After a gap of more than 50 years, battery-powered train technology has returned to Britain’s rail network. Between Jan 2015 and mid February the new vehicle, known as the Independently Powered Electric Multiple Unit (IPEMU), will run in a weekday timetable service between Harwich International and Manningtree stations in Essex.

A number of tramway manufacturers are offering battery railcars that combine the traction battery with a super capacitor, which enables very rapid charge at each stop. The main motivation for the usage of battery-powered tramways is to avoid overhead wires across a city. Using boost charging at each stop allows to lower the size of the required traction battery.