East West Rail Company has announced a 10-week public consultation on its hybrid battery-electric railway plans, aiming to connect Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge with a sustainable transit solution. East West Rail Company (EWR …
Continue readingCategory: Electrification
The Shenfield Electrification Scheme: Background
A perennial and fairly meaningless question that is often asked is ‘what are the origins of Crossrail?’ It inevitably depends on how far you want to go back in time but one contender could be …
Continue readingHitachi Rail to create the next generation train battery technology (RailBusiness)
A public-private partnership is developing the next-generation in battery train technology. Led by Hitachi Rail, the collaboration is creating a new battery pack that is lighter and smaller so it can be installed on commuter and …
Continue readingUnderfloor battery power trialled on TPE Class 802 (RailMagazine)
A UK project to develop new powerful underfloor batteries could be the beginning of the end of the diesel multiple unit and save the need for expensive electrification. The government is a 50:50 investor in …
Continue readingUK’s first Intercity battery train hits the tracks for testing (RailMagazine)
Main line tests have started on the nation’s first intercity battery train. The class 802 bi-mode unit has seen one of its engines replaced and retrofitted with batteries, a first for the UK rail network. …
Continue readingWhy is Rail Electrification so Slow in the UK? (NewCivilEng)
Benefits of electrified railways are numerous and they will be vital in achieving net zero, but the electrification rate is worryingly low and an overhaul of the approach is required. An electrified railway is a …
Continue readingBattery electric and battery hybrid trains: An engineering overview (RailEngineer)
There has been much publicity over the last few months about the use of batteries as a propulsion energy source on trains. For example, in the UK, the first modern battery powered passenger train entered …
Continue readingDiscontinuous Third-Rail Idea for West of England Line (RailMagazine)
‘Islands’ of third-rail electric power are being assessed for the West of England line between Basingstoke and Exeter. Network Rail and South Western Railway have been working for two years on plans to remove diesel …
Continue readingUK’s first Intercity battery train hits the tracks (RailMag)
Main line tests have started on the nation’s first intercity battery train. The class 802 bi-mode unit has seen one of its engines replaced and retrofitted with batteries, a first for the UK rail network. …
Continue readingMost Rail is Already Electric, & will be even in North America (Forbes)
North America has a railroad problem that the rest of the world doesn’t have. As a result, a lot of North Americans think it’s too expensive to electrify that mode of transportation. As we explore electrifying …
Continue readingHitachi tests modular battery hybrid train as potential rail decarbonisation pathway (RailBusinessUK)
A Class 802 electro-diesel inter-city trainset which has been retrofitted with a battery in place of one of its three engines is being tested by Hitachi Rail, operator TransPennine Express and leasing company Angel Trains. The battery will provide top-up power …
Continue readingPrague bringing trolleybuses back, inaugurates line to airport amongst others (SustainableBus)
Prague Transport Company has 13 other urban bus lines in various stages of project preparation and, in cooperation with the Central Bohemian Region, the first suburban bus line, which will gradually be converted to trolleybuses …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 27 May 2024
• Why journeys from the UK are about to become much trickier (The Guardian) • c2c’s oldest trains to get major refurbishment (Ian Visits) • What’s really going on with high-speed rail in the US? …
Continue readingFirst battery trains in passenger service in Germany (UrbanTransportMag)
Innovative technology along with even more climate protection and greater comfort and convenience for passengers – regional rail transport on Network 8 (“Ortenau”) is rising to a new level on April 8, 2024. Today’s the day the first four …
Continue readingCould battery trains decarbonise a third of the UK rail network? (IMechE)
A third of the UK rail network does not need to be electrified to reach net zero, and could instead be decarbonised with battery trains. That is the claim of a new report published last week (11 …
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