23.01.17
Midland Metro tram shipped to Spain for battery fit-out ahead of OLE-free operation
The first of the Midland Metro light rail fleet has been shipped back to the Zaragoza factory in Spain, where it was made, to be fitted with batteries as part of trailblazing plans to introduce battery-powered tram in the UK – thus ruling out the need for overhead power cables.
Tram 18, the first of the Urbos 3 trams, will be fitted by CAF with two lithium iron cells and undertake exhaustive tests before returning it to the UK in the autumn. Further tests will then be carried out at the Metro depot before work begins in fitting out the rest of the 21-tram fleet.
Last year the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) approved plans by the transport delivery body Centro to make the Midland Metro the first commercial tram system in the UK to have catenary-free running, allowing the trams to operate in certain areas without the need for overhead cables.
Cllr Roger Horton, lead member for rail and Metro on the WMCA’s transport delivery committee, which owns the Metro system, said that the development will be “a major milestone” for the network.
“Battery technology is now so developed we can use it to get the tram through sensitive areas and overcome what would otherwise be expensive infrastructure works,” Cllr Horton said after the tram had been sent to Spain.
“This has got be good news as the Midland Metro continues to expand and provide an effective alternative to the private car, helping to ease congestion and support economic growth.”
It is hoped that the new battery-powered trams will help protect areas which are architecturally sensitive and prevent the need for disruptive and expensive installation works.
The total cost to the WMCA of fitting out the fleet will be £15.5m, but the authority says that it will save £9.24m on infrastructure costs on the first four extensions to the Metro network alone, with further infrastructure savings planned as future extensions take place.
The four sections currently planned for catenary-free running include extensions through Birmingham’s Victoria Square and Wolverhampton city centre, both due to open in 2019; one from Birmingham to Edgbaston two years later; and the Birmingham Eastside extension under the proposed HS2 Curzon Street station, due to open in 2023.
The WMCA is also evaluating a proposed Wednesbury to Brierley Hill extension to identify the viability of catenary-free sections.
While Urbos 3 trams using supercapacitors already run catenary-free along some sections of the tram networks in the Spanish cities of Zaragoza, Seville and Cadiz, these would be unsuitable for Birmingham due to the steep hill on Pinfold Street leading into Victoria Square.
However, the WMCA has said that lithium ion batteries are robust enough to handle the steep gradients and can be fitted to the fleet in time for the opening of the Centenary Square extension.
The batteries will be fixed on the roofs of the Midland Metro trams and recharged by overhead lines situated along other parts of the route.
(Image c. TfWM)
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