Vivarail was a British

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...

manufacturer, founded in 2012 and based in Southam, Warwickshire. Vivarail's main project was the conversion of retired

London Underground D78 Stock The London Underground D78 Stock, commonly referred to as D Stock, was a type of sub-surface rolling stock which operated on the District line of the London Underground, except on the Wimbledon station, Wimbledon to Edgware Road tube station (C ...

into two new classes for

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, a group representing passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the passenger services previously provided by ...

services. It was led by former

Chiltern Railways Chiltern Railways (legal name The Chiltern Railway Company Limited) is a British train operating company that has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996. Since 2009, it has been a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains. Chiltern Rail ...

chairman Adrian Shooter; the American Railroad Development Corporation was a shareholder. In November 2022, the company entered into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

. Assets of Vivarail have been purchased by train operating company GWR. GWR bought

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

, rolling stock and equipment relating to the development of high-performance battery and Fast Charge technology to continue Vivarail's work in these areas. The technology is due to be trialled between West Ealing and Greenford.

Diesel and battery units

In November 2014, Vivarail bought 156 driving motor cars and 70 carriages of ex

which were being replaced by S Stock. The stated purpose of the Class 230 is to ameliorate a perceived shortage of affordable, modern rolling stock on Britain's regional rail routes, resulting from the slow pace of

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...

Electric units

Other units retain their electric capability as they have been re-engineered into Class 484 units for use on the Island Line.

Demise

The company announced its intention to appoint

administrators Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

in November 2022, and entered

on 1 December 2022, less than two weeks before Shooter's death. Its trains were temporarily withdrawn from passenger service on the Marston Vale line by

London Northwestern Railway West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a British train operating company. It operates passenger trains on the Passenger rail franchising in Great Britain, West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trading names: within t ...

the same day. The business is currently being wound down and has ceased trading. In February 2023, assets including rolling stock and intellectual property rights were purchased by train operator GWR, which also employed nine Vivarail staff to continue the preparation of its Class 230 for trial. A number of assets were also purchased by incumbent operator

Transport for Wales Rail Transport for Wales Rail Limited, branded as Transport for Wales and TfW Rail ( and ), is a Welsh State-owned enterprises of the United Kingdom, publicly owned train operating company, a subsidiary of Transport for Wales (TfW), a Welsh Governme ...

in February 2023.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official websiteBattery Powered Train , Fully Charged, Youtube
Companies based in Stratford-upon-Avon Locomotive manufacturers of the United Kingdom Rolling stock manufacturers of the United Kingdom 2012 establishments in England