230001 in Polmadie Depot for COP26

[D365]

Time to ditch the whole D-stock experiments IMO.

Does that mean we have to bring the 483s back?

 

[Skymonster]

Does that mean we have to bring the 483s back?

The 484s on the Island Line are still unproven when it comes to the rigours of anything like normal utilisation; needing only one in service each day drawn from a fleet of four (five) is hardly taxing, even more so given the total daily run is not much more than 250 miles. When the full two-train service is running with some four car sets out, then we’ll see whether the new units are fit for purpose. At the moment, the inability to run two trains is buying them time to iron out kinks, which they really should not have had.

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But seriously even if it was charged en route by Vivarail's mobile (lorry-based) charger…

Oh yes, that’d be a great “climate change” initiative - recharge a battery EMU with a diesel powered lorry!!

 

[pdeaves]

But seriously even if it was charged en route by Vivarail's mobile (lorry-based) charger, there would still be

... a parallel lorry movement required, so why not use the lorry to carry the train the long distance to avoid clogging up main line paths?

 

[D365]

Oh yes, that’d be a great “climate change” initiative - recharge a battery EMU with a diesel powered lorry!!

Pray tell how you’re supposed to demonstrate a BEMU without charging infrastructure on the ground?

 

[Nogoohwell]

WTF is going on here, it seems like a meeting of the flat earth brigade.

230 001 is designed to go on short journeys between charges. @Skymonster You seem to believe that the 230 should be able to travel like an intercity service, but its no its role. Its like buying a moped and then getting narky when 100 mile petrol tank runs out on a motorway.

Let me put this into perspective for you, I own a gen 1 electric car, does about 90 miles to a charge and after 8 years ownership, I'm still very happy with it. Once a month I need to go more than 90 miles and which point, I take a petrol car or find a charging station. I dont need to buy a new £30k car as what I have does the job I bought it for.

Stop being afraid of new technology, change is coming pretty quickly.

 

[Fincra5]

The 484s on the Island Line are still unproven when it comes to the rigours of anything like normal utilisation; needing only one in service each day drawn from a fleet of four (five) is hardly taxing, even more so given the total daily run is not much more than 250 miles. When the full two-train service is running with some four car sets out, then we’ll see whether the new units are fit for purpose. At the moment, the inability to run two trains is buying them time to iron out kinks, which they really should not have had.

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Oh yes, that’d be a great “climate change” initiative - recharge a battery EMU with a diesel powered lorry!!

Name me one New or Rebuilt train that has come into service without technical problems, in the last 20years... I'll wait.

 

[TheSel]

Name me one New or Rebuilt train that has come into service without technical problems, in the last 20years... I'll wait.

And yet STILL the Railways buy new stock and commits to remove the older stock by a given date because during the three course meal and associated shindig the salesperson says something like; "Oh, yes - these will be great. You'll have no problems at all".

If only every Project Manager had to sign up to failure standards. You know the sort of thing:

This project will be deemed a failure if:

it costs more than £££​

it takes longer than <date>​

the mean time between failures from day one exceeds xx%​

... but of course that won't happen.

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[43096]

Name me one New or Rebuilt train that has come into service without technical problems, in the last 20years... I'll wait.

It rather depends on what you mean by new. Just out of the factory or a new design - because a big part of the problem is the creation of bespoke designs for everyone who orders new trains.

As an example of how to do it, DSB in Denmark wanted to order new electric locomotives. Two bidders left in the competition, one had delivered less than 30 locos in the last 10 years, the other had delivered or had orders for over 700. Sensibly they went with the latter (Siemens) and bought Vectrons to a standard design, just customised for local signalling systems - guess what, the first locos were delivered and in service a month early. The benefits of long production runs of standard types is self evident.

 

[92002]

As others have pointed out, you have misunderstood. 230003 - 230005 are not stored, they are in active service running the Marston Vale line. Bad choice of words, original post now edited. And as others have pointed out, Polmadie to Bletchley is some 360 miles and 230001's six big batteries were never designed to go that far. You wouldn't get steam locos going that distance without stopping for water let alone a battery train without charging it so perhaps it's time to ditch the whole steam experiment Mr Stephenson IMO ROTFLMAO FFS

But seriously even if it was charged en route by Vivarail's mobile (lorry-based) charger, there would still be route clearance issues such as gauging to contend with and I expect that Vivarail consider it to be more cost effective to transport it over such a distance by road rather than loco hauling it by rail, such are the upsidedown economics of today's railway system.

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Oh and p.s. 230001 is still capable of moving further under its own power than HydroFlex, which needs a pantograph

Perhaps that's what 230001 is missing to make it saleable a pantograph with a fast charge for the batteries.

However there is a similar one in use in US and this one could just join it the way it is.

The 614 that didn't make Glasgow for COP is probably more of a solution. With green hydrogen that is going to be produced in Scotland. Although the Inspectorate currently don't allow hydrogen and passengers in the same place. So this sort of outlook will never make us less dependent on fossil fuels. Perhaps an update on the practice is needed. It has been in use on buses, so why not trains.