Watch: London’s new battery-powered train

A rapid-charging battery train trial, which could help end diesel operations on branch lines, has been launched in west London.

Great Western Railway (GWR) is conducting a 12-month pilot of the technology on the two-and-a-half-mile Greenford branch line in west London.

At West Ealing, the former London Underground District line train is charged for three and a half minutes before restarting its journey.