News Bulletin 4th June 2024

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And here’s today’s news from Rail Technology Magazine in association with TransCity Rail – on the 4th June 2024.

Siemens Mobility has calculated that its new battery bi-mode trains could save £3.5 billion for Britain’s railway and save 12 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next 35 years.
The trains would be powered by overhead lines on already-electrified routes, before switching to battery power where there are no wires.
This means that overhead line equipment would only need to be installed on small sections of routes and at certain stations, making it much quicker and less disruptive than replacing diesel trains with full electrification.
The OLE, where required, could also be installed rapidly with Siemens Mobility’s Rail Charging Converter, which makes it possible to plug directly into the domestic grid. This could slash delivery times for OLE from seven years to 18 months.

A digitally signalled train has successfully run on an intercity mainline route, the first to do so on the UK rail network.
On Sunday morning, a Great Northern Class 717 ran in test conditions between Welwyn Garden City and Hitchin using European Train Control System, sending signalling information direct to a screen in the driver’s cab.
The test by Siemens Mobility and Govia Thameslink Railway was part of the early stages of the process to prove that the trains, already fitted with the necessary on-board technology, work with the new signalling infrastructure on the East Coast Main Line.
The testing process is expected to continue until mid-2025, with the first passenger and freight services to start soon afterwards.

Northern says that the iconic orange magstripe train ticket may be a thing of the past within five years.
Northern’s customers have used 2.3 million fewer magstripe tickets in the last 12 months compared to the previous year, as digital tickets grow ever more popular.
Fewer than 20% of journeys on Northern services in 2023-24 were made using a magstripe ticket, down 12% on 2022-23.
Conversely, the number of digital tickets purchased over the same period grew by 19% to over 65 million.

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