Great Western Railway (GWR) has published a landmark white paper outlining the success of its fast-charge battery trial and how it could help to transform the UK’s railway. The year-long trial explored whether battery trains could provide a realistic and cost-effective alternative to diesel trains, as GWR prepares plans to renew its regional fleet, much of which is expected to go out of serviceable use in the next 7-10 years.
Test results on the Greenford branch line have demonstrated how discontinuous fast-charging could help to remove the reliance on more costly Overhead Line Equipment (OLE).
“We’re proud to share the findings of this trial through our white paper, which aims to build understanding and support across government, industry and regional stakeholders. At the heart of this is the need to renew our regional diesel fleets, many of which are approaching 40 years’ service and expected to need increasingly costly maintenance to keep them on the tracks in the coming years. One of the key motivations was to explore how discontinuous fast-charging can be used to support battery-electric trains calling at interim station stops. And we’ve been able to prove that the technology works.” - GWR Managing Director, Mark Hopwood
