Hybrid batteries will power East West Rail trains.
The multibillion-pound railway’s operator has stated that it intends to use hybrid batteries for trains and only partially electrify the line.
The Oxford to Milton Keynes section of the East-West Railway (EWR), which would eventually connect Oxford and Cambridge via Bicester, Milton Keynes, and Bedford, is scheduled to open the following year.
After weighing its choices for powering the trains, EWR said that its decision would reduce carbon emissions and the number of new overhead wires needed. Communities will have the opportunity to voice their opinions during a 10-week non-statutory consultation on the ideas, which will take place from November 14 to January 24.
“Pivotal moment” is how Mr. Hughes characterized the consultation, and he urged citizens to participate.
Oxfordshire has previously voiced concerns, such as worries that the project will lead to a housing sprawl.
Residents were “not being listened to” and “not receiving timely or accurate feedback” to their inquiries, according to a prior study from the National Audit Office.
The first train test on the East-West Rail route has been finished.
Successful completion of the first test train trip on the multibillion-pound East West Rail project has been achieved. The last sections of track were constructed earlier this year on the East-West Rail project’s first stage, which runs between Bicester and Bletchley. It is yet unclear which train operator will conduct passenger service on the route, but Chiltern Railways’ Rianna Stanwell expressed her “delight” that the company was involved in the testing.
Will diesel be replaced by new battery-powered trains, and are they safe?
Trains that run on batteries may soon arrive at a station close to you. Manufacturers are trying to replace the UK’s fleet of diesel engines with more ecologically friendly models as they near retirement.
Currently, trains are powered by diesel generators on board or by overhead electrified wires on routes without these wires. Numerous trains have the ability to run on both power sources and alternate between them. With an eye toward the entire rail network becoming diesel-free, the business is also preparing a train model that will not have any diesel generators and should be able to go up to 90 kilometers (56 miles) on unelectrified stretches of track.
Though only battery-powered trains are now in use in Germany and Japan, UK experts warn that they may present special fire safety risks. At its factory in Goole, Yorkshire, Siemens is also creating its battery-only trains.
Operators such as ScotRail, Great Western Railway (GWR), and Transport for Wales are expected to place orders for around 600 trains, according to the business. This year, GWR also tested its battery train. Currently, trains get their power from diesel generators on board or from overhead electrified wires on routes without them. Numerous trains can run on both power sources and alternate between them.
How do trains that run on batteries operate?
Hitachi’s new train uses 16 batteries, similar to those in electric vehicles (EVs), to replace one of these diesel generator units.
It claims that the trains can automatically transition between power sources and that the tri-mode version would mostly rely on its batteries in cities and stations.
According to Hitachi, these batteries may be recharged in ten to fifteen minutes when the train is parked or while it is moving on electrified rails. Present-day diesel-electric trains are built to use overhead lines on electrified tracks to generate power. They employ diesel generators that are stored beneath their carriages in other locations.
Why at this time?
Why is the UK only now developing battery-powered trains while the first one was put into service in Japan in 2016? Thanks to a combination of political shifts and technological advancements, there is now interest in the UK, according to Koji Agatsuma, technical chief of Hitachi Rail, who managed the company’s battery train project.
The tri-mode train was built by Hitachi since its batteries could not yet last long enough to cover all of the UK’s unelectrified track.
The cost of electrifying additional railway sections is high; according to Network Rail’s 2020 forecast, electrification would cost between £1 million and £2.50 million per kilometer of track.
Are there any threats to safety?
According to lithium battery experts, EV batteries have a minimum of 20 times lower fire risk than those found in gasoline or diesel vehicles when utilized in road vehicles. Additionally, the train includes a cooling unit on the roof to control the temperature of the batteries, and the company has created software to keep an eye on and manage the cells.
Nissan Leaf cells, which are utilized in Hitachi’s train, have been implicated in 16 fires in the 14 years that they have been used in road vehicles, according to EV Fire Safe, a website that collects data on battery fires worldwide. Over 500,000 cells have been sold globally, of which this is one.