'UK first' battery powered train slashes fuel costs by up to 50 per cent
'UK first' battery powered train slashes fuel costs by up to 50 per cent
Transpennine network trial confirms battery tech can reduce fuels costs by half and allow intercity trains to travel through stations in zero emission mode
Did the UK not electrify their rail network??
As of October 2023, 6,065 kilometres (3,769 mi) (38%) of the British rail network was electrified.
More than half is still old school
Thanks for the numbers! I knew it was bad, but I didn't know it was that bad...
Yeah, this is the real question
Most of the UK network is electrified with a third rail. Some is overhead, but significant parts are not electrified at all.
Bits of it are. Entirely depends where you are.
Cool, but come on, put some over head wires up!
I wonder if overhead wires make sense with the state of battery technology now? It must be cheaper to build battery-powered trains than install and maintain all that infra before you even factor in the cost of adjusting bridges and tunnels to accommodate the overhead wires.
Unlikely. Batteries are still incredibly expensive, also heavy and a consumable item (need to be regularly replaced). Overhead wires don't work for 1 train, but for all of them. They are also a mostly permanent installation with comparatively cheap maintenance (they are just steel+paint for the most part).
It's surely fine for a fringe route, where a train or two runs, and that would need electrification for a lot of track. So I'd assume there's a break even point somewhere.
What are you talking about?
Batteries have planety of drawbacks compared to overhead wires.
- Weight - Batteries way a LOT, meaning that locomotives need to be stronger, meaning they will be heavier, meaning that need stronger bridges and sturdier tracks.
- Lifetime - Batteries are consumed as they are used and recharged, they are also not as easy/cheap to replace as pantographs.
- Range - Batteries has limited range, normal electric trains have unlimited range.
- Charge time - Batteries need charging, normal electric trains does not.
Normal electric trains are technically the ideal transportation, you have unlimited range and don't need to carry the fuel.
If only there was some way of having all these benefits without having to haul heavy batteries around...
"By using this cutting edge technology, we anticipate to achieve significant efficiency gains from the process whereby we extract waste cash from our customers' wallets and convert it into useful revenue such as dividends and CEO bonuses."
Except that all the UK trainlines are being nationalized.
Yeh.... but its still run for profit by corrupt government officials. The current budget for hs2 (which iirc has still laid less than 30 miles of track) is more than the projected cost of the entire combined EU rail connection an revitalization scheme. (60 billion vs 40 billion last I checked)
slashes fuel costs by up to 50 per cent
And the cost of the battery will be recovered in... How many years?
Paywall..