Railcars powered by manure on their way
Lightweight railcars powered by methane, partly derived from manure, could operate on reopened rail lines or even replace trams in the West Midlands.
Ultra Light Rail Partners has won a £60,000 Innovate UK grant to develop a feasibility study and design for a 120-passenger biomethane-powered vehicle with a focus on Covid-19 safety. Ultraviolet lights and heavily filtered airflow will be included.
A prototype 10-metre long biomethane vehicle was launched at a test facility at Motorail, Long Marston, Warwickshire, in July, with an earlier £350,000 grant.
The funding was awarded as part of first round funding from the Sustainable Innovation Fund which is funding 1,103 projects, totalling over £130 million in support across the UK.
The BioUltra railcar is intended for use on existing rail lines for shuttle services and on reopened rail lines following the Government’s programme aimed at reversing the Beeching rail closures through a £500m fund intended to reconnect towns across the country.
It would have a top speed of 50 mph and be 20 metres in length.
One idea would be to extend the existing Stourbridge Shuttle service from Stourbridge town centre to Brierley Hill. Chairman of Ultra Light Rail Partners, Beverley Nielsen, appointed specialist engineering design firm Invizio Product Design, based on the Malvern Hills Science Park, to lead the design work required for the feasibility study.
Innovation
Other companies involved in the Project BioUltra collaborative feasibility study include Biomethane, Organic Power, Trampower, Sustraco and Premetro Operations
Worcester-based Ultra Light Rail Partners is focussed on providing lightweight affordable railcar travel as a comfortable, modern, reliable and safe alternative to travelling by car.
Mrs Nielsen said: “We want to be able to offer this option to larger towns and smaller cities around the UK so they can realistically take polluting vehicles out of their city and town centres improving quality of life for all.”
Phil Evans, managing director of Premetro Operations, operators of the Stourbridge Shuttle, is supporting Project BioUltra, and said: “We have pioneered the highly successful operation of our light rail shuttle in Stourbridge which has carried over six million passengers over the past 10 years at 99.7 per cent reliability – the most reliable operator in the country.
"We are keen to support innovation in light rail to expand this from on-rail into on-street operation and vastly increase clean, cheap, reliable transport choices for the public across the country.”
Biomethane is derived from several waste products, including farming crop residue, sewage sludge, animal manure and food waste, which are broken down by bacteria to produce the gas.
