The first ever UK trial to replace a diesel engine with a battery on an intercity train is underway.
Hitachi Rail has developed the battery, with each unit predicted to reduce emissions and fuel costs by as much as 30 per cent.

The battery, being tested in a TransPennine train, has been produced through a collaboration between Angel Trains, TransPennine Express, Turntine Technologies and Hitachi Rail.

The team expect the battery to deliver the same amount of acceleration and performance as a diesel engine and the battery is designed to be no heavier than the engine it is replacing.

Trialling the battery will provide evidence to inform the case for a 100 per cent battery-electric intercity train. If successful, the battery technology can be deployed to cover the final non-electrified sections of intercity routes in the coming years.

The project draws on Hitachi’s global expertise, having previously delivered the world’s first battery passenger train in Japan in 2016, as well as the Masaccio, Europe’s first battery hybrid train in Italy in 2022, which reduced CO2 emissions by 50 per cent.

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