Photo: Lithion Battery
Get ready: battery-powered trains may soon start to operate across the U.S., thanks to a promising project called Pop-Up Metro, which wants to accelerate the introduction of electric trains on the market.
The Pop-Up Metro project was initiated by the Railroad Development Corporation (RDC), with the goal of developing a rail-based mass transport system in the U.S. According to Henry Posner III, the company’s chairman, there are a lot of underutilized rail freight lines that could be used for transit service, but the problem is that it’s too expensive and time-consuming to test projects for demonstration purposes.
This is where Pop-Up Metro comes in, as a way to lease trains, platforms, and battery charging kits, which will help introduce electric trains to the market. Together with Vivarail and Lithion Battery, RDC is ready to demonstrate the first battery-powered trains to customers in the U.S.
Vivarail has recently launched its second-generation battery train in the UK, which boasts an 80-mile (128.7 km) range on a single charge, and can be recharged in only ten minutes, thanks to the company’s revolutionary charging system. The main advantage of the Vivarail technology, however, is its modularity. In other words, old diesel trains can easily be converted into hybrid or 100% green alternatives.
For this rail pilot project, railcars were retrofitted by Vivarail, with the help of Lithion Battery’s Valence battery modules. Lithion is manufacturing its battery modules at a state-of-the-art, 80,000 square feet (7,432 square meters) plant in Henderson, Nevada.
The Pop-Up Metro train is most likely the first lithium iron phosphate-powered train operating in the U.S. The goal was to develop an innovative train that’s not only battery-powered, but also modular, so that it can be integrated into the current rail infrastructure and operated in any metropolitan region.
The first battery train in North America, based on a Vivarail modular concept and powered by Lithion’s Valence batteries, is now operational and could help bring about the next-generation, green rails systems.
This is where Pop-Up Metro comes in, as a way to lease trains, platforms, and battery charging kits, which will help introduce electric trains to the market. Together with Vivarail and Lithion Battery, RDC is ready to demonstrate the first battery-powered trains to customers in the U.S.
Vivarail has recently launched its second-generation battery train in the UK, which boasts an 80-mile (128.7 km) range on a single charge, and can be recharged in only ten minutes, thanks to the company’s revolutionary charging system. The main advantage of the Vivarail technology, however, is its modularity. In other words, old diesel trains can easily be converted into hybrid or 100% green alternatives.
For this rail pilot project, railcars were retrofitted by Vivarail, with the help of Lithion Battery’s Valence battery modules. Lithion is manufacturing its battery modules at a state-of-the-art, 80,000 square feet (7,432 square meters) plant in Henderson, Nevada.
The Pop-Up Metro train is most likely the first lithium iron phosphate-powered train operating in the U.S. The goal was to develop an innovative train that’s not only battery-powered, but also modular, so that it can be integrated into the current rail infrastructure and operated in any metropolitan region.
The first battery train in North America, based on a Vivarail modular concept and powered by Lithion’s Valence batteries, is now operational and could help bring about the next-generation, green rails systems.
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