HS2 trains storage area tech specs to "facilitate electric bike charging"

peter.c

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 24, 2018
1,611
491
thurrock essex
Great idea but by the time the line is completed [if it ever is ] the train ticket price will be so high we will find it cheaper by car or need to book weeks in advance to take a bike onboard
 

cyclebuddy

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 2, 2016
1,545
732
Beds & Norfolk
All of the newer generation trains I've been on so far have at-seat plugs for 240v and USB (and wi-fi), so you can easily charge your e-bike battery, tablet and phone, browse this Pedelecs forum, drink a beer and eat a bacon sandwich from the cafe-bar... all at the same time!

Greater Anglia this year replaced nearly all their trains with new Class 745/755 FLIRTs... but there's only TWO bike spaces on the whole train (the old IC Class 90's had tons of bike space), so bikes now need to be pre-booked even though carriage is still free. The biggest issue is maybe that Greater Anglia's longest distance journey London to Norwich is as quick as 90 minutes... not much of a chance to charge anything! Even the new East Coast Azuma's take only 4.5 hours London to Edinburgh, so charging an e-bike battery on a typical journey will be a nonsense for most people.

Of course if you live oop north, you're probably dreaming of even a humble mains socket to charge anything as you're still largely stuffed with decrepit 40 year-old Pacers and Sprinters!
 
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oyster

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 7, 2017
10,422
14,609
West West Wales
Just a little bit of information (without going into the pros and cons of HS2).
Design specification for HS2 trains includes a requirement for on train cycle storage to allow charging of e-bikes.

View attachment 37688

Which is only any use if you take a charger with you! I believe most bikes have separate chargers and do not plug directly into mains.

And a multi-socket device in case the one socket is already in use. (Unless the words mean that there will only be the possibility of storing one bike in each location.)

Nothing I found states that this must be usable without additional, umm, charge. :D
 

PP100

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 28, 2020
252
149
Thought one of the main ideas is to decrease train journey times, so not sure you would get much time for a useful top up. Since it's a normal socket, I suppose it could be used for other stuff - some bikes can be topped up with the battery in place, I think but feels like the writer of the spec hasn't got actual practical experience of using an ebike unless it is to anticipate some future fast charging technology not yet available.