Thoughts On CAF’s Battery-Electric Class 331 Trains
I first wrote about CAF’s battery-electric trains in Northern’s Battery Plans, where I describe how CAF and Northern are planning to convert a number of three-car Class 331 trains into four-car battery-electric trains.
- The fourth car would contain batteries.
- Batteries would also be added to the PTS (pantograph) car.
I suspect that the battery range could be arranged so that all Northern’s routes suitable for battery-electric operation could be handled.
These are my thoughts.
How Much Would The Conversion Cost?
I will first make rough estimate of what the extra car would cost.
Northern placed a £500 million order for the following trains.
- 31 x three-car Class 331 trains
- 12 x four-car Class 331 trains
- 25 x two-car Class 195 trains
- 33 x three-car Class 195 trains
This is a total of 290 trains.
So on a rough estimate, each car will cost around £1.72 million.
As batteries would also be added to the pantograph car, the cost of updating a three-car train to a four-car battery-electric train would probably be around two million.
Why Are CAF Proposing A Four-Car Train With Two Battery Cars?
When I first read about CAF’s and Northern’s plans, I wondered, why CAF were also putting batteries in the pantograph car, as surely, with their extensive experience with battery-powered trains, CAF could fit enough batteries into one battery-car for a reasonable range, as Bombardier did seven years ago.
Having done all the calculations around Wigan and Bolton in Bolton-Wigan £78m Rail Electrification Project Announced, I suspect that CAF and Northern want a trans-Pennine range, so they can compete with TransPennine Express.
Two cars with batteries is probably needed for that.
Could The Three-Car Trains Be Converted To Three-Car Battery-Electric Trains?
But there is a collateral benefit of putting batteries in the pantograph car.
I suspect that in a four-car Class 331 trains have a trans-Pennine range, which between Manchester Victoria and Leeds stations is 50.2 miles and between Carlisle and Newcastle stations is 61.5 miles. So let’s say that the four-car Class 331 train with two battery packs has a range of 70 miles.
So what would be the range of a three-car train with one battery pack.
One battery pack would only take a four-car train 35 miles, so a single battery pack would contain 140 car-miles of electricity.
If a single-battery were to be fitted to the pantograph car of a three-car train, 140 car-miles would give a range of 46.7 miles.
My conclusion about the Bolton and Wigan electrification in Bolton-Wigan £78m Rail Electrification Project Announced, was as follows.
This electrification of just 6.5 miles of double-track between Lostock junction and Wigan Wallgate station seems to be one of the smaller electrification projects.
But on closer examination, when linked to a fleet of battery-electric trains with a range of perhaps forty miles, the electrification enables battery-electric trains to run these services.
- Southport And Alderley Edge
- Southport And Stalybridge
- Kirkby And Manchester Victoria
With a charging station in Blackburn station, then the Wigan Wallgate And Blackburn service can be added.
All these four services could be run by three-car battery-electric Class 331 trains. And if the services are to be run by six-car trains, a pair can be coupled up.
What Would Be The Range Of A Four-Car Battery-Electric Train With Only One Battery?
If I’m right that a four-car battery-electric Class with two batteries has a range of seventy miles across the Pennines, then a train with one battery should be able to manage 35 miles.
Conclusion
It sounds like the Spanish might have come up with a cunning plan, that might be able to convert both three- and four-car Class 331 trains to battery-electric operation.
By adding a battery to the pantograph car, this enables a four-car battery-electric train with a trans-Pennine range.
Summing up the various options gives the following ranges.
- Three-car battery-electric train with one battery pack – 46.7 miles
- Four-car battery-electric train with one battery pack – 35 miles
- Four-car battery-electric train with two battery packs – 70 miles
I’m impressed.
Langthwaite Reservoir
This site is the second application for United Utilities of floatovoltaics, where solar panels are floated on a reservoir.
This page on the Seaflex web site gives details of the project. This paragraph describes the application of the solar panels.
The 1 MW plant features approximately 3,700 pontoon modules and 3,520 solar panels, and the power generated will be used to run the neighbouring Lancaster water treatment works, which supplies water to 152,000 people across Lancaster, Morecambe and Heysham.
There are links to other floatovoltaic projects on this page.
One project at Alto Rabagao in Portugal tested the design in extreme environmental conditions.
Seaflex appear to be a Swedish company started by an inventor of a rubber mooring system.
Innovation Funding Awarded
The title of this post, is the same as that of a short article in the August 2021 Edition of Modern Railways.
This is the first paragraph.
Developments in passenger information, cutting carbon emissions and electrification are amongst the 30 winners of the latest round of the Department for Transport/Innovate UK’s First Of A Kind (FOaK) competition.
I particularly liked the first innovation mentioned.
Furrer+Frey is proposing a movable overhead conductor rail system for freight terminals which allows electric locomotives to enter them while providing obstruction-free loading and unloading of freight. It says this will remove the current barrier of end-to-end rail freight electrification and end the reliance on diesel traction.
