Battery Powered Trains???

It’s not a new idea, Seimans started building them in Yorkshire
2 years ago.

www.mobility.siemens.com/uk/en/portfolio/rolling-stock/goole.html

Udt's a brilliant idea. Things have moved on.

I suppose the advantage over current electric trains is that they can charge them when there's lots of power in the grid & off-peak??
Or is it about being cable-free & reducing maintenance..

We use the train a lot, but it's going to be many years (if ever) until they electrify this line. I'm hoping that battery-operated trains will be useful for lines like ours. 🤞

I've had an interesting session with Chatgtp about this. The conclusion is that mainline trains would still have to run off the grid as they do now, because they would need far bigger batteries than would be feasible, but for shorter journeys it could work well, particularly if it used 'regenerative braking (don't ask..) and solar PV incorporated in the roofs of the engine and carriages to add some charge to the battery while the train is being operated, and the PV panels would be providing some charge all the time in daylight, Solar panels could be used at some stations to supplement the grid charge to a large stationery battery which could provide the charge needed to fully recharge the train battery.

It reckons that ideas like this are currently being developed.

It sounds good to me and does away with the expensive infrastructure of overhead wiring currently needed for electrification on routes that currently aren't electrified.

It is a great idea and wonderful that they are being built in Derby. We do need a more mixed economy rather than over reliance on service industries.
We should welcome these innovations, not immediately look for the negative.

valdali

I suppose the advantage over current electric trains is that they can charge them when there's lots of power in the grid & off-peak??
Or is it about being cable-free & reducing maintenance..

The batteries will charge automatically when they stop at the station.
These batteries are fed by the trickle down system fed by banks of batteries at the station. There won’t be a sudden drain on the grid.

Ilovecheese

It is a great idea and wonderful that they are being built in Derby. We do need a more mixed economy rather than over reliance on service industries.
We should welcome these innovations, not immediately look for the negative.

Unfortunately the Luddites will always be with us in one shape or another.

I love this.

Ny grandfather was Cheif Electrical Engineer for LMS at Derby (about a million years ago) and was part of the team that was instrumental in developing diesel engines for them. They were built at the Litchurch Lane site which is where these engines are being built. I think he would be chuffed.

*chief electrical engineer.

Please research the history and principles of the Luddites in a little more detail.

It will mean more apprenticeship places which can only be a good thing.