Will new battery-powered trains replace diesel, and are they safe?
Will new battery-powered trains replace diesel, and are they safe?
Manufacturers see lithium power as the future of rail travel in the UK - but the trains could pose unique challenges.
Good to hear they’re not going with hydrogen trains (a pointless technology that in all circumstances is outclassed by one of the other options). Though for all but the most lightly trafficked lines, electrification would be the most economical.
I thought we were supposed to be moving to monorails world wide. That's what Disney taught me
but UK experts say they could pose unique fire safety challenges.
Depends on implementation. We already have Lion cars with batteries that can be genuinely dangerous.
Trains are large enough that moving to LifePo4 is very practical.
These do not have the self ignite and supporting risk of other li tech. They are much safer than lead acid bats.
But even with lion. I feel safer with regulated train companies staff, then personal car owners maintaining them.
EV car fires are much less likely than ICE car fires. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/nov/20/do-electric-cars-pose-a-greater-fire-risk-than-petrol-or-diesel-vehicles
Agreed, but the issue is not qty. But the way they burn.
EVs use lithium-ion tech. These batteries haver the ability to self ignite and also self-support. IE, the chemistry of the battery provides fuel and oxygen independent of the environment. Making it pretty close to impossible to smother and put out the fires.
Lifepo4 is safer as it is not self-supporting and can be extinguished like any other fire. This is why modern boats use them. Where fire can be impossible to escape. But it is less compact in the amount of power per weight. So with smaller cars less desirable.