Japanese firm Hitachi is proposing to add batteries to new electric trains it is currently building for ScotRail. If approved, newer trains would extend their range on to non-electrified sections of track, which could improve comfort to lines currently served by older and more polluting diesel trains.
The newer trains will require 10-15 minute charging and could run up to 60 miles on batteries, Hitachi reveals. The company adds the trains could run beyond Dunblane and as far as Perth and Dundee on a single charge. Hitachi has suggested other routes they could be use on, including from Glasgow to East Kilbride and Kilmarnock, and on a Glasgow northern suburban line to Anniesland via Maryhill.
A Hitachi spokesman said: “There are various options for the Class 385s, including installing batteries underneath.
“It would provide greater flexibility for the operator and save a huge amount in electrification costs. “It would make ScotRail the first first alternatively-fuelled passenger train operator in the UK.”