Rannoch has a 33kV line running near it from Rannoch Substation (132kV there) / Rannoch Power Station (44MW Hydroelectric).
The engine rating is engine output.
Are the 777 a combination? I thought the first attempt at battery by Stadler was NMC but they later revised this to ABB LTO batteries? (after learning the hard way!)
A standard coach has a lot more scope to be made larger and still fit within the requirements of UK roads than a standard train does, short of lengthening the train and having a class 210 or class 755 style power pack taking up passenger accommodation. This makes it easier to fit large batteries to a coach than to a train.
While the route does have a very pedestrian linespeed in places, my gut feeling from riding the line was that the class 156s spend a fair chunk of time running well below the linespeed due to its limited ability to accelerate uphill, and so it wouldn't surprise me if a BEMU could get up to speed quicker.
Yes, I think you are right, not too familiar with them. LTO is only really needed where you have small battery packs for big motors, like 777s. If you have enough battery chains in parallel, then you don't need the high charge/discharge currents available with LTO.
LTO also is makes fireproofing some what easier (see @Nym 's comment above) and it also seems to have less degradation per cycle (either large or micro cycle e.g. a regenerative braking into a station and accelerate afterwards) than other technologies.
LTO as well according to this Freedom of Information request: Class 756 battery chemistry
There's plenty of renewable power available in Scotland, but a new grid supply to an area that doesn't have it wouldn't make economic sense at all, and any new major electricity infrastructure in remote parts of the Highlands may also be opposed by local communities on visual impact grounds.
As Vexed has stated, a grid connection is nearby to both Rannoch and Crainlarich for the TPWS equipment; a buried grid connection will be aesthetically less obtrusive than a decently sized renewable site to produce the required power output to trickle charge the battery banks.
Ok - I’ll put it differently. Any train heading north from Glasgow or Inverness needs to be able to reach its destination on the charge it starts with despite conditions meaning that power drain is higher than usual and still have enough to provide full “hotel power” for (say) 12 hours on top of that. When that’s been proved possible, then I’m ok with it.
Considering Scotrail have to run seven-car Sprinters to provide enough capacity in the summer, I don't think that will be an attractive option to put batteries above the floor.
How often does a train get stuck in a snowdrift on Rannoch Moor?
Twelve hours.
Of course you could with the suitable infrastructure, but is it the easiest and cheapest option?
I'd hope Northern would perhaps take a look at the 156s too, at least until the new units are ordered and delivered. Even if they were just to strengthen services, there's plenty of routes were I'm sure they could be utilised.
It's a matter of defining what is easy in the rail industry. Millions of passengers journeys are being thwarted right now whilst the unions and Government argue about who pushed a button on E-W.
Something else missed is lifespans. Electric road vehicles have roughly 5-10 years before battery degregation becomes too much and you have to buy a new one. Rail vehicles have to have a lifespan of at least 40 years.
The batteries are mounted on rafts which can be easily replaced.
Sure it will, but there is a solution on the market with no rural electrification and large battery units needed!
I don't think the unions would object to any new unit plans for the WHL, if I'm entirely honest.
Are you at all familiar with any of these sites? I'm not familiar with Crianlarich, but I have been to Rannoch a few times and there are quite a few hydro-electric power stations within easy reach. Google maps says that it's just over 10km from Rannoch railway station to Rannoch substation. Other than the "big" grid connections, everything else is on wooden (or composite) poles and they fit into the landscape quite well.
While replacing batteries is expensive (at the moment), you're completely overlooking the fact that diesel engines have lots of moving parts and they require frequent maintenance. Electric transmissions have far fewer moving parts.
A range-entending engine is intended to be on the vehicle, so it would be able to re-charge the batteries on the move. I don't see the point when battery technology is advancing at such a rate that it will be soon be possible for trains to complete a whole leg without re-charging halfway.
