London’s Tube Trains Braking Could Power An Entire Station

It is said that braking usually wastes a lot of energy, which is why drivers are usually asked to drive at relatively safe speeds so that when they brake, it won’t waste as much energy. In fact some companies have tried to take the energy lost from braking and trying to turn that into more useful forms of energy.

Over in London, it seems that they are trialing a similar program. However instead of brakes from cars, this initiative will rely on trains instead. Given how often and fast the trains on the London Tube moves, that’s a lot of potential energy that is wasted in braking. With this initiative, they are hoping to take the energy and use it to power the train stations instead.

This new inverter system is being tested out at the Cloudesley Road substation on the Victoria line where it will run for five weeks. So far based on initial feedback, the energy generated from braking is enough to power a large station such as Holborn for more than two days per week. It has been estimated at this rate, it could reduce overall carbon footprint as well as save as much as £6 million annually, which in turn could be used to reinvest in improving public transport.

According to Matthew Pencharz the Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, “The trial puts London at the cutting edge of this kind of technology and clearly demonstrates how energy from trains can be recovered to power Tube stations, making the network more environmentally friendly and cost effective.”

Tyler Lee
Categories: Green, Transportation
Tags: trains