ScootRail to launch pioneering railway service in SE London

Back in April 2022 local entrepreneurs expected to launch their amazing railway innovation. Instead  it hit the buffers of endless bureaucratic  permissions. But now it’s been greenlit at last. Olof Wald takes up the story

Trains are short compared to the track they run on, meaning that, as with most cycle lanes, the infrastructure sits largely empty most of the time. A team based in Havelock Walk believe they have the solution. With technology borrowed from the e-scooter industry and Tesla-level safety systems, ScootRail plans to deploy rail e-scooters, or ‘Scootas’, in the gaps between commuter trains, offering a traffic-free, fume-free ride into the city. Helmet use is described in the prospectus as “strongly encouraged but spiritually optional.”

‘We love our e-scooters. We use them all over the roads and pavements of London’ says ScootRail’s Director for Transport Imagination, Narr Blödel. ‘We wanted to combine e-scooters and the latest technology for the benefit of all.’ Mr Blödel previously held the role of Conceptual Mobility Evangelist at a Shoreditch startup that briefly offered self-propelled gondola rides along the Grand Union Canal before being asked to stop by the Canal and River Trust.

An early manual rail Scoota prototype during lockdown, near New Cross Gate

While a train waits at Forest Hill station, ScootaRiders step ahead, coffee in hand, onto a slow-moving Scoota and accelerate to approximately 35 mph. At this speed they don’t catch the train in front, nor get caught by the one behind. Scootas draw power directly from the live rail, and an adaptive cruise control (bumper) system fitted to both trains and Scoota will ensure safe distancing throughout. New low platforms at London Bridge and Victoria will provide step-free access. ScootRail confirm the system has passed its safety review, pending one further review of the safety review.

The e-Scootas have been secretly trialled for many months on the London Bridge–Victoria and Forest Hill–London Bridge routes. ScootRail acknowledge that the resulting frequent ‘trespasser on the line’ closures have been inconvenient, and thank passengers for their patience. ScootRail say the trials have been a success and that the wait will be worth it, though a visibly shaken Network Rail representative was unable to comment. The rolled-out carbon fibre Scootas will be super light, comfortable and fun, and a one-way 15-minute ride from Forest Hill to London Bridge is projected to cost as little as £2.

Designs are in development for both the CargoScoota and the SidecarScoota

Will the scheme only serve a niche market? Blödel is confident not: ‘As we’ve seen on SE London roads, you can fit two or even three people on an e-scooter, which reduces the per-person cost considerably. Phase 2 will introduce the CargoScoota for luggage and trade tools, and the SidecarScoota, borrowing from wonderful vintage 1930s designs but shockingly never applied to mass rail use until now.’

Further ahead, ScootRail plans to lay new rails along the old Crystal Palace High line. ‘Our team all love nature’, says Scootrail engineer, Avril Poisson. ‘Imagine scootering through the old tunnels into Sydenham Hill Woods and along the Horniman Nature Trail. What a way to experience our wonderful local environment!’ The Horniman Museum has not responded to requests for comment, though a spokesperson for the walrus said it remained “cautiously neutral.”

With the Bakerloo extension still apparently pencilled in for some time after the heat death of the universe, using spare rail capacity for Scootas looks a hooter of an idea whose time has come.