Some years ago, I sat next to a crane driver from the Port of Felixstowe at a football match. At half-time we talked for a few minutes about the problems of overhead wires in ports and freight terminals. As he said “Accidents do happen!”
Furrer+Frey’s idea might be just what is needed to help decarbonise ports and freight terminals.
There is a good description of the project in this article on Rail Business UK, which is entitled Movable Overhead Electrification Aims To Eliminate The Need For Diesel Shunting Locomotives.
This link shows a picture of a similar Furrer + Frey system in a workshop or train shed.
It appears to be based on proven technology and will be tested at a Tarmac depot in Dunbar.
Furrer+Frey also got a second funding award.
It has also won funding for its innovative composite Mast for Greener Electrification, which could reduce the mass of overhead line electrification masts, as well as the size of foundations, depth of piling and lifting capability of installation machinery.
That sounds like a classic application of Buckminster Fuller’s More With Less Syndrome.
I shall add other awards later.
Viritech Issues A Call To Action For Hydrogen In The United Kingdom
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Daily Research Reporting.
This is the first paragraph.
According to Viritech, adopting clean hydrogen innovation to power road, air, and marine transportation offers the UK a major potential to retake a global engineering pioneering role, create an economic premium, and secure a key environmental dividend. The firm makes the case in its Call to Action for accelerated public and private sector commitment to groundbreaking technology with the potential to restore the UK’s leadership role in the automotive industry while also making a strong dedication to decarbonizing the difficult-to-reduce heavy freight segments of the transportation mix.
I’ll go along with what Viritech says.
Three things caught my eye in the article.
The first is the picture of a car, which I assume is hydrogen-powered.
I also liked this paragraph, which gives a prediction about how batteries and hydrogen will play out their competition.
“Hydrogen is a critical component of the zero-emissions puzzle,” said Jay Nagley, a seasoned automotive pundit from Viritech. “Batteries cannot do everything, and there are many use cases, particularly in heavy freight applications like heavy cargo vehicles, where batteries solely are not the answer to replacing fossil fuels. A dual-track method combining hydrogen and batteries, on the other hand, offers a full range of possibilities for achieving this goal. While batteries will be the primary source of growth in the early 2020s, the hydrogen powertrains will become the primary source of growth in the late 2020s.”
I agree with Jay Nagley.
The last point is only a few words.
Structural graphene pressure vessels.
That sounds to be just the ticket to reduce the size of hydrogen tanks.
Conclusion
Viritech could be one to watch.
New Company Established To Help Transition Bus Fleets To Hydrogen
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on H2 View.
These first two paragraphs describe the company.
A new asset financed company has been launched to help design, deliver, and finance the seamless transition to a zero-emissions bus fleet with hydrogen included.
Launched by Wrightbus owner Jo Bamford today (August 9), FUZE will support the energy transition to cleaner variants by offering packages that enable the transition to hydrogen or electric fleets of buses.
If Jo Bamford gets this right, it could certainly smooth the transition to hydrogen and electric buses, where bus companies will be introducing new technology.
The words asset-based make me think, that buses, fuelling systems and chargers could all be hired on a bus-by-the-hour basis in much the same way train manufacturing companies like Hitachi and Stadler supply trains to the train operating companies.
The manufacturers are contracted to supply so many trains each day and if there are reliability or availability problems, then they must compensate the operators. That model would surely work with buses.
- I also suspect the model would allow flexibility, as to the choice of either an electric or hydrogen bus.
- I also think, that the model would be able to provide short-term deals for large events and Rail Replacement services.
- Buses no longer needed could also be returned, repainted and hired by another operator.
- FUZE could also have a standby fleet, so any bus operator wanting to try hydrogen buses for a month, could enter into a short-term deal.
I also think that this new generation of buses can open up innovative ideas for bus use. In Three Hydrogen Double Decker Buses Set For Dublin, I describe how Dublin will use just three hydrogen buses to create a fast commuter route.
Conclusion
I like it!
Short Term Hire Of Buses
I have a feeling that if say you wanted to hire a small fleet of buses for say a festival like Glastonbury, that hydrogen buses could be the better bet.
Suppose you wanted to run a fleet of five buses to and from the car park at the nearest rail station.
- Feeding the chargers for five buses will need a substantial electricity feed.
- Hydrogen buses can be refuelled from a mobile fuelling station.
- Hydrogen buses can probably run all day on one refuelling.
The ease of refuelling would appear to favour the hydrogen bus.
HS2 Utilising UK-First Pioneering 3D Concrete Printing On Project
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Technology Magazine.
3D-Printing of concrete has been around for some time and it has been used extensively on Crossrail.
But High Speed Two are printing the heavy components on site, to avoid the problems of transport.
Was This The Most Significant Statement On Freight Locomotives Last Week?
This press release from Freightliner, is entitled Freightliner Secures Government Funding For Dual-Fuel Project.
The dual-fuel project is important and will cut carbon emissions in the short term.
But it is only a quick fix, made possible by good technology.
It is also not zero-carbon.
This sixth paragraph from the press release is very significant.
