Not unless they buy some of the unconverted trains as well before they are all scrapped
Other branch lines such as the Abbey line, and the Bromley North branch could also be doable.
The Abbey Line and Bromley North line really don't need battery trains as they're already electrified. Since GWR owns this maybe they might roll it out to the other Thames branches, like the Windsor, Marlow and Henley lines.
Buses!
I may be wrong but I thought these trickle charged from a pantograph at West Ealing
Or just run a longer unit...
or, with southeastern's new rolling stock procurement (if it actually happens) add a small number of 2 cars of whatever type they order
I cannot see any benefit to removing the existing electrification for either of these lines. There is no money to be saved by running with non electric trains and it would actually cost money to remove the electrification.
True. I would expect a number of the Thames valley branches would be ideal for the 2 or 3 car 230s (battery or even diesel) where a longer train cannot fit - is it Bourne End which is 2x20m only ?.
I expect the London TOCs will never order 2-car EMUs again. Almost all 2-car EMUs were to add to pairs of 4-car EMUS to make 10-car trains (the current standard for suburban platforms). The newer 10-car trains are now achieved with pairs of 5-car units - namely classes 458 (temporarily),
717 units consist of six coaches.
Ta, duly edited.
What about the Island Line? Transfer it to GWR and trail FastCharge with the five 484's which no doubt will be sat in Ryde St Johns depot rusting away since Vivarail collapsed which had lead to one operator to suspend usage.
They were looking to put the battery technology into refurbished 321s?
www.railadvent.co.uk
The turnrounds on the Abbey Line are quite short, it'd be difficult to maintain the charge without slackening the frequency, and the debate about whether or not it would be good to go to 1tph is for another thread. Unless the OLE is causing problems, removing it will be more expensive than leaving it in place.
Given Vivarail have gone bust and there aren't many more D-stock trains left to convert, I suspect the technology not the train is what's being trialled here. Prove the concept and you can integrate it into a standard 4-car EMU quite happily for the Henley and Windsor branches, with the Bourne End/Marlow branch being a little harder as it needs a 2-car to make the reversal.
Just fit the kit on to a tram-train or something similar. Stadler have a mini power-pack design that could probably do the job and their GTW 2/6 articulated railcar which uses it is 41 metres long, so would fit at Bourne End
Perfectly possible, although the Wails of the Well-to-do from Marlow when they have to take a tram (gasps!) may be a formidable obstacle to overcome.
The GTW 2/6 is proper train, so could spare them such indignity
Yes, that's exactly it, it's a trial of the fast charging equipment. The battery technology itself was proven while the unit was running around for COP26 but was reliant on being able to plug the train in overnight to recharge it, so the trial is aimed overcoming that hurdle. There are no plans at this moment in time to introduce 230s anywhere else on the GWR network, although the assets that GWR bought from Vivarail's administrators included a number of D78 vehicles, so you never know!
That looks like a very suitable option for a number of GWR branches, especially if the central power car is swappable for DMU/Battery/EMU configurations. Would need tweaking to fit in the UK loading gauge but nothing that hasn't been done before.
If fully charged overnight can the 230 reach Reading depot from West Ealing for regular unit swaps? It would be inefficient but possibly still better than local maintenance if the trial becomes production and spreads to other routes (unless they are given pantographs).
www.railway-technology.com
Thanks. I await someone to do the maths then start a speculative thread on which other lines this would work on….but they will need to know turnaround times!Class 230 D-Train
Class 230 D-Train is being developed by Vivarail through the conversion of retired London Underground D78 Stock. The new trains…
40miles/64km on full charge, 8 minutes on the fast charger to refill (so 5miles/min, oversimplifying). It's 30 miles or so from West Ealing to Reading, so yes they can rotate although it'll need to charge at Reading.
Of course, this is only a prototype. You can increase the range of the batteries as required.Thanks. I await someone to do the maths then start a speculative thread on which other lines this would work on….but they will need to know turnaround times!
I don't see why there'd be a problem with any other service - the big switch will presumably be magnet/induction based and use a specific setup so that it isn't live unless the right train is present. Even on 3rd rail areas it shouldn't present a massive problem as the central rail will be earthed until a batter unit comes to charge.
It's actually turning out to be potentially more than that - Bletchley to Bedford and return (about 35 miles) was using about 60% battery power if I remember correctly.
Optical sensors on the platform face reading markers on the bogies to check the train is lined up correctly, and a wifi handshake before the charging circuit switches on.
It's actually three rails in the 4ft, although each vehicle will only be in contact with two of them when charging. Two shoes on the train, one +ve, one -ve, with one mounted centrally and the other offset. Each driving motor has its own batteries and therefore its own charging shoes, but each DM vehicle faces the opposite way. So there are 3 rails: one centrally in the 4ft, then two more either side, with the 'offset' shoe on the train contacting with the left or right hand charging rail, depending on the orientation of the vehicle.
Sounds like something dirt will be an issue with?