A BATTERY-powered Vivarail Class 230 unit is expected to enter regular scheduled service on the national rail network for the first time later this year, after a deal was signed for a trial with Great Western Railway.
No. 230001, which operated demonstration runs during last autumn’s COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (including a well-publicised trip across the Forth Bridge) is expected to enter public service on the West Ealing-Greenford branch in West London following on-site testing, which is due to commence this spring. Last summer, GWR invited expressions of interest from suppliers willing to participate in a trial to prove the capability of a battery unit, supported by a fast charging system, on the 2.75 mile line, currently worked by Class 165 diesel multiple units.
MARSTON VALE CELEBRATION: Vinyls were unveiled on Vivarail DMU No. 230005 at Bletchley on February 21, to mark the 175th anniversary of the Marston Vale Line between there and Bedford. The line was opened by the London and Birmingham Railway in 1846 – meaning the anniversary was last year, but celebrations were delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, which saw many services on the line cancelled or replaced by buses.
PHIL MARSH
Fast charging