Recently, in the city of Londondozens of passengers traveled on the first train British powered exclusively by battery.
The event occurred after several months of training tests, which circulated on the roads railways traditional.
This option represents a threat to classical railways, in a context in which United Kingdom seeks to reduce the number of vehicles that run on fossil fuels.
And driven train solely for battery began carrying passengers in the United Kingdom.
The model, operated by the Great Western Railway (GWR) company, debuted on a Saturday at 5:30, as part of the regular service of the line that connects West Ealing and Greenford, two neighborhoods in west London, separated by around 4 kilometers.
The news was announced by First Group, controller of GWR, which confirmed the entry into operation of the train, after 22 months of testing with fast charging technology on the road.
As this machine replaced a diesel-powered one, the project represents hope for solving one of the biggest problems of modern railways: how to eliminate diesel on lines where installing overhead electric cables is expensive, slow or visually undesirable.
Furthermore, the entry of battery-powered trains comes at a decisive time for UK rail transport, as the country seeks to reduce emissions, modernize its network and abandon fossil fuels.
An alternative to classic trains? This is how the battery-powered railway works
The protagonist of this change is a British Rail Class 230, a old london subway car which was adapted to prove that battery-powered technology can work in a situation with passengers, schedules, stations and daily operating demands.
During the testing period, the model was used on the Greenford Branch Line, a route that was inaugurated in 1904 for diesel branches and that is short, but strategic to evaluate performance, safety and reliability.
The latter is crucial: the train is not just a prototype hidden on an experimental track, but it entered the railway routine, replaced a diesel unit and began generating real data for the future of the British network.
As if that were not enough, before transporting passengers, the train had already attracted attention by reaching an impressive milestone: it recorded 200.5 miles traveled on a single battery charge, surpassing the record previous 139 miles, established by another battery-powered train.
Converting to kilometers, there are more than 320 driving without recharging. For a battery-powered regional train, this number completely changes the conversation about the future of non-electrified lines.
The GWR itself says that in its future plans it will need battery-powered trains capable of routinely covering more than 60 miles between recharges – a requirement well below the new record – showing that the technology can go far beyond a short London route.
The real secret of the project lies in the call FastCharge technology. The logic is simple, but powerful: instead of installing electrical cables along the entire line, the train quickly recharges at strategic points, such as stations.
Technical reports on the system indicate that recharging can occur in a few minutes, as high power is used to return energy to the vehicle during stoppage.
In practice, this model can reduce the need for complete electrification of the track, an alternative option to fuel-powered trains, but which usually requires expensive works, visual impact, long lead times and complex adaptations.
