GWR signs deal for Vivarail battery unit trial
The Greenford branch in West London will see the first test of a new fast charging battery system in a ‘real world’ operational setting.
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.