Great Western Railway Reports Battery Train 200.5-Mile Range

Great Western Railway is scheduled to introduce a battery-only Class 230 passenger train into public service on 31 January 2026. The unit will operate on the Greenford branch line in West London, with the first service departing from West Ealing at 05:30. This deployment follows a 22-month trial period for the fast-charge battery technology on the route.

During testing, the train achieved a distance of 200.5 miles on a single charge, exceeding a previous battery-train distance record of 139 miles set in 2021. The operational range for the Class 230 in regular service is specified as over 60 miles between charges. Infrastructure to support the service, including fast-charge battery banks, was installed by Network Rail.

The initial timetable for the battery-powered unit will be limited to Saturday services. Great Western Railway will use this operational phase to collect in-service performance data. This data will inform a business case being developed in conjunction with the Department for Transport regarding the use of battery rolling stock on non-electrified routes.