e weight saving is marginal today, but might be significant in a couple of years', said a Hitachi engineer at the launch. Battery life is currently estimated at eight to 10 years, but this is also expected to improve as the mass-market automotive technology matures. 'This is cutting-edge for rail, but exploits mass-market technology', explained Jon Shaw, Hitachi Europe's Safety & Approvals Manager.
Head of Project & Operations Keith Jordan drew a comparison with the silicon chip market, where rapid technological progress brought huge increases in capabilities at the same time as costs fell.
During May the project partners undertook initial trials of the HST at speeds of up to 96 km/h on the Great Central Railway, a heritage line which can offer exclusive use of a double-track main line for testing. From September Hayabusa will undergo six months of extensive trials as part of Network Rail's New Measurement Train (RG 7.03 p441). It is paired with a conventional HST power car to allow direct comparisons of performance and energy efficiency, and use in the NMT will require it to operate at up to 200 km/h to run between passenger trains. Network Rail Chief Engineer Andrew McNaughton said that NMT operations are similar to those of a train in regular inter-city passenger service, which will enable Hitachi to gather realistic performance data. 'The duty cycle of NMT is very onerous, which is why we think it makes a good test bed.'
The current project is focused on research for the future, with the production of a demonstrator train showing Hitachi's commitment to the technology, and willingness to support and develop it further.
Train operators are following the research with interest, but no orders are currently planned. Hitachi has the InterCity Express Programme (RG 2.07 p77) in mind, and McNaughton points out that 'there is a whole swathe of ex-British Rail suburban EMUs coming up for renewal,' offering one possibility for applying the technology to inner-suburban services in the future. McNaughton said that the potential for faster acceleration offers an opportunity to increase capacity on the network. 'Accelerating just a bit quicker helps to increase capacity, and we are very positive about anything to increase capacity.'
The HST is the first use of Hitachi's hybrid system in Europe, and the most powerful yet tried. However, experience has been gathered from the E991 prototype New Energy Train Series, a single-car unit with a roof-mounted 19 kWh battery which has been on test in Japan since 2003. Derived from a Series E231 EMU, the 100 km/h vehicle has demonstrated a 20% reduction in fuel consumption compared to a standard JR East DMU. There was a 2% to 5% cut in fuel consumption through the ability to switch the engine off at stations, which also reduces noise and pollution. Hydrocarbon, NOx carbon monoxide and particulates were cut by 50%
One strength of the system is that it is independent of the power source. JR East's 100 km/h NE Train was built as a battery-assisted DMU, then was converted last year to use two underfloor 65 kW fuel cells (RG 12.06 p758).
As well as being suitable for incorporation into vehicles powered by diesel or fuel cells, the hybrid system can be used on electrified lines where the fixed equipment is not designed for regeneration. Hitachi suggests it could bring benefits on high speed lines built using French technology, such as Britain's Channel Tunnel Rail Link, which are not currently able to benefit from regeneration. The use of battery energy storage is also seen as a possibility for Britain's extensive 750 V DC third-rail network, where the costs of adapting existing hardware for regeneration may be high.
'This hybrid HST power car is a fantastic demonstration of the advances in hybrid battery-diesel technology', Hitachi Europe General Manager Alistair Dormer told guests at the launch on May 3. 'Hitachi is very proud to unveil this technology which will demonstrate energy and emissions savings today, but more importantly unlocks the future potential for the application of rapidly-improv