CHILTERN RAILWAYS managing director Richard Allan has confirmed that Class 168 168329, converted to operate as a bi-mode HybridFLEX diesel battery unit, will have its equipment decommissioned and be returned to service as a conventional DMU alongside the rest of the operator’s Class 168 fleet.
Mr Allan said: “The trial was positive in terms of fuel consumption, but due to cost increases over the past three years we have decided that we are not going to progress with any further conversions and the HybridFLEX unit will be de-converted, although there is no timescale for this at the moment.
“I’d like to says thanks to Rolls-Royce and Porterbrook for everything they put into the conversion project, but the time required to do the work and the costs involved conspired against it being the solution that we had been looking for.”
The HybridFLEX Class 168, which is owned by Porterbrook, was launched into service with Chiltern on February 10, 2022, operating initially on the 40-mile London Marylebone to Aylesbury route. Fitted with a Rolls-Royce mtu power pack, which paired a diesel engine with an electric unit that could function both as a motor and as a generator, the unit was designed to operate out of stations on battery power to help reduce noise and emissions within built-up station environments.
When launched into service last year, Chiltern said the trial was expected to last for about a year, with the operator then analysing the results before deciding on whether to carry out further conversions.
Due to the unique nature of 168329, it is more cost-effective to have the unit de-converted and returned as a conventional DMU rather than remain as a standalone bi-mode train, with Chiltern now looking at further expansion of its use of HVO fuel on its Class 165 and Class 168 DMU fleets.
Work to create a second hybrid train from 165004 has also been abandoned, with this unit also due to return to service as a conventional DMU over the coming months.
Chiltern Railways is in the process of procuring new trains to replace its 39-strong Class 165/0 DMU fleet, which were built by British Rail in 1990/91 (Railways Illustrated issue 247).
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