This sustainable solution will support a programme to decarbonise freight operating companies’ diesel fleets in a cost-efficient manner that does not require significant short-term investment and facilitates operational learning in support of a longer-term fleet replacement programme, potentially using 100% hydrogen fuel.
I believe the paragraph indicates, that Freightliner and possibly the other companies involved in the building and operation of heavy freight locomotives have concluded, that the technology is now such, that a zero-carbon rail locomotive powered by 100 % hydrogen is now possible.
- Rolls-Royce and possibly other gas-turbine companies have the technology to build small gas-turbine powered generators that can produce several megawatts of reliable electrical zero-carbon power, when fuelled by hydrogen.
- We are seeing companies developing strategies for the safe supply of hydrogen in large industrial quantities.
- Hydrogen has been successfully deployed on buses, trains and other large vehicles.
- The technology has been proven that will allow dual-mode hydrogen-electric locomotives, that can use electrification, where it exists.
- Some big companies like Cummins, JCB and Shell are backing hydrogen.
There are thousands of large diesel-powered locomotives all over the world and locomotive builders that can successfully replace these with hydrogen-powered locomotives will not go financially unrewarded!
Freightliner Secures Government Funding For Dual-Fuel Project
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Freightliner.
This is the first two paragraphs.
Freightliner, a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W), in partnership with a consortium of specialist suppliers, has been successful in securing government funding to develop a dual-fuel solution for the Class 66 locomotive.
The technology is one of the 30 winners of the latest round of the First of a Kind (FOAK) competition announced today by the Transport Secretary. Already the safest and greenest mode of ground-freight transportation, the competition has been aimed at making the railways even cleaner, greener and more passenger friendly.
These are my thoughts.
A Big Opportunity
Freightliner have a total of 113 Class 66 locomotives, out of a UK total of well over 400.
If the project succeeds, this could cut a large amount of carbon emissions from UK rail freight.
Who Are The Partners?
The press release gives these project partners.
The key project partners are Freightliner, which operates over 113 Class-66s in the UK, and Clean Air Power, providers of innovative clean air solutions for freight. The project is also supported by Network Rail, Tarmac, Rail Safety Standards Board (RSSB), Flogas, Carrickarory and the University of Birmingham.
It is a comprehensive group of partners, which probably covers all aspects.
- From their web site, Clean Air Power would appear to have the expertise for the project, with back-up from the University of Birmingham, who seem to be involved in several high-profile rail projects.
- The early involvement of standards must be a good thing.
- Flogas are a gas company
- Carrickarory would appear to be consultants specialising in rail.
Getting the team right is important in having a successful project.
What Are The Objectives Of The Project?
The press release gives these project objectives.
The project will investigate the ability to substitute diesel with both hydrogen and biogas on the Class-66 locomotive which hauls over 80% of freight on the UK rail network and, in doing so, reduce carbon emissions on one of the industry’s most challenging two-stroke locomotives.
This will be achieved by retrofitting the Class 66 with Clean Air Power’s precision injection technology, creating a Class 66 that can run on a combination of diesel, biogas and hydrogen.
Sounds a good set of reduced carbon objectives!
Would The Technology Be Applicable To Other Operators And Locomotives?
The press release says this.
This sustainable solution will support a programme to decarbonise freight operating companies’ diesel fleets in a cost-efficient manner that does not require significant short-term investment and facilitates operational learning in support of a longer-term fleet replacement programme, potentially using 100% hydrogen fuel.
Does this mean that the eventual Class 66 replacement will be a locomotive, that runs exclusively on hydrogen?
I suspect it does!
How very sensible!
Conclusion
This could be a big step in the battle to decarbonise.
Ten Innovative Approaches To Tackling Climate Change From Our Carbon Revolution Series
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Dezeen.
It is a very definite must read!
Cargo Sous Terrain
This is a Swiss idea to move small parcels around the country.
This is the project’s web site.
There will be a network of tunnels under Switzerland serving all the major centres.
This article on LeNews is entitled Switzerland’s Underground Tunnel Project Gets Green Light From Upper House, describes the project.
This is the first paragraph.
On 1 June 2021, a project to build an underground freight tunnel network stretching from Geneva to St Gallen, gained almost unanimous support in the Council of States, Switzerland upper house.
These are a few points from the article.
- It appears to be privately funded.
- There will be a three-lane tunnel network across the country.
- It will use driverless electric vehicles.
- Speed will be 30 kph.
- It will run twenty-four hours per day.
- There will be a track in the roof of the tunnel for smaller parcels.
- There will be a total of 500 km of tunnels.
- Completion date is set for 2045.
- It will cost around £24 billion.
It’s as though all of Switzerland were to be turned into a giant Amazon or Ocado warehouse.
Will It Work?
I don’t see why not, although it would be an immense project!
This paragraph indicates they will start small.
The first 70 km section of the tunnel network, which will connect a hub in Härkingen-Niederbipp with Zurich, is scheduled for completion in 2031.
But even that will cost around £2.5 billion!
It certainly, is a bold idea, that has possibilities.
The Anonymous Widower 