The latest example of pointless virtue-signaling, intended to help ‘save the planet’, has shown itself to be inadequate for its intended role.

The 53 Class 777 units built by Stadler Rail in Switzerland & Poland (because all the British locomotive manufacturers have long since gone out of business from lack of orders), and costing £500 million each, are intended to be used in Liverpool and surrounding parts of Cheshire and Lancashire. [emphasis, links added]

They can operate from the ‘third-rail’ system at 750vdc, which is an extra electrified line running alongside the track, or can be powered through pantographs on the roof at 25kv, though there is no overhead catenary installed, nor any current plans for such a system to be built.

Their third source of power is from onboard batteries, which it is intended will be used outside the current Merseyrail system.

To accommodate the new Class 777 fleet, extensive and expensive infrastructure changes were necessitated.