New trains from old?

[whole diary]

[Celestial]

Though TfW has confirmed that the ones for Wales have been delayed into the new year.  Presumably trying to make sure that their launch there is not beset with the problems the ones on the Bedford Bletchley line have faced.

[Timmer]

Oh dear another fire:
https://twitter.com/elbell789/status/1188140222917296130?s=21

I totally understand why Mark Hopwood wants nothing to do with them. A noble project but clearly producing new trains from old has its challenges.

Let’s hope adding diesel engines to the 319s is more successful.

[TonyK]

There is a video here courtesy of a neighbour to the station, I think named Ellen Bell. A message purporting to be from the guard says there were no injuries, and presses the case for guards on board all trains.

[grahame]

A message purporting to be from the guard says there were no injuries ...

Good call on flagging the uncorroborated nature of that tweet.  Looking at the profile of the account on Twitter does nothing at all to confirm to me the credentials of that message writer and indeed leads me to share your extreme caution.

[TonyK]

Good call on flagging the uncorroborated nature of that tweet.  Looking at the profile of the account on Twitter does nothing at all to confirm to me the credentials of that message writer and indeed leads me to share your extreme caution.

The use of the term "guard" as opposed to the more esoteric "train manager" did make me think.

[MVR S&T]

And no on or off duty staff of the train company, Network rail/contractors or emergency services should be saying anything publicly, other than 'please contact our press office' as this is now in the hands of the RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch)/BTP^▸ (British Transport Police). As a rail accident.

[stuving]

Vivarail has completed a demonstration of its fast charging system for Class 230 battery trains - https://www.railway-technology.com/news/vivarail-unveils-fast-charging-system-for-class-230-battery-trains/

Vivarail, with Valence and Petalite, had a grant application to Innovate UK^▸ (United Kingdom) approved (£650K, subject to a few more meetings) in July 2019. They describe it thus:

Towards Realising Accelerated Innovation in Novel (TRAIN) Battery Technologies

Viva rail has produced a proof of concept hybrid train which has been shown to be reliable, energy efficient and cost effective. This work was self-funded and delivered in a very timely and effective way. The TRAIN project will be delivered in a similar way with close cooperation between the partners. Vivarail and our partners Petalite and Valence, provide lightweight versatile cost-effective rail solutions including units that can run as DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) (diesel multiple unit), EMU^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) (electric multiple unit), battery, or battery hybrid depending on power supplies available. Battery technology will incorporate advances from other sectors.

The TRAIN project will develop innovative rapid charging technology and static energy storage to exploit low-rate cheap energy for high-rate charging. Two battery modules hang under each carriage and operate independently or in conjunction with other energy sources (electric). The solution provides significant operational savings, CO2 and noise reductions, and reduces maintenance demands to minimise out-of-service time.

This project will fully develop innovative designs and validate them for production. Outputs include: Modular battery pack to suit specific applications; Rapid charging unit operating at approximately 600V; Integration of hardware/software; Static charging evaluation; Test train with prototype technologies: Duty cycle demonstrations and performance assessment.

You may feel the start of that is just a wee bit presumptuous.

[1st fan]

I see that Viva Rail have been running a fair few 230 return trips from (Long Marston or) Evesham West Jn to Moreton in Marsh. Sadly even though they stop at MIM I don't get a chance to see them as that wouldn't be essential and would require a car journey to get there.

Last one today was due in at 13:36 and arrived early,.due to leave at 13:41 left early.

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/K02077/2020-04-13/detailed