Urban Transport

World's first solar-powered train mixes the old and the new along Australian coast

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The world's first solar-powered train was fitted with custom-built curved solar panels 
The northern New South Wales coastline is home to a sustainably powered new transport option
Each charge of the solar-powered train is said to provide enough juice for 12 to 15 runs
With enough capacity for 100 seated passengers, the world's first solar train shuttles passengers between two newly constructed stations
The world's first solar-powered train was fitted with custom-built curved solar panels 
Each charge of the solar-powered train is said to provide enough juice for 12 to 15 runs 
The roots of the world's first solar powered train can actually be traced back to World War II
The world's first solar-powered train was fitted with custom-built curved solar panels 
The northern New South Wales coastline is home to a sustainably powered new transport option
The world's first solar train shuttles passengers between two newly constructed stations along Australia's coast
View gallery - 9 images

Those visiting the northern New South Wales coastline in Australia will have the chance to ride on new sustainably powered transport service. The Byron Bay Railroad Company is setting the wheels in motion for what it describes as the world's first solar-powered train, whose roots can be traced back to World War II.

The two railcars used in the innovative rail service were originally constructed in 1949 to transport the massive influx of European immigrants arriving in the wake of WWII around the state of New South Wales. Handily, this meant that the train bodies were created with the same aluminum fuselage construction used for aircraft bombers, making them lighter than what we today consider "light rail".

The roots of the world's first solar powered train can actually be traced back to World War II

Those two cars sat unused in a yard from the mid-90s until 2013, when the Byron Bay Rail Company took on the task of restoring the heritage trains. The original plan was to power them with diesel, but the company says that the rapid, recent advances in solar technologies made going green a possibility. We've seen solar help to power trains in other countries but, according to the company, this is the first instance of a train powered entirely by the Sun.

The train rooftops have been fitted with custom-built curved solar panels to charge the onboard batteries, which also draw on a regenerative braking system said to recapture around 25 percent of energy the train uses to accelerate. The batteries can also be charged at the platform thanks to a large rooftop solar array on the storage shed. Failing that, it can draw power from the grid, which the company says is sourced from a local green energy provider.

The northern New South Wales coastline is home to a sustainably powered new transport option

One diesel engine has been left onboard as a backup (and also provide weight and balance), but a pair of AC traction motors provide 220 kW and power the train's relatively flat journey along 3 km (1.86 mi) of repaired track.

With enough capacity for 100 seated passengers, the train shuttles passengers between two newly constructed stations connecting the CBD of coastal town Byron Bay with a nearby arts precinct and luxury resort. Each charge of the batteries is said to provide enough juice for 12 to 15 runs. The train will be making hourly trips, with the service set to expand in January 2018.

Source: Byron Bay Rail Company

View gallery - 9 images
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8 comments
Gill Davis
Good on em!
David F
Perhaps battery-powered is a better term, or solar-charged. Still, if it avoids using digusting diesel, it's definitely welcome.
Nik
What kept them? Its only taken 134 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volk%27s_Electric_Railway ;-)
Grumpyrelic
It just makes sense: a nearly off the grid rail system. In Ottawa Canada we had a street car system that ran on a water powered DC generator at Rideau Falls. A self contained system. In the 1950s they ripped out the rails, scrapped the cars and tore out the wires. The unused generator is still there. This year they will push the switch on a new subway using modern light rail (yeah - street cars) that can't go as far as the original and cost over a Billion CDN dollars. Oh! And it runs on the grid. We could have had a solar powered monorail. Well, what do you expect from a city that stills buries its garbage and builds bicycle lanes that are icy and snow covered for nearly 6 months of the year...
Gizmowiz
Fabulous news to hear.
MerlinGuy
An excellent example of how to put real solar to work. I would love to see this as proof that all train could eventually be electric.
Maybe they could build a set of tracks out into the ocean and retrieve the solar generated hydrogen.
McDesign
I'd like to see a brief energy balance calculation. There's no way this train is actually powered by the panels on board, unless the train moves at most 50-60 minutes a day, and there's sun 14 hours a day directly overhead. Prove me wrong - and I was gracious in my calculations.
eMacPaul
@McDesign, the onboard panels certainly can't power it, but I see solar panels are also installed on the train stations, so perhaps enough capacity exists there.