Electrifying Mainlines for Battery Train operation (using Class 897 as an example

[3RDGEN]

The range is 90 miles as reported in green signals etc. This is the range Alstom have committed to deliver and actual range is likely to start at longer than this. This will be the range based on line speeds on the non electrified sections of route.

For the services and duty cycles this is more than adequate given the availability of terminal charging.

In the October Modern Railways report the Alstom Managing Director UK - Rob Whyte is quoted "The trains can reliable achieve 80km (around 50 miles) on battery power between charges....".

So that's two Alstom reps, who are building the train, reported as quoting 45-50 miles and one TPE rep claiming 90 miles? Only eight years to wait to see who is correct.

 

[Nottingham59]

So that's two Alstom reps, who are building the train, reported as quoting 45-50 miles and one TPE rep claiming 90 miles? Only eight years to wait to see who is correct.

I don't see those are incompatible: the key words are up to and reliably.

From what is being said, I'd expect that these trains will be able to go 80-90 miles off the wires on a good day, and maybe 50-60 over hills in the middle of winter with a high hotel load heading into an Easterly gale blowing straight off the North Sea.

In eight years time of course, current developments in battery technology will have been incorporated into train design, and these range figures will look laughably unambitious.

 

[InTheEastMids]

I don't see those are incompatible: the key words are up to and reliably.

From what is being said, I'd expect that these trains will be able to go 80-90 miles off the wires on a good day, and maybe 50-60 over hills in the middle of winter with a high hotel load heading into an Easterly gale blowing straight off the North Sea.

In eight years time of course, current developments in battery technology will have been incorporated into train design, and these range figures will look laughably unambitious.

I pretty much agree. If 90 miles is the railway equivalent of the WLTP 100%-0% mileage, then 50 miles of usable range in all conditions across the lifecycle of the battery and with appropriate margin to avoid exhaustion.

It may have been here or elsewhere, but I am sure I saw a mention of NMC (nickel manganese cobalt) chemistry which suggests the day to day operations (probably in all climates) are designed to stay within the 20-80% SoC band. That's 60% of a battery and 60% of 90 miles is 54 miles, so with a bit of rounding up or down all looks about right to me.