, to the level needed to climb the hill, from the existing electrification.
The question is can the train carry enough juice in a battery?
I will work the example through with a three-car Class 331 train.
- I have chosen a Class 331 train, as CAF have a factory in Newport.
- The train weighs 30.48 tonnes.
- It has 213 seats.
- If I assume that each passenger is 80 Kg including baggage, bikes and buggies, that gives a mass of 17.04 tonnes or a total mass of 47.08 tonnes.
- The difference in altitude between Ebbw Vale Town and Newport is 764 feet.
Using Omni’s Potential Energy Calculator, that gives a value of 29.9 kWh.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the tracks from Newport to Pye Corner.
Note.
- Red tracks are electrified and black ones are not.
- Newport station is in the North-East corner of the map, with the South Wales Main Line running through.
- Pye Corner station is marked by the blue arrow and is the first station on the climb to Ebbw Vale.
- The unelectrified Ebbw Vale branch has a triangular junction with the electrified South Wales Main Line.
- The electrification continues for a short way towards Pye Corner and goes all the way to Newport and Cardiff.
- Trains take 24 minutes to turn round in Newport.
- Newport and Ebbw Vale Town is about twenty miles.
It can be safely said that trains will start their climb to Ebbw Vale with a full battery.
What Battery Size Will Be Needed?
I don’t think it will be that large and it will be the smallest battery, that could take a train up the hill.
As part of the climb is double track, the up track could be electrified to enable a smaller battery to be used, which would mean less power would be needed, due to the lower weight.
Conclusion
I believe that it will be possible to fit CAF’s Class 331 trains with a battery large enough to take a train up the hill to Ebbw Vale Town.
Ebbw Vale Town Station – 3rd February 2024
I took these pictures as Ebbw Vale Town station.
Note.
- There is a cableway to the main town.
- But t wasn’t working as it was Saturday.
- There is a large college.
- There was no information, as to how to get to the town.
- The Cardiff and Newport trains alternate every half hour.
The area certainly needed better information and perhaps a cafe, so that commuters can buy a coffee for their journey!
These are my thoughts.
The Capacity Of Ebbw Vale Town Station
According to this page on the Network Rail web site, the single platform at Ebbw Vale Town station is approximately 150 metres in length to fit up to six train carriages.
As at the current time, services are run by two- or three-car, it would appear that if a train failed in the station, the platform is long enough to accommodate another train to continue the services.
In the Wikipedia entry for Ebbw Vale Town station, it is indicated that a second platform could be built. There is certainly enough space.
Operation Of Ebbw Vale Town Station
I was at Ebbw Vale Town station for nearly two hours and I watched three Newport and two Cardiff trains arrive and leave every half-hour.
- I had arrived on the first train from Newport.
- The Cardiff trains were busy with passengers for the rugby.
- I took the third Newport train, so I could catch my train back to Reading.
- The system seemed to be working well.
Is there another single-platform station on a branch line, that serves two main line stations alternatively every half hour?
Increasing Capacity To Ebbw Vale Town Station
In Designing A Battery-Powered Mountain Goat, I stated that I believe that a small fleet of CAF’S Class 331 trains fitted with batteries could handle the Cardiff and Newport services to Ebbw Vale Town.
The sight and the curiosity of battery-electric trains climbing up the hills will certainly create more traffic on the route.
The simple solution is to lengthen the trains and that is easy at the moment, as the services are run using Class 150 trains with a Class 153 to add extra capacity, where needed.
But could a half-hourly service be run to both Cardiff and Newport?
This would double the capacity and make it more user friendly.
Nothing is said on the Internet about whether this is possible on not, but I believe that with modern digital signalling and battery-electric trains, with better performance than the elderly British Rail-era diesels, that it would be possible to run a half-hourly service to both Cardiff and Newport.
Conclusion
I believe that Network Rail have done a good job in designing this scheme.
Up To Ebbw Vale From Newport
I took these pictures as my train climbed the hill up to Ebbw Vale Town station.
Note.
- The Class 150 train, that I was in had no difficulty in climbing up to Ebbw Vale Town.
- The dtations and track appeared in good condition.
- The weather was getting wetter, which didn’t help the pictures.
It’s a typical South Wales valley packed with houses and factories and with a small river and a few chapels an rugby pitches through in.
My Train To Wales Today Divided At Swansea
According to the Wikipedia entry for Great Western Railway, seven of their hourly services to Swansea now continue to Carmarthen station.
- My train was such a train, although I got off at Newport station.
- The service was formed of two five-car Class 800 trains; 800026 and 800027.
- I would assume that at Swansea, the trains will have split and the rear train will reverse and continue to Carmarthen.
- The lead train would stay in Swansea.
- I have traced the Carmarthen train on Real Time Trains and it clearly shows that the train picked up another train at Swansea as it came back to London.
All the trains involved in the splitting and joining were Class 800 trains.
The splitting and joining at Swansea means the following.
- There is a ten-car train between London and Swansea, which will give maximum capacity to and from the rugby at Cardiff.
- There is a five-car train between Swansea and Carmarthen, which doesn’t need the capacity of a ten-car train.
This is probably a more efficient use of trains and it maximises capacity to and from Cardiff, in both directions.
Is this splitting and joining at Swansea, the first regular use of the technique in service with Class 800 trains?
This YouTube video shows the station displays at Reding, when a Swansea/Carmarthen pair go through.
The Most Crowded Train I’ve Been On For Sixty-Plus Years
I started going to Tottenham Hotspur matches by myself somewhere between the age of fourteen and sixteen.
- I used to take the 107 bus from where we lived in Oakwood to Enfield Town station and then get the electric trains to White Hart Lane.
- I don’t remember much about the trains, but they were slam door stock.
- I remember this as we used to fold the doors back before the train entered the station and jump out when the train got to running speed.
- Coming back into Enfield Town station, this was essential, otherwise you wouldn’t be to the front of the queue for the 107 bus.
- Those trains returning from White Hart Lane were incredibly packed.
And I haven’t been on a train as crowded until today.
Today, I planned a simple mission to go to Ebbw Vale Town station and back to see the working of the new service between Newport and Ebbw Vale Town station.
- As I often do, I used my Freedom Pass on the Elizabeth Line to get to Reading.
- At Reading station, I bought a Super Off-Peak Return from Reading to Ebbw Vale Town for £47.05 with my Senior Railcard.
- By comparison, a Super Off-Peak Return from Paddington to Ebbw Vale Town is £57.55 with a Railcard.
The first train today, on which I could use my cheap ticket was the 11:13 from Reading.
- I had hoped, that there would still be a few seats left at Reading, as there are always a few, who use Great Western Railway’s fast trains between Paddington and Reading.
- I also expected, that many going to the Wales and Scotland match in Cardiff would take later trains.
- Unfortunately, quite a few Scots and Welsh supporters got on at Reading.
- It was a wrong decision, as there wasn’t a spare seat anywhere.
So in the end, I stood all the way from Reading to Newport.
I would hope that next time, that Scotland play Wales in Cardiff, that Great Western Railway add some more capacity.
The Anonymous Widower 