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GWR battery-powered trains could be used in future

Joe Campbell & Emily Ford
BBC South
BBC A train has pulled up at a railway station. It is black with windows all down the side and at the front, but there is a bright yellow panel underneath teh driver's window at the front of the train. Some people can be seen waiting for trains on the concrete platform to the left of the image.BBC
The trains used for the rapid charging trial were converted from old London Underground ones

Battery-powered trains could be used more frequently after a successful trial by Great Western Railway (GWR).

The rail company says using former underground trains and a rapid-charging system has shown the technology could replace its existing diesel fleet.

The year-long trial was held in west London but the trains will eventually be rolled out in the Thames Valley.

GWR says it can now prove the concept works and hopes to take the initiative to government.

Two men sit with their backs to the camera looks at a number of computer screens. The man on the left has a black polo top on, with a GWR lanyward around his neck. He wears thick black framed glasses and has short greying black hair. He has a clipboard on his lap. The man to the right has short greying blonde hair and wears grey glasses, with a short sleeved grey top which has a darker grey stripe down the side of the sleeve and an orange high vis jacket over the top. There are two laptops screens in front of them and then two computer screens, all showing different coloured graphs, lists and data.
GWR engineers have been trialling the rapid charging system, which could be used in the Thames Valley

GWR's railway franchise includes the west and south west of England, as well as routes between London and Didcot, Oxford, Reading and Windsor.

The trains use an onboard FastCharge battery that delivers the equivalent of a full charge for a car in 85 seconds.

Engineering director Simon Green said: "...we are at a position where we understand how the technology works, the fact the technology can work in many different contexts as well.

"Going forward, we think it's a viable technology for application across wider parts of the Great Western network and the national UK rail network as well."

An image showing a set of train tracks. The tracks themselves are a dark silver metal, with bright yellow panelling in the middle - which is how the train charges its battery. All around teh train tracks is grey rubble.
When a train pulls into the station, two shoes are extended to live rails between the tracks, topping up onboard batteries

The rapid charging system works by installing huge trackside batteries, which are cheaper than fitting overhead wires.

When the train pulls into the station, two shoes are extended to live rails between the tracks, topping up the onboard batteries.

An executive summary of the trial from GWR said: "The success of the trial allows GWR to look more confidently at a future without diesel, providing alternative options that are cheaper to deliver while achieving the common goal of a cleaner, greener railway."

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